ED-MEDIA 1999 Proceedings Book - Association for the ...

A Wide Array of Uses: Inquiry and Instruction with the HyperNews
In University Courses
Ni Chang, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin
800 W. Main St.
Whitewater, WI 53190
changn@uwwvax.uww.edu
414-472-5798
Problem
Many instructors are using the HyperNews in their courses at college or university levels. The HyperNews is
commonly employed for the purpose of asynchronous discussions. This discussion arena provides students an
avenue to know and communicate with one another outside a classroom. In the contemporary society, given the fact
that the majority of people have busy schedules, personal communications become less possible. My students face
the same problem. They meet with one another when sharing a class, but soon after the class is dismissed, my
students have to run due to work demands or other requirements. Time constraint permits students to exchange little
view that the content of a class impossibly covers but is concerned by many people in the same field. This dilemma
deprives the students of chances to exchange concerned ideas and of potential opportunities to expand knowledge.
This limitation also leaves me little room to dispense necessary information that a class period usually does not
permit but that may interest those who desire to know more.
Resolution
How to solve this problem is the center point of my concern. Like many other faculty members in the higher
education, I eventually offered the students a platform where they were able to launch a dialogue regarding
interested concepts or issues and pose questions. This platform also enabled me to communicate with my students
the needed information. This platform is the HyperNews. The HyperNews made it possible to meet the needs of the
students and the instructor. Many issues and ideas were discussed and the scope of knowledge was expanded. I was
able to communicate with the students whenever as needed. Apparently, the students found beneficial in this mode
of learning. I was agreeable with the students based on experience of using the HyperNews as a communication tool
for several semesters. Students, while conversing with one another electronically and advancing their
understandings, attained technological skills, such as typing, deleting, sending, and retrieving messages in addition
to unexpected problem-solving skills.
Other Uses of the Hypernews
Besides of the fact that the hypernews is used as a tool for students and instructors to transmit and convey ideas and
suggestions in their teaching and learning, what other functions does the hypernews play in educational instruction
This is always one of my other concerns in infusing technology into a classroom setting to make learning easy and
understandable.
Cooperative Learning Tool: I value students’ time and results of learning and encourage students to learn from one
another by reading and sharing each other’s ideas and learning results. To serve this end, it was a usual practice that
a considerable amount of time and paper was used for printing out all projects that students presented in the class at
the end of each semester. Gradually, I discovered that after much paper and time devoted on this product, some
students did not read others’ work due to a time restraint. To avoid further waste and bring about the productive
learning, I bravely took a risk in instruction. Encouraging students to publish their projects on the hypernews was
thus rendered. In this demonstration, I will share with the audience the insight into this mode of teaching. The
difficulties that my students and I encountered and the profits the students gained from this practice in the past years
will also be part of this demonstration..