Changes in the way teachers teach have always been fraught with difficulties and challenges, but I can't let that slow me down as I try to give Ball State students "everything that they need." For example, imagine a world in which eraser-capped pencils are new and expensive.

The pencils are linked to dramatic improvements in writing, penmanship, and learning. On testing day, however, all students return to quill and ink, and those students who were doing better with the new technologies did poorly compared to their non-pencil-trained counterparts. The example, of course, is historical, and today pencils are common and computers new. Now computers are usually forbidden on test days, and the technologically savvy students perform poorly.

Although it may be hard for some to imagine, the computer is today's pencil. Electronic communication systems (e.g., e-mail, electronic bulletin boards, listserves, etc.) have become increasingly important to the daily lives of most faculty and students. More slowly but no less importantly, electronic presentation systems (e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint and its imitators) have appeared in many classrooms. While teachers at many levels have been using older electronic presentation technologies (e.g., film, filmstrips, VHS tapes) to encourage student understanding and appreciation of content areas, many faculty still use "chalk and talk" in higher education. However, an increasing number of faculty use technology to manage classroom activities, assess student learning, or redesign learning activities that lie beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom.

Recently, I have divided my research and creative time among three main areas: I have a historical interest in the works of George Bernard Shaw, an artistic interest in directing and writing for theatre and film, and a pedagogical interest in the impact of electronic technologies on student learning. At BSU, I am fortunate to pursue all three areas, but in this brief article, I'll focus on the last topic.

For some faculty, the jury is still out on the "new" technology and its reliability or usefulness. Students, on the other hand, seem to regard surfing the Web as their constitutional right and cannot imagine a day without checking their e-mail for news from home or old high school friends. There are benefits for both faculty and students in the appropriate and considered use of IT both in and out of the classroom. I am trying to find those uses.

The search is sometimes easy. Technologies like film and television have affected students, teachers, artists, and audiences for decades; we do not even consider it "technology" any more. But today's students will enter a world full of information technologies that still seem new to many of us, and they will need to be proficient users.

The pressures to deliver instruction using new technologies have already brought significant change. For example, a few but growing number of theatre departments like Ball State's now offer regular, required classes in camera acting technique. This confluence of old and new technologies is not only changing the way many people view "theatre" and "performance," but also our view of "student" and "teacher."

My specific interest has been a model of teaching that one of my students labeled "just-in-time-teaching." It is easy to tell he was a business major.

By using a new computer lab we developed here on campus, the computer-based testing lab, we are able to provide students with an online, proctored, self-initiated testing environment. Basically, professors put a test or quiz on InQsit, an on-line testing tool developed by Ball State's own software engineers, and students have a window of a few days up to a week to go to the lab to take it whenever they want, as long as the lab is open.

Students no longer face mid-term week knowing that Wednesday will have three mid-terms in a row because now they can schedule one in the morning, one that night, and one the next day so that they have plenty of time to study.

In my system, students take frequent quizzes on the assigned readings a few days before I have scheduled classroom activities for those topics. I then analyze the results of those quizzes and determine what areas are troublesome for the students. I change my classroom activities to focus on areas of weakness, and the result has been an average improvement on exams by up to 12 percent: in other words, a full letter-grade. While many students dislike the more frequent testing, most appreciate the benefits of higher grades on the exams.

There are several reasons why students show such astounding improvements. First, we have let the students use the "pencils" with which they are most familiar. According to recent student surveys, an overwhelming majority of students frequently use computers for e-mail, instant messaging, and networked games. They are comfortable communicating and creating in an electronic format.

Secondly, studies have shown that more "time on task" leads to higher levels of learning. The frequency of testing, therefore, contributes to their improvements.

Finally, the system has made my pedagogy, the design and intent of my teaching, visible to my students. I share with them the results of their quizzes, and explain what areas I'll focus on in the next lecture. They see, therefore, that I am engaged in their learning, and they respond by becoming more engaged in my teaching.

by Michael M. O'Hara

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Michael O'Hara is an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance.He coordinates the department's participation in the University Core Curriculum and serves as a historian and director.