Talking word processors read back what is typed into them, helping those with reading difficulties, and word prediction systems find specific words for students with language problems. Scan read programs read text aloud while displaying it on a screen and have other features that facilitate learning as well. As the result of new laws, today’s college campuses are welcoming a first generation of students with disabilities, many of whom could not pursue a degree without the assistance of adaptive technology. “For students with physical or learning disabilities, this spells independence,” Dell says. “That’s the key word.”

Assistant Professor of Journalism Kim Pearson was a science writer at AT&T who came to TCNJ with a healthy respect for both technology and the corporate work style. As adviser for the professional writing minor, she teaches several writing courses and is determined to prepare students for success in the world they will face after graduation.

“I see communication as a tool for problem solving and helping organizations define themselves,” she says. “Possibly because I once worked at Bell Labs, I also understand the role of technology in achieving these aims.”

As the word “technology” rolls off her lips, one senses that this too may be an introduction to a teaching experience not possible before the advent of classroom Web technology. Her students publish an online magazine, Unbound, which, according to statistics published in Editor and Publisher Online, may be one of a few produced by a college journalism class. While several colleges have put their print publication online, few schools are producing work that exists exclusively online, where the storytelling and reporting processes are not only different but inevitable to the future of journalism.

“The purpose of the magazine goes beyond application of Web technology to journalism study,” Pearson says. “These days, people are more likely to work in small, self-managed teams than in hierarchical organizations with clearly defined job descriptions and lines of authority. Technology facilitates the work of these self-managed teams but it also subverts traditional hierarchies. People who work online have to learn to function in that environment, just as they would in a corporate office or newsroom.

"My students may come to class knowing how to use the Web but they haven’t had to use it in a professional and collaborative way. In part, that’s what Unbound is about.”

Like many TCNJ faculty members, she uses a hyperlinked syllabus and message boards for class discussions. In a class in which she introduced a novel, Brown Girl in the Ring, students registered their comments on the message board and the author, Nalo Hopkinson, happened across them and e-mailed Pearson with some thoughts which sparked additional student discussion. This kind of informal contact with an author would be unlikely without the Internet, she says. Pearson sees a clear link between technology and preparing students to function in the workplace.

“Aside from the fact that most of today’s journalism students won’t wind up at newspapers, even those who do work in a newsroom have to be prepared for changes that have revolutionized the industry,” she says. She points out that publishers are demanding more audience sophistication than ever before from those who rise to the editor level. There also are ethical issues in journalism that demand student understanding. Finally, she contends that students must be prepared to be the entrepreneurial managers of their own careers, planning their own retirement and charting the strategic positions of their companies.

“As journalists, we like to pretend there is a purity in what we do that insulates us from the business of doing business,” she says. “That doesn’t exist. We have to deal with the real world and technology is helping students do that in a broader sense than ever before.”

David Prensky, acting dean of business and associate professor of management/marketing, is another who employs the Web for classroom discussion groups.

“The Web is effective in getting participation from those students who aren’t comfortable thinking on their feet,” he says. “Some people just need time to assimilate information before responding. We’ve had some interesting dialogue on the Web and, for the most part, I stay out of it and let the students interact with each other.”

He adds that the only time he did intervene in a discussion group was when one student in a marketing class attempted to use it to sell his used car.

“He was confusing the study of marketing with some very personal marketing,” Prensky observes.

A course in e-commerce has been on the curriculum for three years now and, while currently available at many schools, was one of only a few when first implemented at TCNJ.

“We teach how the Web is changing promotion and distribution channels, what marketers need to do to be successful on the Web, as well as the ethical, privacy, public policy, and patent issues that need to be addressed,” Prensky reports. “These are important topics for any business student because they are both complicated and, in many instances, are in the developing stages.”