When contemplating using the internet for teaching there are two perspectives on teaching that can be used as organizing principles. The first perspective is that of the university or school based teacher. Call it the school-centered model. This model of teaching and learning has its roots in Plato's Academy but became most prevalent in post-renaissance times when students came together in groups to learn from a knowledgeable, experienced teacher. To make efficient use of resources, many students would gather in one place under the direction of a single teacher, who would then lecture about material and discuss it with the students. In one form or another, this model has largely remained unchanged as it has continued into modern times. Inherent in it are two fundamental assumptions: First, that teaching involves information flow from a single source. Second, that the flow is from a single source to many recipients.

In the school-centered model the goal is to make the communication of information from a single teacher to many students more efficient. So we have textbooks which are created by one teacher to be used by other teachers to reach more students with the same information. Videos are created which increase the quality of the means of communicating the information. In many instances those doing the actual classroom teaching have no control over the selection of the text material, the content or even the lesson plans. The teacher in many instances has become just a mechanism for delivering information and maintaining control of the crowd of students.

From this first perspective, the internet becomes an opportunity to deliver information without direct contact between a teacher and student (eliminating the need for the teacher as delivery mechanism) and to reach an individual student in a non-classroom environment (eliminating the need for the teacher for crowd control.) In general, this perspective is the approach taken in the current computer-based instructional technology literature which focuses on creating computerized tutoring systems.

The second perspective is that of the knowledge-seeking student. Call it the learner-centered model. This model, in one sense, actually predates the school-centered model. Historically only available to the wealthy, if the student or the student's family perceived a need to gain certain knowledge or skill, they would seek out and hire an expert in that particular area to tutor the student. The tutor would teach one student at a time, adjusting lessons and material to the student's individual learning style, needs, and abilities. As needed, the student would move from tutor to tutor. This model appears today in the selection of classes and teachers by a student at the university level, in the selection of major area of study, in the selection of courses and electives to be taken, and to a lesser extent in the student selection of paper and project topics. The assumptions inherent in this model are first, that students (or their parents) know what they are interested in learning about a subject and second that students will actively seek to learn.

In the learner-centered model the goal is to allow a student to learn from a variety of sources. The experiential learning approach, emphasizing interaction among students and with the instructor makes use of this perspective. From this perspective, the internet becomes an opportunity to gather information about and from students, enhancing individual contact in both directions and even promoting contact between and among students. It becomes an opportunity to make contact with a student at a deeper and more personal level at times when the student is available. The internet can allow students to learn at their own pace, confronting and mastering subject matter at different times and from different locations. Communication with the teacher is on an as-needed basis. The role of the teacher becomes that of organizing material to meet the needs of the target students and fine-tuning the structure of the material and the assignments to meet the abilities and timing of the individual student.

THE SESSION
These themes will be explored for the purpose of demonstrating how both perspectives are necessary for internet-based education. Specific technical and conceptual approaches will be introduced and discussed by participants with the aim of broadening everyone's perspective on the possibilities and practicalities of using internet technology for teaching.

One possible solution to resolve these issues is the Discussion Area Project. The Discussion Area Project is an internet based web-browser accessible interactive site on the web that provides college faculty with a discussion area for the entire class and for separate teams or groups within that class. Students may interact with other members of the class, within their teams, or with the instructor through easy-to-use interactive web sites.

PRESENTATION OF RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
At the time of the Western Academy meeting the sites will have just completed their first semester of use (and be halfway into the second.) The data collected therefrom will be presented as part of this session. The Faculty Discussion Area of the Discussion Area Project can be accessed via the World Wide Web at:

http://www.abc-xyz.com/forum.shtml