Clermont Biologist Earns International Recognition From: University Currents Date: April 28, 2000 By: Chris Curran Phone: (513) 556-1806 Photo by: Colleen Kelley; Graphic by Jan Stein Carter Archive: Campus News, General News A biology professor at Clermont College has earned recognition from educators worldwide for discovering how to use the Internet and other computer technology to help students normally overwhelmed by the college experience. Janet Stein Carter, assistant professor of biology, began developing Web pages years ago on a computer that didn't even have a hard drive. All programs had to run off floppy disks. That humble beginning has grown to an extensive network of Web pages, computer animations, and tutorials. In fact, Carter's work has outgrown even her latest computer hardware upgrade. Most remarkably, she notes, "Most of this was done on a budget of $0." Carter realized very soon after starting full-time at Clermont College that students needed extra help. As an open access college, many of the students had limited math and reading skills. Many have jobs or family commitments that keep them away from class on occasion. The frequent requests for lectures notes prompted her to begin experimenting with Web-assisted courses. Today, her innovative work is receiving attention worldwide. On April 15, she presented course examples at the Eleventh International Conference on College Teaching and Learning in Jacksonville, Florida. Her paper received a conference "Award for Innovative Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Technology" and was included in a proceedings of selected conference papers. Carter does more than upload a few lecture note outlines. She adds detailed narrative to provide a more complete explanation. Students often print the pages out and bring them to class, or they head to the Web after class to fill in gaps in their own notes. Students also find animations to explain topics such as mitosis and cell divsion or evolution and adaptation. Carter used JavaScript to create tutorials that offer extended practice in the mathematics of biology. The programs generate random problems, so the students are likely to find different problems and solutions each time they visit the site. The results were improved learning and more cooperative learning. "Students who knew how to use a Web browser willingly paired up with neophytes and showed them how to access the online notes," said Carter, who added that online notes did not stop students from showing up in class. Eventually, Carter hopes to use the Internet and Web to help Clermont's part-time and adjunct faculty. She'll also be busy in the coming months migrating her files to a more powerful computer. However, she's convinced the effort is worth it, based on the number of hits her pages get each day and the e-mail messages which come in from students and biology educators worldwide. At last count, she received over 6,000 hits per day. For more information, read Carter's paper online or check out Carter's Web site at buglady.clc.uc.edu/