Mailing lists are preferred to newsgroups as teaching tools for undergraduate biology classes.

Full Abstract

Effective communication between instructors and students is a challenge regardless of the instructor-to-student ratio. Instructors of large classes, in particular, have resorted to various forms of Internet communication, such as mailing lists and newsgroups, to supplement class time and office hours. Mailing lists are closed discussions among subscribers who receive and send messages via an electronic mail program (e.g., Eudora). Newsgroups are public discussions to which anyone can gain access and respond via a newsreader program (e.g., Nuntius). Newsgroup messages are posted to a bulletin board that the subscriber must visit to read. Mailing lists and newsgroups share many advantages (convenience, greater anonymity, and speed of communication) and disadvantages (computer access required, impersonal nature, junk mail, and lack of graphics in older programs). However, surveys of both faculty and students in biology indicate that mailing lists are generally favored over newsgroups. Reasons given for mailing list popularity included greater familiarity with the E-mail format and ease of access.

Author information

Author/s: Machart, J M (JM); Silverthorn, D U (DU);

Affiliation: Section of Neurobiology, University of Texas, Austin 78712, USA. jansjunk(-atsign-)mail.utexas.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Advances in physiology education (Adv Physiol Educ), published in UNITED STATES. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2000-Jun; vol 23 (issue 1) : pp 67-71

Dates: Created 2000/08/14; Completed 2000/08/14; Revised 2000/12/18;

PMID: 10902529, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article
(including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.