Wednesday, June 24, 1998

Can't find a study group on the Internet? Start one

By BRIAN BETHEL / Abilene Reporter-News

Wanna learn something new?

If you have a computer, you're already a good portion of the way there.

Recently, I've signed up for an online class. A group of like-minded-individuals on one of the discussion groups I frequent wanted to study a particular topic but wanted some mutual support and help while doing it.

Not only have we managed to pull together a group of ragtag individuals with common interests, we've also managed to acquire A) an offer from the author of one of the books we plan to use to act as an adviser and B) a private mailing list for "class discussion."

At least one of the principle participants I'm familiar with lives in England. The others are scattered throughout the Americas.

As may be imagined, such an undertaking wouldn't have been possible -- or at least, would have been extremely difficult -- without the Internet to act as glue.

But these days, it's not uncommon. In fact, if there's something you want to learn about -- even if you aren't willing, like our group, to commit a whole year to it -- you can find a good head start on the Internet.

But even if you can't find an existing online class/discussion group for a favored topic, that doesn't mean you should give up hope.

In fact, all it takes is a little initiative to start such an undertaking yourself.

In our case, we already had the basic building blocks -- participants from a Usenet newsgroup -- in place.

The decision to start the class stemmed out of a difference in definitions used by some of the participants. After a rather heated battle, many of the participants admitted that they'd never even examined various differing viewpoints.

Although that debate served as the catalyst for our class, yours doesn't have to be so disagreeable in its genesis.

In fact, a simple post to a newsgroup, discussion area or even chat room that deals with your topic will help you gauge interest.

Once you start to get some people interested, determine a class structure. If someone's going to be teaching the class, they need to try to tell participants as early as possible what materials they may need.

A common curriculum helps immensely, since everyone is approaching the material from the same basic sources.

Like we did, you may want to try to seek out an expert or two to act as either a moderator or an advisory capacity. With the Internet linking more and more people each day, this is far easier to do than it ever has been.

Finally, the group needs a place to "meet" or share ideas. This can be in a chat room, in a forum like Usenet, or in an e-mail list.

E-lists are extremely easy to set up and many sites offer free list hosting/setup.

Of course, it's up to each individual person to participate to the fullest extent they are able. But assuming you have a group of genuinely interested individuals, that shouldn't be much of a problem.

It may be best to set a time limit on the class, including some time after the material is completed for discussion and assesment.

Like any real class, how much you get out of an online class -- assuming it's entirely group- or self-created -- is up to you.

But no matter how strange or obscure your subject, chances are if you want to learn about it or teach about it, then chances are someone else does, too.

So, get out there and start sharing, Computerphiles. On the Internet, class is always in session.

Brian Bethel may be reached at (915) 676-6735 or bethelb@abinews.com.