Focusing on a Specific Subject

Instruction ON the Internet

Don't confuse the message with the medium. The Internet is a medium by which information can be accessed and delivered. This package is about a specific topic, and utilizes the Internet, and tools designed for use on the Internet, to deliver a message. Focusing on a specific topic makes instruction both easier and more palatable. Librarians are constantly faced with the problem of teaching in about 45 minutes the years of experience acquired in graduate school and on the job.

An example of an ideal instruction session (and a demonstration of focusing on a topic):

Instruction ABOUT the Internet

This instruction package is an example of the problems of teaching ABOUT the Internet. The problems are that each individual brings a variety of levels of knowledge about software and hardware, has access to a dizzying array of resources, and must deal with differing network environments. IBM 486's on the UM-St. Louis campus network may have nothing to do with the dumb terminal used by the employees of the Kansas City Public Library.

Second, everyone has different subject interests. Generalized instruction is guaranteed to bore a majority of any given class (and the bigger the class, the more the boredom). Whatever examples are chosen, only a few people will be interested in the subject material. If at all possible, focus on subject material examples relevant to the audience in demonstrating the Internet. If this isn't possible, expect glazed eyes!

Examples of applied subject focus can be found in the author's productions:

The Civil War and the Internet at Uniform Resource Locator (URL):
http://www.umsl.edu/~muns/civilwar/civmain.htm

and Nursing and the Internet at Uniform Resource Locator (URL):
http://www.umsl.edu/~muns/nursing/nursmain.htm