Bringing technology into cources methodology

Something is really (nicely) surprising me from my experience on visiting the UC Berkeley and Standfort University in contrast to the European University Institute is the use of the technology to support the academic life. Some concrete things:

+ School of information website has an intranet with wikis and e-lists to facilitate community communication and storage of infos and useful knowledges.

+ There is an institutional support on on-going communication to the external world while doing the Phd. Encoraging that researchers has websites and spread work-in-progress materials.

Courses:

+ Each course has a e-lists among the participants and syllabus online where you can see the schedule of sessions and access to the related readings.

+ Around 70% of people in the courses have her/his laptop and are doing things online while attending the class! This is not something seeing as disruptive or impolite. It is “normal” that people is constantly connected, also during classes. The class methodology assumes that and try to “sacar partido” (make worth?) of that. The methodology of the classes is adapted to the changes in the attention  of people permanently connected.

+ Work in groups is an important aspect of the classes requirements.