"To some extent, to have Homer in the book is artificial," Jenkins says. WEB

The Web page tries to "reintegrate the idea of performance" by including recitations by students and TFs of various works the course studies, he says.

Other professors have spiced up their pages with multimedia ranging from cartoons to pronunciation guides.

The Women's Studies 10a: "Women, Feminism and History," page showcases anti-suffrage cartoons and old Virginia Slims ads.

Literature and Arts A-14, "Chaucer," contains spoken words from Middle English.

Other Web pages feature photos and x-rays designed to demonstrate course material.

Science A-30, "The Atmosphere," has satellite pictures of recent storm activity, and Science B-44, "Vision and the Brain," has links to Web pages with information on vision and x-rays of the brain.

Hot links to other pages and photos of professors and TFs also highlight some pages. The site for Government 1361: "Analyzing American Elections," contains about 50 links to parties, media outlets and activist groups.

And skipping section doesn't have to prevent students from knowing what their TFs look like. Chemistry 5 and 10 Web sites allow students to practice reciting excuses to thumbnail sketches of teaching fellows.

"We're trying to get people in the habit of using the Web as a source of information," says James E. Davis, lecturer of Chemistry 5 and head tutor of the department. "I'm trying to lower Webophobiacs into the game."

As an incentive, Davis offers a series of extra-credit trivia questions, the answers to which can be found on the Web.

One of the more recent questions asked students to find the source of the quote "Be happy in your work"--from the movie "Bridge Over the River Kwai."

Discussion Groups

A new technological addition to the ICG toolbox has made the pages even more interactive. HyperNews takes the place of old newsgroups by allowing a threaded record of discussion through the Web page.

"We feel HyperNews is more effective than 'traditional' newsgroups because they operate on the [Web] and are thus integrated with other material we develop," writes Paul F. Bergen, coordinator of instructional computing and social science computing support specialist, in an e-mail.

"We believe this tool fosters communication and exchange of ideas: concepts pretty central to effective learning," Bergen says.