"It's too early to tell if this will become astandard College or University-wide practice, butICG hopes to offer the service to three or fourcourses next term," ICG Manager Paul F. Bergenwrote in an e-mail.

Chem 5 was originally selected as atrial subject because of its large size--more than350 students--and prior use of computer technology.

"Jim Davis has been very active in employingcomputer technology, and we've worked with thecourse in the past," said HASCS Director FranklinM. Steen. "It's a big class, so more people arebenefiting."

"I was just a guinea pig," Davis said.

Steen stressed that the ultimate goal is not toreplace traditional videotaping of classes butsimply to make the technology available to allinterested professors.

"We'd like to try a few more courses," he said."We don't go around and say, 'Hey, we've got greattechnology here, why don't you try it out?' It hasto be faculty-driven."

For their part, professors of large courses aredivided in support of the new technology.

"I'm definitely in favor of it. I'mpro-technology," said Warren Professor of AmericanLegal History Morton J. Horwitz, who teachesHistorical Studies B-61: "The Warren Court andthe Pursuit of Justice, 1953-1969."

But Porter University Professor Helen H.Vendler, instructor of Literature and ArtsA-22: "Poems, Poets, Poetry" said digitizedvideos are no substitute for human contact.

"If it was universal everyone would be stayinghome glued to their computer monitor," she said.

Vendler said she videotapes her lectures only"when a large number of people are going to beabsent for a legitimate reason."

But Chem 5 Head Administrative TeachingFellow Dennis M. Hausmann said students will notabandon traditional learning methods. "I thinkthat people realize that it's more beneficial toattend lecture," he said.

The new technology has also drawn positiveresponses from outside of the University. Hausmannsaid the lectures can be transmitted over astandard modem, making them available to anyonewith access to the Web.

"There's a dimension of globality," Hausmannsaid. "We've gotten e-mails from otheruniversities and people asking about ourresources. I think it's great.