In fact, Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 has previously expressed great concerns that distance learning initiatives might take up precious faculty time--time that would otherwise be devoted to students.

But Lewis said yesterday that he feels Harvard at Home does not pose such problems.

"I think it's terrific that we can let the broader world know in this way about some of the interesting things that go on here," he wrote in an e-mail.

Indeed, the Harvard at Home project may be a first step in adapting this technology of distance learning to Harvard's needs.

Although the site is currently available only to alumni and those guests who contact Harvard at Home to request permission for access, Steen did not rule out the possibility of a more widespread distance learning initiative.

"There's nothing to say that down the road we wouldn't consider opening this up to a wider audience," Steen said.

Harvard at Home was established through a collaborative effort on the part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Information Technology Committee, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Instructional Computing Group, Harvard Magazine and the Harvard Alumni Association. The program is being funded by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and the Provost's Technology Innovation Fund.