by Paul Coates, The Journal {MRC campus paper}, December 8, 1993. Page 5

Some day students may graduate without ever having attended a single class.

That is if they have a home computer equipped with a telephone modem.

Environmental Technology instructor Ray Sloan is using a computer bulletin board system, or BBS, this semester to deliver class notes to his students.

“It really makes teaching more productive,” Sloan said.

‘The bulletin board system saves student note taking. Students are able to think and discuss concepts in class.”

Students in three of Sloan’s courses can access the class notes and other information by phoning the college and hooking up their home computer to the BBS computer in the Biological Sciences Department.
This means a student can access the notes 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The bulletin board system is like a giant electronic mail program. Students can get weekly class notes prepared by the instructor. They can see previous tests and exams. They can leave messages for the instructor, receive answers or chat with other system users.

First-year student Tammy Mather says she likes the BBS system.

“It’s convenient to log-on and download the class notes from home.”

“I keep the notes on a floppy disk and produce hard-copy notes that I can study from.”

“It’s more relevant to learning the subject in class. You’re not trying to frantically jot down notes.”
A student who does not have a home computer can get the notes on floppy disk or hard copy from Resource Island B.

About 10 to 15 per cent of Sloan’s students are taking advantage of the new system. Students can use any type of home computer to access the notes.

“BBS’s are the fastest growing areas in business for problem solving,” Dennis Leask, Biological Sciences instructor, said, “This is the first stage to a worldwide communications link.”

Sloan says that this type of system can open new areas of profit for Mount Royal in the areas of distance delivered education, information and seminars.