LESSONS FROM THE WEB

Today's law students grew up immersed in digital media for entertainment, communication, and shopping. Tomorrow's lawyers will work in a powerful information culture. Increasingly students will demand that institutions of higher education provide technology-rich learning environments. This article discusses the technology-infused curriculum of the Advanced Legal Research (ALR) course at the University of Denver College of Law. All components of the e-curriculum may be viewed at the ALR course web page except the web-based quiz review game.

There are many compelling reasons to incorporate technology into teaching, but the primary impetus for me was the ability to hypertext link to the rich content available on the web in my subject area. Once the decision was made to create a course web page containing these links, the challenge became how to permeate my curriculum with this new instructional medium.

I determined that in addition to posting the Syllabus and Assignment documents, I would provide the outlines of my lectures and integrate links to the various research web sites I wished to introduce to my students. On the first day of class, I demonstrate several note taking strategies. I suggest students either use the site to print the outlines and write notes on the hard copy, or copy the outlines into a Word document and type notes into them.

With linked outlines, the course content becomes interactive. The class is taught in the Computer Learning Center so that each student can work at a computer. During class, we can move from lecture to experiential learning in one click. Together we explore numerous sources of information, and discuss their relative benefits and potential risks. Students use their research topic to investigate a variety of online research sites.

The web is widely hailed as an environment of both user and creator. In today's job market, possessing advanced technology skills may be what differentiates one candidate from another. Therefore, I require my students to produce their first project in PowerPoint presentation software and their second project in FrontPage web authoring software. FrontPage is not my favorite software for creating web pages, however it is the one for which the University is licensed. Students create an online portfolio of their legal work, which they can use as a web marketing tool. They incorporate their first project, their resume, writing samples, and any other documentation they wish to use in their portfolios. The portfolios are posted on the University server until 6 months after graduation. Students who seek to maintain their sites after this time period can obtain a CD to transfer their work to their home or office computer.

My next consideration was course assessment. I developed three web surveys for students that go directly into my email. The initial survey is completed on the first day of class. This helps me get to know my students and evaluate their research and technology experience. The other surveys are completed after each of the projects. I evaluate how the course is progressing for students and how they perceive their learning experience. Despite the lack of anonymity, students are surprisingly candid in their responses.

At the end of the course, students must take a quiz on course content. I play web-based Legal Research Jeopardy with my students to review course content and assist them in preparing for the quiz. This page was developed with a technology specialist before I learned web authoring. I currently maintain the page as course content is updated. This is a rousing session where students earn a piece of chocolate for a correct answer and prizes at the end of the game including slightly outdated library books.

The ALR Course, offered at the University of Denver for five years, has enhanced the legal research, technology, and analytical skills of 621 law students. ALR is uniquely positioned to provide a number of critical skills necessary for success in law practice: information literacy, digital literacy, and critical thinking skills.

Information literacy

Prior to any argument made in a brief or before the court, a lawyer must find all the mandatory and persuasive authority that exists on the issue at hand. Information currently resides in a number of formats: print; commercial online services; and free Internet sites. A cost-effective legal researcher learns to appreciate the relative benefits of information in each of these formats, develops the skills to work easily in each, and blends the results seamlessly into his/her argument.

Digital literacy

The ALR course is taught in a technology-rich learning environment. The ALR E-Curriculum is innovative, interactive, and paperless. Students work in an Internet environment during each class session. In law practice today, presentation software skills are critical for presentations to juries, boards of directors, and potential clients. Web authoring skills are highly valued. Most legal employers maintain a web site for marketing their business. Lawyers who understand web authoring can either create and maintain their own sites or work more easily with those with whom they contract to do the work.

Critical thinking skills

For each research problem they encounter, lawyers need to create a research strategy for completion of that project. Research strategies include selection of the appropriate research tools to find an answer, an understanding of the time it will take to do the work, and a clear idea of the cost involved with the research. Comprehensive coverage of legal research resources, strong focus on developing research strategies, and exposure to legal publishers and pricing are covered in the ALR course.

A technology-infused curriculum works for me and my students for a number of reasons. Most of my students use the computer regularly for a variety of tasks. They use browsers to locate information and to learn in informal ways. The availability of course information on the web is very helpful when the paper copy of the syllabus is misplaced.

We all wish our students would spend more time with course content. The interactive nature of the class sessions addresses visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles. This format is engaging and assists students in attending to the subject. The course web page was designed with two goals in mind: as a pedagogical tool to guide students through content; and as a reference for use by students after completion of the course. The collection and organization of research links can serve alumni as they enter into law practice as well.

The professional world has become largely an environment of managing knowledge and using technology that can make tasks easier. Students have a unique opportunity to learn and use advanced technology skills in their performances for the course. These skills are desired by employers and set my students apart from their competition. Most importantly, students depart the course with a useful marketing tool in the form of an online portfolio of work.

The notions of incorporating personal choice and relevant assignments are well-known in adult learning theory. Students select their research topic and pursue it through both projects. The ability to perform legal research is a fundamental lawyering skill. The use of technology allows for creativity not experienced in many other areas of law school. One of my students described it as "unparalleled liberty" in completing his first project. The development of a functional product at the completion of the course is highly valued by most of my students.

I have been teaching with this technology rich e-curriculum since January of 2000. My teaching evaluations reveal that the students recognize the value of my efforts and enjoy learning in this way. Former students report their appreciation of the entire skill set gained in the course. A number of them are creating and maintaining law firm web sites. This comment comes from a student survey this spring after completion of the first project.

"The pure cybernetic or interactive process of education offered by Professor Austin is excellent and comparable to the Oxford Tutorial method of learning. This method I think brings out the best attributes of the educational experience."

The future holds a number of objectives for the course. I have recently discovered cascading style sheets and plan to overhaul the visual look of the web site late this spring. This summer I will take a course on Flash with the goal of creating interactive review exercises for each unit of content in the class. The College of Law will institute a laptop requirement commencing in the fall of 2004. As soon as those students are in their 3^rdyear, the time when they usually take this elective class, I can require them to purchase Macromedia's Dreamweaver for web authoring. Students will develop their web portfolios on their own machines and have permanent access to the web development software. The use of technology energizes course content that some students perceive as dry. I continue to look for ways to innovate my teaching and provide a cutting edge learning environment for my students.

JURIST's Lessons from the Web series is edited by Professor Patrick Wiseman, Georgia State University College of Law.

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JURIST welcomes your comments on this column and the issues it raises...

• Wednesday May 07, 2003 at 6:11 pm
  Debra, well done.
  
  Lawton Nuss
  KS, USA

• Thursday May 15, 2003 at 4:41 pm
  For poor universities,professors and students, such is the case for most part in Bolivia's law university system, a similar kind of teaching as the one you describe I think would be certainly very positive, if it could be put in practice.
  
  Ramiro Arze
  International Law professor at U. San Simon
  Cochabamba,Bolivia

• Tuesday June 24, 2003 at 11:31 pm
  Thank God for people like you. I have been searching the world wide web for a program such as the one you are implementing. God Bless You & I will continue to stay on top of this endeavor.
  
  Christine J Coleman
  Florida/USA

• Wednesday July 02, 2003 at 6:02 am
  From an Indian perspective this is an eye opener to the possibilities of IT in learning.Unfortunately the sort of investment required for the technology rich environment you speak about may not be available in this part of the globe, atleast in the near future.
  
  Biju P.Mani
  Marian College Kuttikkanam.
  India

• Thursday July 10, 2003 at 7:48 am
  No more comment but know more about your education.
  
  Faseeyin Bosede
  student
  Ekiti Nigeria

• Wednesday July 23, 2003 at 8:12 am
  this site is truely great
  
  oyesanmi emmanuel james
  student, university of benin
  Benin city , Nigeria

• Monday September 08, 2003 at 5:16 am
  Good stuff Debra. I expecially liked the distinctions between information literacy, digital literacy and critical thinking. Whilst the big 3 are usually (hopefully?) combined in situ, my sense is that the digital tends to crowd out the other pair. Hope you get a budget for the chocolate! Best wishes, Bill.
  
  Bill Johnston
  University of Strathlcyde, Centre for Academic Practice, Glasgow,
  Scotland.

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