"Use of Electronic Communication, Including Mail, a Bulletin Board and "Chat' Utility in a Medical Biochemistry Course."

James Baggott, Ph.D.
Andrew Brennan, M.S.
Paul Keenan
John J. Murphy
Carol H. Fenichel, Ph.D.
Hahnemann University
School of Medicine
Dept. of Biological Chemistry
MS 411 Broad & Vine St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102

This is the first year that all students taking Medical Biochemistry (including all first year medical students) have had accounts on the Hahnemann Automated Library (HAL) system. HAL includes access to an integrated library system, MEDLINE, other databases, intramural email and the Internet. We have encouraged use of this system to facilitate communication related to the Medical Biochemistry course in three ways. 1) Faculty email addresses have been published in the course manual, and the students have been encouraged to contact faculty in this manner. 2) A Biochemistry bulletin board has been established to serve as a forum for exchange of ideas of general interest to students in the course. 3) The course director has established weekly electronic office hours, a period when he is on line, and students may contact him in real time (by modem from home, if they wish) to receive immediate responses to their queries.

Student use of these resources has been in proportion to their perceived usefulness in passing the course. A popular feature has been the electronic bulletin board, where the course director posts explanations of

the questions on the weekly quizzes. Students use email to communicate with the faculty regularly to ask questions about course content and to request appointments for in-person meetings. Answering questions by email has been especially popular with those faculty with large research commitments, as it allows them to meet their obligations to students at times convenient to themselves.