MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139-4307
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Paul Penfield, Jr., Head
Room 38-401
(617) 253-4601
Fax: (617) 258-7354
penfield @ mit.edu
Memorandum
October 20, 1994, 3:28 PM
From: Paul Pen^eld, Jr.
To: EECS Faculty
Subject: New Ad hoc Committee
As many of you know, on September 19 we held an off-campus retreat to
discuss use of new technologies for delivery of education. The emphasis was
on hypertext, CD-ROMs, hypermedia, and the World-Wide Web. This
meeting was organized by Dick Larson.
One outcome of that retreat is that the topic has caught the attention of the
central administration at MIT. An ad hoc committee has been formed, at the
request of the President, to recommend courses of action for MIT. I have
been asked to chair this committee. Other members are Hal Abelson and
Dick Larson from our department, and six other members of the MIT
community: Peter Donaldson, Literature; Greg Jackson, Information
Systems; Bob Jaffe, Physics (and Chair of the Faculty); Chris Kemerer, Sloan
School; Bill Mitchell, Dean of Architecture and Planning; and Tony Patera,
Mechanical Engineering.
This committee has chosen to call itself the committee on Education Via
Advanced Technologies, or EVAT. Please donUt tell me that you could have
chosen a better name.
I know many of you have an interest in these kinds of technologies. They
seem to be well suited for some aspects of teaching, and poorly suited for
others. The committee will try to understand these issues and recommend a
responsible course of action for MIT to follow. We hope to report and disband
by the end of the semester.
We would welcome ideas from the faculty and others. Please feel free to
contact me or any other member of the committee, especially if you are using
any of these technologies in your teaching today, or have plans or hopes to do
so.
Copies:
EVAT committee
C. M. Vest
M. S. Wrighton