Web Cafe

One of the three classes I'm taking this semester is outside my
program. It's a Wharton class and it's in Wharton's building. Having
graduated from Wharton undergrad, albeit over ten years ago, you'd
think I'd be at least somewhat oriented. But I still feel like a bit
of an outsider, or perhaps freshman is more accurate. For example,
the class list has been passed around at the beginning of every class.
I didn't realize the prof was using it to take attendance, so when I
didn't initial next to my name for the first three classes, I almost
got dropped from the course!

One nice wrinkle to Wharton classes is access to Web Café. Each class
has a space on Web Café, where assignments are housed and people can
post articles and other musings. Since the class has already spurred
me to post four entries on my blog in the first two weeks, I decided
to cross-post them on Web Café as well – some as new discussions and
some as contributions to ongoing ones.

While our prof certainly encourages us to use the site, it occurs to
me that Web Café ought to be more required for classes. After all,
there's only so much you can get out of three hours a week of class,
no matter how thorough the lectures are and no matter how stimulating
the discussions are. The most effective way many people gain a deeper
understanding of a topic is to have dialogue around it, especially as
it relates to real-world issues and recent articles. What better
mechanism than something like a Web Café to post musings, have
arguments, and learn from one another?