Jay P. Kesan
Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Assistant Professor of Law, University of Illinois
kesan@uiuc.edu
(217)333-7887

Broadly speaking, the use of information technology in legal education can be divided into two categories.

One category involves taking advantage of the electronic medium and providing information that is otherwise available in paper format in electronic form online. Course web pages that post assignments and syllabi, course management software and the like fall in this category. In these applications, the convenience and efficiency of having all the required information in electronic form is a significant advantage that is readily appreciated by students.

The second category involves using information technology to alter or enhance the pedagogical experience. A few examples in this category are live chat rooms in class, online course reviews, online quizzes, threaded discussion groups, electronic commons, and the like. These techniques can be employed to improve the student’s ability to absorb the materials, to enhance student participation by reducing communication barriers, and to improve the overall learning experience. Some of the techniques employed in this category are also those that require more faculty effort, but they are also likely to meet the most resistance from students and faculty.

In this talk, I will present examples from both categories and discuss what I have learned from using these techniques in class, including overall student participation and student and faculty feedback.