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In times of financial restrictions, the demand for more efficiency and effectiveness in the higher education system is often connected to the potential of tele-supported university teaching. At the Institute of Law and Computer Sciences of the Saarland University, international online courses have been offered regularly since 1996. The didactic concept is communication-oriented and is based to a vast extent on discussions and group work via the exchange of electronic messages through the World Wide Web. Technical specialties, like an extensive media integration, were not incorporated and the programming was reduced to a necessary medium. Nonetheless, a vast investment of time during the development and the realization of such online courses had to be noticed mainly due to organizational and support activities. This paper looks at the design of an online learning environment, focusing on the collaborative aspects, both from an educator's viewpoint and from a student's viewpoint. The design is based on socially constructed needs with flexibility as a main concern. (Contains 10 references.) (AEF)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert