Using Websites and Listservs to Distribute 
Information and Enhance Communication


at the


University of Wisconsin-Madison


prepared for


The Institute on Learning Technology


part of the


 


Spring 2001

This quicklook also is available from the
Learning Through Technology web site,
http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/ilt/


Using Websites and Listservs to Distribute Information and 
Enhance Communication


Barbara Anderegg
Instructor
Technical and Industrial Division
Madison Area Technical College
Madison, Wisconsin
banderegg@madison.tec.wi.us


Why use technology?
I started a listserv and a Website as part of a much larger project, a series of two 
summer metrology institutes designed to introduce K-12, two-year college, and four-year 
college instructors to the field and opportunities of metrology. The goal for the Website 
was to keep people informed about the project and to distribute materialsÑfor this 
purpose the Website was and continues to be extremely valuable. As for the listserv, we 
hoped that it would help the close groups that formed during the summer institutes to 
continue to network and exchange ideas once the institutes were over. But it didnÕt really 
work out that wayÑthe listserv was a very small part of the project, and IÕll tell you right 
now it was a rather unsuccessful part.

If you are connected to the Internet, chances are you belong to one or more professional 
listservs. These are not just on-line "chat rooms"Ñwhen theyÕre done right, they can be 
very helpful for staying current in your field and learning about job opportunities, 
conferences, and new resources; for sharing experiences and getting feedback; and for 
finding help from your colleagues with a question or problem. IÕm on a couple of listservs 
myself, and I recruited a lot of people for the institutes over the engineering listserv I 
belong to. But except for a flurry of use right after one of the institutes, or in late January 
when we had our follow-up meetings, I think people were pretty much burned out and 
didnÕt want any more information. IÕm developing ways for the work we did to be carried 
on, however, and it could very well be that in the future weÕll use the listserv again. 

The entire project was based here at Madison Area Technical College (MATC), which 
still supports our Website. MATC, as both a technical and a community college, serves 
about 50,000 people each year and is the second largest institution in the Wisconsin 
Technical College System. MATC awards associate degrees, technical diplomas, 
technical certificates, and offers an extensive selection of classes in liberal studies that 
transfer to four-year universities and colleges. We offer training for over 100 careers, 
such as biotechnology, machining, police science, welding, accounting, and computer 
networking. Besides hosting the institutes, MATC also made available its state-of-the-art 
metrology equipment in its laboratory.


What is metrology?
Metrology, the science of measurement, covers every kind of measurement you can 
imagineÑweight, length, volume, time, flatness, parallelismÑand runs through all 
industries: manufacturing, biotechnology, electronics, and so on. My field is dimensional 
metrology: basically, linear measurements. In ancient Egypt, the standard of length was 
a black granite cubit that was originally based on the length of the PharaohÕs forearm 
(about 18 inches). Today the length standard, used by everyone around the world, is the 
distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. Flatness and parallelism 
are measured down to millionths of an inch; when youÕre measuring something that 
small, everything has to be right.

Metrology is extremely important to major industries and to the science and technology 
communitiesÑand growing even more so on a global scale. Metrology provides a 
common "language" to mature industries (automobile, steel, chemical processing) and 
emerging ones (nanotechnology, microwave communications).  Precise global standards 
of measurement make it possible for a company to build a machine in Australia, with 
some parts coming from here in the United States and some parts coming from New 
Zealand.  We all measure against the same standard so that when we ship the parts to 
Australia, they all fit together. Many corporations wonÕt deal with a company unless it can 
meet ISO international standards that require manufacturers to calibrate and document 
their use of measuring tools. 


The project
We developed and conducted two weeklong summer metrology institutes that brought 
together K-12, two-year and four-year college science, mathematics, and technology 
instructors to learn about the career opportunities in metrology and pass them along to 
their students.  These institutes and the work described in these vignettes were actually 
part of our second National Science Foundation grant, "Measure Up: Dimensional 
Metrology and ISO 9001."  The first grant, "Advanced Dimensional Metrology and ISO 
9001," also featured a summer institute and laid the groundwork for the work described 
here.  For more information about the project, visit our Website: 
http://www.madison.tec.wi.us/is/aati/machinetool/nsfgrant/


The strategy
We created this project to address a major problem in engineering education: recruiting 
people. Employers need high-caliber, trained workers for increasingly technological jobs 
in the manufacturing industries. This is especially true in metrology. We want to let 
people know this is a fascinating field to work in. 

We also created and worked with a network of educators, including the University of 
Wisconsin, and industry representatives that included major corporations such as Ford 
Motor Company. The goal of the summer institutes was to let K-12, two-year college, 
and four-year college teachers interact with metrology experts, work hands-on in our 
metrology laboratory, develop metrology modules, and take home and use a kit 
containing some basic metrology measuring instruments. We wanted them to have 
fresh, practical metrology examples straight from industry to use when they teach 
science and mathematics. I think the easiest way to learn math and science is to learn 
their real-world applicationsÑthen you want to know the theory of it. ItÕs more interesting 
to let the application drive the theory. 

Both the Website and the listserv were written into the grant, to provide instructional and 
outreach support to the institutes. For each institute, the participants heard presentations 
from experts and then adapted the material they had heard into curriculum modules for 
their own use. Each institute produced five modules, written by the participants. These 
curriculum modulesÑcovering topics such as "Precision Metric and Imperial 
Measurements," "Statistical Process Control," "Level vs. Flat"Ñthen went up on the 
Website for anyone to download and incorporate into their classes. 

As part of the grant, we funded a graduate student of one of the co-investigators at 50-
percent time to develop the Website. He was very computer literate and built the 
Website by writing all the HTML code for the pages, graphics, links, etc. Our co-
investigator uploaded the modules to the Website. I continue to manage the Website, at 
first going by the "cookbook" instructions that our Webmaster and my co-investigator 
gave me. They gave me a copy of the software program WS_FTP to update the 
Website. I changed names and photos when I needed to and once in a while deleted a 
page. Now I use Dreamweaver software to update the Website.  IÕve had extensive help 
from the computer information staff at MATC. 

MATC also supported our listserv. They already had a number of listservs up and 
running; we asked them to set one up for us, and we just logged on. And I didnÕt really 
have to do anything except help people log on, which each person did by sending an e-
mail to the listserv support server, typing in "subscribe" and his or her name. Once the 
listserv was up, I also took the responsibility for managing it.  At its height, we had 
enrolled 25 to 30 people.

Note: If youÕre writing a grant to support a project that involves using technology, make 
sure you include funding for someone who knows his or her way around computers.


The learning technology
Website Development: Although I originally used WS_FTP to support our Website, now 
there are software packages like Dreamweaver and Front Page that make it much easier 
to create and support a website.  I recommend taking a class in Website development.

For more information on Website development, here are two sites that can help: 
http://www.usanol.com/resources.htm, and http://www.li.net/~ndonohue/webpage.html.

Listserv Development: Because I wasnÕt directly involved in setting up a listserv, I donÕt 
feel qualified to recommend any particular software or service. You can set up a 
listservÑor mailing list, as theyÕre also knownÑin a variety of ways, choosing from a 
number of different applications to support the listserv. Basically, you need a server, a 
mailing list software program, and someone to mange the list. Start with your schoolÕs 
Information Technology support people; if you want more information, two sites that 
have a lot of information are: http://www.livinginternet.com and 
http://catalog.com/vivian/mailing-list-software.html.


The funding
My co-investigators and I received two grants for our project from the National Science 
Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education, Advanced Technology Education 
(DUE-ATE). To get more information, start at the NSF Website: http://www.nsf.gov.


The results
We just loved the Website; it came in so handy for letting people know about the project 
and for distributing the modules. I never had to put materials into a package and send 
them to anybody. All I ever had to do was give the URL for the project. People said, "IÕd 
like to know more about your institutes," and I said, "HereÕs the URL."  ThatÕs it. By 
accessing the URL, they could get all the materials we generated for all three of our 
institutes. ItÕs such an easy way to transmit information.

The listserv was another story. IÕve concluded that the manager of the listserv needs to 
keep the discussion going by regularly providing helpful information or posing good 
questions or topics for discussion. Some listserv managers post weekly "e-newsletters," 
digests of information, or book reviews, for example.  I did what I could, but since I was 
also teaching, I wasnÕt able to give the listserv the attention it needed. ThereÕs a natural 
ebb and flow of discussion and the manager needs to be ready to jump in if the list falls 
silent for a while. Also subscribers can get burned out if there is irrelevant information 
and discussion.

If you have any questions about our Website, the listserv, or about metrology, you can 
contact me at: banderegg@madison.tec.wi.us

LINKS
MATC: 
http://www.madison.tec.wi.us/
MATC workshop:
http://www.madison.tec.wi.us/is/atti/machinetool/nsfgrant/
Dreamweaver:
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/
FrontPage:
http://www.microsoft.com/frontpage/
E-mail List Management Software: 
http://catalog.com/vivian/mailing-list-software.html