This fall, the University is offering its first course over the

Internet using video and audio delivery of lectures.

This graduate-level course, CSCI E-131B, Communication Protocols and Internet Architectures, is offered through the Extension School and will be taught by Len Evenchik. Weekly lectures from the course will be recorded and made available to enrolled students over the Internet using new Internet video technology. The lectures can be seen on demand by using an Internet Web browser. Additional multimedia and Internet Web technology will be used to interact with the professor and for working on exams, class projects, and homework assignments.

The course Web site currently includes two abbreviated lectures with video and related multimedia material to demonstrate the technology. The URL for the site is http://lab.dce.harvard.edu/extension/cscie131b.

Extending the course to the Internet means that students who are unable to commute to Cambridge and who have access to the Web can enroll in the course, or students who miss a lecture can see it at their convenience. For industries where continuing education is critical for success, particularly in the fields of communications, computers, and software development, future Extension School courses now can be made available to them.

Michael Shinagel, Dean of Continuing Education, said, "Today, students come to Harvard for Extension School courses from hundreds of communities throughout the region and over 30 countries. Using the Internet to teach this course will help us understand how we can use technology to allow a larger community of students access to a quality learning experience at Harvard."

According to instructor Evenchik, "The Internet has been a major part of my lectures for many years, and I look forward to using the technology itself to make the course available to many more students."

Often described as Harvard's "best-kept secret," the Extension School has an 88-year history of offering part-time study in the evenings on an open-enrollment basis. More than 13,000 students enroll annually for nearly 600 noncredit, undergraduate, or graduate courses in more than 50 fields. The Extension School also offers two undergraduate degrees, a master of liberal arts degree, five graduate certificates, and computer-based distance learning courses in mathematics.

CSCI E-131B Communication Protocols and Internet Architectures is available for graduate credit ($1,150) and noncredit ($950). Catalogues are available 24 hours per day at 51 Brattle St.; by calling 495-3662; or at the Extension School Web site at http://extension.dce.harvard.edu.

For further information contact Len Evenchik, 496-6021, evenchik@fas.harvard.edu or Henry Leitner, senior lecturer on computer science, Division of Applied Sciences, and director of Academic Computing, Harvard University Division of Continuing Education, 495-9096, leitner@husc.harvard.edu.