At a time when computers are making less work for some people, Denise Krause finds herself laboring now more than ever with the integration of Web technology into her courses.

For her, this is a good thing.

The clinical assistant professor in the School of Social Work is putting almost triple the work into her classes these days with the addition of three interactive Web sites.

"It's not a time-saver by any means," she said, "but the payoff is seeing students integrate the material-it makes it more fun to teach."

The sites have become essential components of the students' learning experiences. There is one for Krause's graduate course, "Interventions with Children and Adolescents," taught in two sections that link through the Web site; another for a second graduate course, "Theories of Organizational Behavior and Development," that links three separate sections taught by three separate instructors, and a third for her undergraduate social-sciences course, "Child Mental Health."

Each site affords students the opportunity to engage in dialogue about educational and professional issues raised both in and out of class through a discussion board. On the "Intervention" site, students actually complete their final team project, a treatment plan, online. The students also complete labs online and stock the site with links relevant to the coursework. For example, a student working on a treatment plan for a child with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder can link an ADHD site to the course Web site, and any student in the class can use the link as a resource.

"There is a difference (in using the Web sites)-there's an energy around it, a greater interest in course material," she said. "There's so much out there, (and) this pushes them to know how to get to it."

The idea to facilitate coursework through a Web site came on the heels of a distance-learning course Krause taught in the fall of 1999 in which students were telecommunicating from Corning, Jamestown and Buffalo via three-way video.

"The students weren't connecting with each other," she said, a realization that prompted her to consider an alternative.

"If we could do a Web site," she said she thought at the time, "then students would be interactive with each other."

And so Krause met with Steve Sturman, an instructional designer in the School of Social Work, to create the site.

Working with faculty members to integrate technology into their classes, Sturman says his primary goal is to help instructors "give their students a learning experience they could not achieve in a traditional course."

Once a site is up and running, Sturman offers both instructional and technical support.

The site for the "Interventions" course-taught as both a distance-learning and on-campus course that requires students to collaborate online to create a comprehensive treatment plan for a problem associated with children or adolescents-debuted last summer. The site allows students to view one another's treatment plans throughout their development.

"Our thinking was, if students can access each others' (treatment plans), then they can give each other feedback," she said.

And for the distance-learning part, rather than individuals driving in from, say, Ripley, Jamestown and Rochester-which was the case this past summer-students met online and completed their treatment plans without ever sitting in the same room.

Krause's biggest undertaking yet will be next spring's "Interventions II" course, which will link via the Web seven sections of students-four at UB and one each from Corning, Jamestown and Rochester-all taught by different instructors.

While some might argue that working and communicating on the Web is impersonal and isolationist, Krause said the benefits of the sites-coupled with the traditional classroom format of face-to-face discussion-far outweigh the disadvantages.

"As they're connecting (via the Web site), they're getting more comfortable trusting each other," she said.

Despite the fact that students "miss out on the nonverbal" cues and "don't always work on conflict the same way" while conversing and working online, some students find the experience less anxiety-inducing, Krause said.

"Students tend to say things in writing that they wouldn't say in class," she said, noting that Web discussions have led to a more open dialogue in class-and Krause said she frequently carries over Web discussions into her regular classroom.

"There are so many layers to this," she said of the Web discussions and assignments, through which students relay personal work experience and broach topics such as ethical dilemmas and diversity. And because of the sensitive nature of what is discussed, the "Interventions" site, as well as the other two, are password-protected.

Krause said interaction and connectedness are extremely important in the social-work profession, and a tool such as the Web allows for greater conversation overall.

"Even with the extra work," she said, "I can't see myself teaching these courses without a Web site if the technology is available."