Being connected to the Internet is a necessity for many students and a way to help teach for many professors.

“The Internet is something that is everywhere and is one of those things that if you do not have it, you are way behind the times,” said Sam Umbach, freshman in metallurgical engineering. “It is one of the those things that everybody knows about and how important it is.”

Iowa State is on the ball when it comes to utilizing the Internet, said Diana Pounds, manager of Internal Communications.

“Information technology is becoming very important to the way this world works, and our students need to see how these things work and how to use them so the technology they learn can be used in the future,” Pounds said.

Many professors are putting class information online, including syllabi and previous exams, Pounds said.

“I think using the Web is a good way to utilize all of the vast information,” said Robert Cody, associate professor of geology. He said the Internet is a good tool for education.

“It is a good way to communicate with the students and help them in their studies by putting Internet homework assignments, old exams and other informational links [on the Web],” he said.

Cody said faculty members in the geology department have been using the Web for educational purposes for the past three or four years.

Jeremy McKinley, student communications consultant and senior in business, said it is vital for college students to use the Net.

“Basically, students need Internet connections because a lot of the classes and courses have Web pages that have information about the course,” McKinley said.

The Internet has also helped the university get information out easily, Pounds said.

“There is a lot of Web page activity here at Iowa State,” she said. “We have found that it is a very good thing to reach out to our students and people around the country.”

ISU has taken many steps to get students more connected by offering Internet software through the university, McKinley said.

“We a see a lot of hardware sales but not very much Internet software because of the free download available to students,” McKinley said. “Internet software can be downloaded from the [Computation] Center’s home page or off of a CD from the center. By having the software free, it creates a uniform package for the software, which allows us more ability for support.”