So many hopes hang on the possibilities for change, one wonders how that peg of longing keeps from breaking off the wall of human consciousness. Some things do not seem to change and resistance to change, one hears it argued, has a healthy influence on what eventually happens. At the moment, teaching and learning look up at a tidal wave called technology, knowing it will change the landscape--indeed, that it already has--and wondering with some irritation and some fear what the change means and whether it is a good thing. This issue of the Forum will offer encouragement to skeptics and advocates of technology alike by doing what we like to do best--highlighting the high, common ground where fundamental values endure and improvement can always be made.

The Forum receives more books than we have staff to review, and reviews per se have never been a big part of what we do. At times, however, a book or article or piece of software demands attention. Robert Boice's First Principles cited by Craig Nelson in his CARNEGIE CHRONICLE in this issue was one such (cf. V6 N4). George Collison, et al.'s Facilitating Online Learning is another. In a way, the story and sidebar on Facilitating Online Learning bridge the divide between the positions found in the rest of the issue's contents. The Collison, et al., book is about teaching online, and yet on a more basic level, it's about teaching anywhere, anytime. It isn't concerned with technology. It's concerned with the strategies of communication that lead to learning.

Skeptical reactions to the adoption of new technologies in teaching range from the neo-Luddite, which I received in response to an inquiry about technology adoption in my old department--I was told, "We're satisfied with books, thank you"--to the University of Phoenix recently profiled on 60 Minutes where they're looking forward to turning teachers into holograms. Tom Rocklin's TECHPED column takes a more reasonable approach to the critical questions we all need to put before the avalanche of hype. Look for an expanded colloquy in response to Tom's column under Supplemental Materials on the Forum's Web site (www.ntlf.com). (You'll also find Chapter 7 on Critical-Thinking Strategies from the Collison, et al., book there.)

Back in the average classroom, teachers continue to wrestle with such mundane problems as getting students to come to class prepared and helping them learn to study for exams. We'll address the preparation problem in our next issue. Meanwhile, in these pages Sally Sommers Smith offers some practical advice on coaching students in how to study effectively for exams and spend less time doing it.

Craig Nelson's CARNEGIE CHRONICLE examines the challenge of moving from "good enough" to "better than that." The books that are helping him in his quest to have his teaching make a lasting difference in students' lives offer a well-vetted reading list for all teachers restless and ready to get even better at what they do.

Finally, faculty have always known that teaching was hard work. Linc. Fisch's AD REM . . . on "Warming Up" highlights its physical aspect, our need to limber up before taking on a class. In a way, Linc.'s piece takes us back to Facilitating Online Learning. Linc. compares getting ready to meet a class to an actor preparing to go on stage or a singer warming up before a concert. Collison, et al., as you'll discover, see effective teaching as a kind of effective casting, sending the best persona into the drama of teaching and learning as they unfold. It's improvisational to be sure, but as Linc. points out, preparation has many dimensions.