Katie Sullivan, Environmental, Earth and Ocean Science, 3rd year.

Almost three years ago, when I started at Umass Boston, using the internet as a way of communicating with my professors as well as keeping up to date with other school related issues, seemed completely foreign to me. Coming from a small, all girls catholic school where purchasing six Gateway laptops during the final months of my senior year, was a huge investment that involved articles in our school newsletter as well as acknowledgement at all school events afterwards.
So when a professor announced my second semester that the syllabus as well as the Powerpoint presentations would be posted on WebCT, I was not exactly sure how to react, but I soon realized this would be an excellent resource and one that I have come to rely on. With WebCT, a professor using Powerpoint presentations in lectures can post the slides either before class so students can print them out to take notes on during the lecture, or after class as a review of what was discussed in lecture. Either way, when a test rolls around, there are all of the powerpoint slides for you, which can make an excellent study guide. And coming from an environmentalist's point of view, posting syllabi, study guides, notes, slides, etc. online can save a lot of paper.
WebCT also makes it possible for students to take a class online, with the option of being at any location, as long as there is a computer with internet access. Over the winter intercession, I decided to take a course to get a little ahead; however, since I spend 2/3 of my time in Boston for school, I was not ready to sacrifice going home to see my family. An online class was the perfect solution, I could be away from Boston and still take a course. With the chatroom option as well as the forum and mail options, I could communicate with my professor and my classmates without ever feeling like I was losing anything by taking the course online.
Besides WebCT, my Wiser account is another online service that I could not live without. Basically, it allows me to have most of my questions answered without having to step foot in the long line at the One Stop Shop. With Wiser, I can manage my classes, Add/Drop/Changing to Pass/Fall, check my grades, check my exam schedule, access to my Degree Audit so I know what classes I should take and be prepared when I meet with my advisor, as well as checking on my finances and I am notified on the welcome page if there are any Holds I need to take care of. Basically, I go to my Wiser account for everything before braving any administrative offices.
When I graduated high school, I never thought I would rely on the internet for school related affairs, but if it wasn't for WebCT and Wiser I would have a lot more headaches from the One Stop Shop and I would be handing out pamphlets about recycling all the paper we receive in the classroom. But with any website, there are possibilities of internet problems so it is good not to wait to the last minute, just in case.