The University of Houston, has sought to create learning environments that will promote:

• active learning and critical thinking
• student-faculty interaction and experimentation with innovative forms of teaching
• appropriate to diverse learning styles

Many of these objectives are demonstrated on Director, Steven Mintz's homepage.

One of the primary goals of this center has been to create classrooms appropriate to the 21st century. Combining resources from the NEH and from the University of Houston, they have:

• Installed a Multimedia Console in the 600-seat auditorium which includes an LCD projector, a visual presenter, a laserdisc player, and a VCR, which allow faculty members in state-mandated and core curriculum history courses to incorporate audio and visual resources into their lectures.
• Developed the university's first computer-equipped smart classroom, which will contain 25 networked-PCs. Upon its opening in the fall, this classroom will be used with special retention sections of the U.S. survey course aimed at at-risk students; with a Department of Labor program designed to assist the transition to college of at-rist students from neighboring high schools; and to provide interactive software for sutdnts in our core U.S., Western Civilization, and World History survey classes.

Distance Learning:

• Began development of supplementary materials on the World Wide Web, including databases, lecture outlines, and other materials designed to promote student learning.
• Began their first on-line course offerings on "The History of Private Life," which includes extensive "screen shows" and on-line resources, as well as a class listserv.