USS Bits and Bytes - Electronic Newsletter of the Miami University's Undergraduate Summer Scholars Program (USS)

Vol. 1, #1, August 22, 1997

Travel Writing and Hypertext: Exploring Ways for College Students to Have Intellectual Experiences from Financially Feasible Travel
Summer 1997 project of Amy Cockerill under the mentorship of Dr. Christopher R. Wolfe, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies

Amy Cockerill In 1872, Jules Verne's protagonist Phileas Fogg boasted he would travel around the world in eighty days, and few believed him. Today, as Concorde transverses the Atlantic in under four hours, speed is less a concern to travelers than the plane's five thousand dollar price tag. Cost is of prime concern to cash-poor college students and no one knows this better than interdisciplinary studies major Amy Cockerill. This summer, Amy spent five and a half weeks traveling in Europe on a budget of roughly twenty-five hundred dollars round trip. When she returned, she utilized photographs and her personal journal to create an on-line resource for students interested in travel.

In designing her project with Dr. Christopher Wolfe, Amy chose to focus on careful preparation as the most primary element to a successful trip. With planning, Amy was able to visit London, England; Glasgow, Poland; Edinburgh, Scotland; Ireland; Paris, France; Amsterdam, Netherlands; Berlin, Germany; Slovenia; Italy and Spain in little over a month. Although traveling alone, she roomed with host families usually one night of her stay in a city. Prior to traveling, she contacted these families through an organization known as SERVAS which which connects a person to host families for up to two day stays in cities and countries throughout Europe. In recommending the organization to other students, Amy emphasizes that its focus is to promote peace between peoples and not to provide inexpensive housing for tourists. While she enjoyed staying with families, she also spent nights alone or with friends in order to absorb the night life and youth culture in the cities.

After returning home, Amy again relied on her planning skills for the successful completion of her website. Information she researched and used for her own travel appears as links and references in her site. As a planning tool, Amy's pages do not attempt to provide information on eating and accommodations as better discussed by the popular Let's Go! travel series. On the contrary, they provide a brief glimpse into the history of cities and countries Amy visited as well as profiles of her own favorite sights. With students in mind, the site also provides travel tips and some e-mail addresses of veteran travelers willing provide travel advice.

Planning for a trip, especially to a foreign country, provides students with background information on cities and countries. It also helps preclude any delays and unexpected obstacles or in the very least, it reduces them. As Amy learned in Madrid, Spain, negative experiences can color the perception of an entire city. Thus, Amy urges students to look at least one step ahead of their next destination even if time is limited. In fact, the characteristics of the World Wide Web make it possible for students to begin planning with a click of the mouse.

While Amy enjoyed her time abroad this summer, completing her project in the computer lab was no less significant. In the past, she worked for both the Dayton Daily News and in the public relations department of an arts organization. She feels that her journalism skills, including her interest in feature writing, are applicable to designing and maintaining websites and intends to pursue this line of interest in her career. She feels the World Wide Web will become more and more important in the future. After all, utilizing the Web, it is possible to travel around the world in a matter of seconds.

Amy Cockerill is one of 120 Miami University undergraduates who participated in the 1997 Undergraduate Summer Scholars (USS) Program. This University program is an initiative aimed at heightening the intellectual challenge of the learning environment at Miami University. This program enables Miami undergraduates to do research or other creative activities in the summer under the supervision of faculty.

In 1997, some of the USS activities were supported by a National Science Foundation Grant to Miami University entitled "Creating a Research-Rich Curriculum: A Model for Lifelong and Continuous Learning" (DUE-9652063, Dr. J.A. Czaja, PI). This funding was provided under the NSF Division of Undergraduate Education's program on Institution-Wide Reform of Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology.

Summary and Photo by Cindy (Cynthia) Bubb, a Mass Communication major with a minor in Marketing, Miami University class of 1998.