Beginning this month, visitors to Cornell's CyberTower Web site will find more videos and a new section featuring easily digestible samples of Cornell research and scholarship.

CyberTower, launched 10 years ago by Cornell's Adult University (CAU), is targeted at anyone interested in Cornell scholarship, but especially alumni and prospective and entering students and their families.

"This is an ongoing experiment," said Ralph Janis, director emeritus of CAU, "to find ways to bring all parts of the university community closer to the faculty."

The site, http://www.CyberTower.cornell.edu, includes "Study Rooms" that amount to free virtual courses in everything from engineering to ornithology, immigration to astronomy, each led by one or more faculty members. The "Forum" section offers a monthly one-on-one interview by Glenn Altschuler, dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, with a faculty member. This month the guest is President David Skorton, discussing Cornell's future. A new section, "Tower Topics," offers short videos with links to more detailed background. "We want to put out more material and decided that in some cases shorter is better," Janis explained.

Previous CyberTower courses, forums and interviews are still accessible in a "CyberTower Classic" section.

The revamping of the site follows a user survey last summer. In particular, users asked for easier navigation -- fewer clicks to get where you want to go -- and higher-quality video. "We made it so video would be prominent," said Clare Van Den Blink, who manages the technical side of CyberTower. The updated site includes video that can be viewed full screen without loss of quality.

"We're updating with new technologies, but the essence of CyberTower remains the same because it's an idea that works," Van Den Blink concluded.