The Internet environment is suitable for many types of learning activities and teaching and learning styles. Every World Wide Web-based course should provide: home page; introduction; course overview; course requirements, vital information; roles and responsibilities; assignments; schedule; resources; sample tests; teacher biography; course…

Live television is the fastest-growing distance learning delivery mode. Instructors must understand how distance learning differs from both the traditional classroom and commercial television, how the basic technology operates, the role played by the teacher in delivering instruction, how to design courses according to system capabilities, and how…

The enormous potential of computing in support of instruction in colleges and universities is tempered by rapid technological change, funding limitations, and organizational issues. There are some long-range strategies institutions can adopt including encouraging computing unit self-sufficiency. decentralization of support services, flatter…

Distance learning networks make training and advanced education possible when time and budgetary constraints make face-to-face training difficult. To make distance learning work, instructors and providers must harness the potential of synchronous and asynchronous communication technologies to create powerful, learner-centered networks. Support…

Virtual reality is a three-dimensional, participatory, multisensory, computer-based simulated environment occurring in real time. Applied to instruction, it has the potential to revolutionize teaching and learning processes. Dialogue must begin for development of a national agenda to link this technology with higher education, addressing…

In tomorrow's research library, students and researchers will be able to find and retrieve a variety of materials without leaving their computer workstations. Traditional library facilities will be augmented by "virtual libraries" with primarily electronic, not physical, access to collections. This trend will require redefinition of services and…

The campus media center, the only campuswide service dedicated to support of the institution's instructional mission, plays an essential role in supporting college teaching but is often handicapped by lack of recognition, inappropriate administrative structure, and absence of strong leadership. (MSE)

Instructional technology, seen broadly, includes teaching methods, classrooms, and the training of faculty in addition to traditional considerations of instructional equipment and materials. In the near future, societal pressures will force college faculty to overcome resistance to instructional use of technology. (Author/MSE)

Trends in computer graphics include increasing speed of processing, higher-resolution computer displays, and easier-to-use software with expanded clip-art libraries and high-quality templates. In the 1990s, colleges and faculty should be preparing for the changes this will soon bring in the teaching/learning process. (MSE)

Special problems in assessing how college students use technology and the products they create with it are discussed using the examples of listserv discussions (student participation, quality and coherence of discussion, selection of postings) and a computer-based data analysis in a graduate statistics course. Rubrics for evaluating each are…

Examines issues in the management of information and support services for distance education, including identification of instructional objectives and strategies and desired outcomes; nature, scope, and locus of organizational responsibility; quality standards; competing service values; logistics of service provision; costs and benefits; and…

The principles underlying development of software for computer-based instruction and collaborative learning are examined, and it is concluded that although traditional software and hardware originate from traditions of individual learning, software designed to aid in collaborative learning originates from conceptualizations of group learning. (MSE)

Distance education applications are growing, fueled by pressing needs, advancing technology, lean budgets, and new partnerships. Programs, such as the University of Wisconsin's, are successful for various reasons. Greater faculty involvement, improved course design, planning, increased staff support, faculty training, participation in…

Multimedia instruction, a computer-based system incorporating video, audio, and digital storage media, provides educators with the tools to bring learning alive. With strategic planning, adequate funding, and faculty development, multimedia may become the most common form of instructional technology by the late 1990s. (Author/MSE)

Computer conferencing offers many opportunities for linking college students and faculty at a distance. From the Binational English and Spanish Telecommunications Network (BESTNET) has evolved a variety of bilingual video/computer/face-to-face instructional packages to serve institutions and nontraditional students on several continents. (MSE)