WebCT Conferences

The key points of the talk were:

• University teaching is changing. Instructors who embrace online learning are finding that they are also changing their face-to-face instruction techniques. The rigor of developing for online courses is forcing them to become better teachers. This in turn leads to a demand for more support for technology, and for instructional design.
• Universities are changing. They are turning more "corporate" and are focusing more on the needs of their students. Including needs for more flexible access to courses thru distance and online courses.
• Part of this change is the increasing involvement of the University in the community. The university can no longer stand on its own separate from the community.
• Another part of this change is the increasing need to support alumni. They need more than a request for a donation. Alumni need support for continuing education, for career changing, etc. Distance / web training is an excellent way to accomplish this.

The remainder of the talk discussed how the University of Mass. has addressed some of these issues by embracing distance education and technology. The success has ranked them among the top 50 Universities in the world according to the London Times.

A paraphrase of the closing quote is "The illiterate of the 21st century are not people hwo cannot read or write, it is people who cannot learn, adapt, and relearn."