Date: 3/29/99

Time: 1:20

Type: Symposium

Number: 43

Mandate for delivery of distance curricula - The future.

*S.S. Quisenberry, Department of Entomology, University of NE, Lincoln, NE 68583
Contact e-mail: squisenb@unlinfo.unl.edu

The focus of our secondary education system is primarily to prepare students to be productive members of the workforce and contributing citizens. The future demands that there be new levels of commitment to education beyond traditional on-campus delivery. Society has entered the "knowledge age" and there is increasing demand for professionals who create, organize, and communicate information, and have the flexibility to change and/or gain new knowledge and skills. Our educational systems need to teach the creativity, problem solving, and lifelong learning skills required to meet the rapidly evolving changes occurring in society. This provides opportunities to combine the best of traditional learning with technology and to globalize knowledge distribution. However, there are many challenges including capital investment (both human and financial), developing and delivering inquiry-based learning, effective collaborations with traditional and non-traditional partners, and providing valid program outcomes assessment. Thus, the future provides tremendous opportunity for the university and society. We have the opportunity in higher education to become truly "engaged" institutions creating lifelong learning opportunities for society through integration of education and technology. Creating this environment will promote and facilitate the creation of new ways to teach and learn, enhance inquiry-based learning, and provide global distribution of knowledge.

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