Distributed Learning. CAUSE Professional Paper Series, No. 14.

This paper synthesizes current thought about the role of networking technologies in instruction and addresses the need for higher education to create affordable and flexible student-centered "distributed learning environments" employing networking technologies. First, relevant trends are identified in the areas of information volume, technology competency of the workforce, telecommuting, collaboration, reskilling, demographics, selectivity, government influence, and increasing demand for higher education. The current status quo is college instruction is characterized by the dominance of the lecture, little interaction, inefficiency, and the factory model. The need for change and the role of the distributed learning environment in new instructional models are emphasized. Guidelines for planning for change focus on values implicit in technology, the role of shared values, curriculum design, and computer mediated communication. The importance of institutional support is stressed in discussion of technology adoption patterns, support structure, funding, and organizational structures and relationships. Aspects of technology architecture considered include network infrastructure, content file servers, groupware infrastructure and content creation and access. The Internet's role in a distributed learning environment is also discussed. Finally, future requirements for distributed learning are suggested. Throughout the paper, sidebars provide examples of implementation at various institutions. A company profile of IBM completes the monograph. (Contains approximately 70 references.) (DB)