No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

This research, looking through the lens of Fullan (1991) regarding the complexity of implementing school wide change, sought to explore preparation and requirements of new administrators with respect to the integration of technology by first gathering data regarding licensure and course requirements from state departments of education and educational institutions. Overall, most states and institutions do not require any formal preparation in understanding or implementing technology for instructional purposes, and likely their graduates are not prepared to implement technology systemically in their school. Given that these data were remarkably uniform and next researchers sought to gather experiences, training, and perspectives of technology-savvy administrators as to how they learned what they know and how they lead their schools in the 21st century. We learned that administrators do learn on their own, have a dedication to these changes, and promote their staff members' implementation through professional development, by modeling its use, and purposefully setting goals for their school.

Students are beginning to expect access to new models for lifelong learning. Many institutions are feeling pressure to offer on-line courses, yet most faculty and administrators are ill prepared to do so effectively. This chapter identifies significant issues in the development of such courses, including ways to create interaction between and among learners, drawing on research, on the experiences of the author in teaching on-line courses, and on interviews with instructors, potential instructors, and students of on-line courses.Examples of traditional courses offered with a variety of telecommunications methods (e-mail, computer conferencing, satellite delivery) have been discussed in the literature (Harasim, 1993;Hiltz, 1990;Rice-Lively, 1994;Schrum, 1992;Sproull and Kiesler, 1991). In the majority of these courses, instruction is delivered entirely or principally via computer-mediated communications (CMC). These and other studies suggest that this form of education is effective for well-motivated students. More important, they indicate that traditional courses cannot be delivered effectively through CMC without significant changes.The impact of on-line courses has only begun to be investigated. To date, the traditional distance education literature has focused on the design and implementation of correspondence, compressed video, or satellite broadcast delivery courses. That literature provides some parallels, but does not directly inform the design and development of on-line courses.Large numbers of community colleges, continuing education centers, universities, and private training enterprises have expanded their programs to include courses delivered partially or entirely on-line, and many other organizations are considering implementing such courses. Institutions are feeling