DISTANCEducation

The first time I wrote for the Georgia Center Quarterly was in the spring of 1987. I provided an opinion piece called "Linking Yoda and Yentl--The Future Role of Residential and Conference Centers." In it, I tried to describe the impact that technology would make on such centers, and the new role(s) the centers might play in service to adult learners.

In the eight years since writing that, the pace of change and impact of technology has been far greater than many of us could have imagined.

Residential and conference centers now regularly use extensive technology in the presentation of educational opportunities both within and beyond their walls. "Distance education" techniques are used "in house" to enrich the instruction function at many places. And, the executive conference centers in the for-profit sector are in many cases ahead of what we find available in the higher-education-based centers.

A friend and colleague, Alex Charters, who for many years guided continuing education at Syracuse University, has said that education is entering the third great era or stage. The first was where education was integral with community and life. The oral tradition was used to pass on the culture, norms, and beliefs of the community, and all were responsible for sharing information with each other.

The second era began when civilization separated the educational responsibility and function into boxes we called schools, under the charge of people we called teachers. That model has held for centuries.

Alex suggests that we have entered the third era, where education and information are once again an integral part of society. The great secrets of humankind are no longer locked away in the great libraries or laboratories or minds of scholars available to only a few ... they are as near as the counter at your local video rental store or your computer store.

Information, says author Harlan Cleveland, is diffuse, it tends to leak. Technology provides access to information for anyone, almost anywhere on demand.

How then, does the higher continuing education operation structure "control" and maximize access to information and education in an efficient and cost-effective way--a way that can compete in attractiveness and quality with the for-profit providers?

The answer some institutions have adopted is to simply extend the events that happen on campus to off-campus locations through the means of technology. Other institutions have declared that a new way of teaching/learning is needed--a way where the collaborative efforts of many specialists (content provider, curriculum developer, graphic/video artists, and production specialists) can come together to create a new "educational package" of experience. Yet others have taken the position that niche marketing is the appropriate approach, and if we can just find the right "niche," we will be able to continue our activities as in the past.

DISTANCEducation will seek to reflect on these issues in coming editions of the Georgia Center Quarterly. It invites submissions that take positions, defend methods, report on results, and, in general, address the compelling questions that face those of us in higher continuing education as we seek to find the proper approach for our institution or organization with regard to extending educational opportunities at a distance through the means of technology.

It should be interesting, eight years from now, to look back and see if we have addressed the concerns, predicted the issues with accuracy, and contributed to the understanding we have of the professional practice of distance education. Your thoughtful participation is invited.

Jerry L. Hargis is associate director for communication services at the Georgia Center, a position he's held since 1991. Prior to coming to the Georgia Center, Hargis served as assistant vice provost for continuing education and public service at the University of Oklahoma.

If you are interested in contributing to DISTANCEducation, send e-mail to the editors.

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Last revised: 1/31/96; 4:07:11 PM

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