Montclair State University - Carnegie Committee - Online Education and Remote Classrooms

Online Education and Remote Classrooms

Remote Classrooms and online learning are in the outer orbits of technologically leveraged education. They are components of what is called distance education. Initially online education was little more than email writ large. Later, becoming more than a supplemental use of technology, development in the 1960's evolved into the Internet and then to Internet2.which has enhanced the communication among educational institutions significantly. The history of online education is exhaustively explored in Margert Gorts Morabido's Online Distance Education: Historical Perspective and Practical Application.

Online learning requires intensive investment in technology. At this time, although many colleges and universities are competing to develop resources, few have assembled sufficient resources to completely depend upon distance learning. As the National Research Council of the National Academies warns, "...there is a sense that many of the most significant issues are not well understood by academic administrators, faculty, and those who support or depend on the institution's activities." (National Research Council, Preparing for the Revolution, Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, 2002).

Remote classrooms and distance learning are in our future. Whether metaphorically an angelic vision or demonic specter, we cannot escape its embrace. The lover's dance of courtship between education and technology will inevitably lead to the marriage of the two. Our acceptance and effective use of the potential will determine how well we succeed in our education mission in the twenty-first century.

The Office of Information Technology has been developing resources for the university. Currently, Montclair State University has facilities for distance learning, remote classrooms, and advanced telecommunications. Future links on this web site will direct the community to campus resources and training for their use.