Congressman, Panelists Discuss E-Learning Present and Future

The Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities (APSCU) and the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) hosted a forum last week at the National Press Club on the current environment and trends in e-learning, and what those might mean for its future. Video from the event is now available (http://www.apscu.org/events/techpanel/recording.cfm) and covers:

• Keynote addresses from Congressman Jared Polis (D-Colorado) and President Emeritus of George Washington University, Stephen Joel Trachtenberg; in Polis’s remarks, he discusses the formation of the Congressional E-Learning Caucus, which will bring together members of Congress interested in better understanding and promoting e-learning as a way to address the nation’s higher education challenges
• The panel on which I served with Richard Shurtz, President of Stratford University, and Paul R. Bardack, Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. Distance Learning Association, on “Future Trends Driving Technological Innovation in Education”; in my comments, I focus on public perceptions of online learning as well as higher education in general, and what those may mean for the regulatory context around e-learning
• A panel on “Practitioners Successfully Using New Technologies in Education,” comprised of Michael Orey, Associate Professor and Chair of the Learning, Design, and Technology Program at the University of Georgia, Ray Schroeder, Professor Emeritus of Communication and Founding Director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Judy Komar, Vice President of Educational Technology, Career Education Corporation, and Robert Letcher, Director of Instruction – High School, K12 Inc.; the panelists discuss a number of ways in which faculty and institutions, both non- and for-profit, are using technology to provide learning opportunities and what those examples indicate about e-learning’s potential