THE NEW LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

Sirje Virkus, Tallinn University of Educational Sciences, Estonia

Abstract

The 18th World Conference of the International Council for Distance Education  "The New Learning Environment: A Global Perspective"  took place at the Pennsylvania State University, USA  on 2 - 6 June 1997.

The conference focused on the following themes:

• The Changing Technological Environment
• The New Educational Paradigm
• Technology, Education and Sustainable Development
• Opportunities for International Cooperation

During discussion sessions, these themes were examined within the context of the following interest areas:

• Primary Through Secondary School Applications
• Technology Applications and Emerging Technologies
• Research and Evaluation in Distance and Open Learning
• Distance Education in Developing Countries
• Organizational Issues: Faculty, Infrastructure, Institutional, and Regional Policies
• Pedagogical Issues
• Promotion and Marketing Strategies
• Partnerships and Alliances
• Workplace Training and Education
• Student/Learner Support.

More than a thousand participants took part at the conference and 628 presentations dealt with the problems and implementations of distance education in the whole world.

The article gives a short overview of the contents and presentations of the 18th ICDE Conference.

My sincere thanks to all who made my participation in that forum possible - the Estonian National PHARE Distance Education Contact Point and the Tallinn University of Educational Sciences. 

Estonian

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Last updated August 17, 1997
sirvir@tpu.ee