April 2, 2001

An expert on information technology will discuss how the increasing use of technology in teaching and learning is changing the landscape of higher education, challenging traditional practices and institutiona l policies, including the role and work of faculty.

Linda Wolcott of Utah State University will give a presentation on "Faculty & E-Learning: Critical Issues," on Thursday, April 5, from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Konover Auditorium at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center.

Wolcott will explore topics such as the ownership of intellectual property, the changing definition of scholarly work in an electronic environment, and institutional incentives and rewards for participation in distance/distributed learning.

She will also share preliminary results of current research investigating faculty beliefs about rewards for distance teaching.

Wolcott is the interim assistant dean for information and learning resources and an associate professor of instructional technology at Utah State University. She has been active in distance education since the mid-1980s as a teacher, program administrator, and researcher.

In her current position, she oversees the Faculty Assistance Center for Teaching and the newly established Center for Online Education.

As a faculty member, she teaches courses by and about distance education, and directs a Distance Learning Endorsement Program that prepares K-12 teachers to integrate distance learning technologies and methods into their classroom instruction.

She is widely published on the topic of faculty incentives and rewards in distance education, and is the recipient of the 1998 ECT Foundation Qualitative Research Award for her study of tenure, promotion and distance teaching.

The symposium is sponsored by the Institute for Teaching and Learning.