Higher education is changing dramatically as a result of global telecommunications. This book surveys and synthesizes the material currently available on this important topic. Much of the volume provides detailed and fascinating information on experiments, organizations, and ideas related to computer networks and higher education. Other sections examine the electronic organization of knowledge, electronic textbooks, and the many ways in which students may use computer connections to enhance their educational experience. At the heart of the study is the notion of a worldwide electronic university in which students, faculty, and research libraries will be connected electronically across continents.
The author begins by describing the early signs and origins of the emerging worldwide electronic university, such as the growth of courses made available through computer networks and television. He then considers some of the administrative issues involved and the responses of some corporations and organizations to those issues. The next few chapters describe and assess the value of educational exchange and the technology that makes that exchange possible. Other chapters discuss the linking of research libraries, the facilitation of international research, and emerging instructional issues. The result is an important guide to a topic of growing interest to educators and students alike.