With the increasing sophistication of the Internet and other communication technologies, classrooms are no longer tied to a specific point in either space or time. Virtual classrooms are popping up all over the country, and, indeed, the world, where all kinds of people are interacting and learning through these new media. True to its heritage, Utah is a pioneer among states in blazing the trail to the next century, making tomorrow s virtual classrooms a reality today. Fittingly, since it is home to one of the original six universities that pioneered the Internet, the State of Utah and the Utah System of Higher Education were recently ranked number one in their respective categories in PC Magazine s Fast-Track 100 list of Government and Educational Innovators. Such national recognition reflects, in part, Utah s high-tech industrial base and the fact that Utah is the only state with a centrally coordinated statewide system for distance learning.
Distance education holds great promise for students in states like Utah.
Students in remote areas of my state are now able to link up to resources previously only available to those in cities or at prestigious educational institutions. For many Utahns, this means having access to courses or being able to see virtual demonstrations of principles that until now they have now only read about. At the event in Salt Lake City, Ms. Peters and I dropped in on a live on-line art history class hosted in Orem, that included high school and college students scattered from Alpine in the north to Lake Powell in the south, nearly the length of the state. And the promise of distance education extends far beyond the traditional student, making expanded opportunities available for working parents, senior citizens, and anyone else with a desire to learn. As exciting as distance education is, the copyright issues it raises are numerous and complex.