As in academic institutions everywhere, electronic communication networks and inst ructional software are pervasive. The trend toward greater development and adoption of technologically facilitated educational practices holds considerable promise. It also yields consequences that are stretching the limits of human and material resources. The gap is widening between ex pectations for academic use of information technology and resources available to encourage and support faculty efforts. Many faculty feel pressured to learn new technologies and to find ways to use Web-enhanced tools and online curricula elements in their courses.
Technical personnel know how much is required in the way of support and how limited resources are.
Students want the best education and easy access to any technology used. Administrators are looking for guidance from those with experience in ed ucational technologies, both in the classroom and in online educational environments. In efforts to meet these rising demands at NC State, academic disciplines have tended to develop practices and policies in isolation, resulting in increased fragmentation and duplication of efforts. There are many committees and services related to new te chnologies that operate unknown to the larger campus community. Experimentation is often handled in a piecemeal fashion, and finding ways for others to benefit from those results has been difficult.