The Center for the Continuing Study of the California Economy and the Center for the New West have argued that, in terms of new science and technology, California is the most important intellectual and scientific center in the nation, if not the world. Today, the state leads in virtually every 21st century industry, from the Internet to bio-technology. Many of the nation's leading computing and telecommunications companies are located in California. The basic premise of that revolution is that communications and information, the building blocks of learning and knowledge, can and must become independent of time and place. Industrial Age classrooms mirror the factory-type workplace typical of the Industrial Age.
Students sit in rows, perform specific tasks, and master a specific set of skills.
Those unable to use it face a lifetime of menial tasks. Making technology a priority focus for the CSU and for the state of California is a simple recognition that the world is experiencing change of historic proportions and speed, and that immense opportunities await those prepared to exploit those changes in the service of individual growth, economic prosperity, and social stability. ITS is focused on four major outcomes. Among all institutions, education should stand at the forefront of network development because learning itself is about information and communications. In the last dozen years, the CSU has focused on the task of providing technology tools to students, faculty and staff, and attempted to keep pace with technological advancement.