The professors are available for in-person sessions, but the students' learning
is not limited by a building, a classroom, the weather or much of anything
else.
By Larry Keough
FSU Communications Group
At Pennsylvania State University, some entire classes are taught by computer. Students log on in their homes or dormitories, move as fast as they want and e-mail their professors for help whenever they want.
The professors are available for in-person sessions, but the students' learning
is not limited by a building, a classroom, the weather or much of anything
else.
And the person who designed it is on her way to FSU.
Dr. Judith V. Boettcher assumes the position of director of distance learning at FSU on Oct. 9.
She joins another distance- learning expert, the recently appointed Dr. Robert G. Simerly, dean of university outreach, to form a team that university officials are counting on to make FSU a national leader in distance learning.
"We now have the best one-two combination of distance-learning leadership in higher education," said Dr. Robert M. Morgan, director of FSU's Learning Systems Institute. "Judith Boettcher realized we were serious about our commitment to distance learning when we attracted Robert Simerly to Florida State."
Simerly came to FSU last month from the University of Nebraska, where he was continuing studies dean and associate to the chancellor for information technologies.
Distance learning is more than computers in dormitories. It can be any technology that allows teachers and students to communicate though separated by time or space. Many educators see it as a hope for educating masses of people in spite of shrinking budgets.
And FSU's President Sandy D'Alemberte is determined to make Florida State dominant nationally in the development of distance-learning systems.
"Dr. Boettcher's expertise in designing and developing innovative information technologies will complement our distance-learning efforts so Florida State can position itself as a front-runner in preparing for higher education's future challenges," D'Alemberte said.
Boettcher, who also writes and lectures on information technologies, will have an academic appointment in the College of Education and will teach graduate courses.
She has a doctorate in secondary education and cognitive psychology from the University of Minnesota. Before she joined the Penn State staff in 1990, Boettcher was a software consultant and marketer of computer products. She has also directed market research and designed software for K-8 classrooms.