MICROCOSM OF ISSUES AND DISTANCE LEARNING DEVELOPMENT

Abstract: This paper summarizes trends and issues in online learning in the United States of America as reflected in the presentations of the Massachusetts Colleges Online “Sharing Best Practices in E-Learning” Conference held on June 13-14, 2006. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts ’ nine state-supported four-year colleges and its15 two-year community colleges formed Massachusetts Colleges Online (MCO) in 2001 (MCO, 2006). Among the consortium’s core missions were to exchange online courses among institutions and support the growth and development of distance learning in the state-run colleges. A visit to the organization’s website shows that the member colleges have developed a pool of close to 1200 courses that are available to students worldwide. In an attempt to foster online learning development among the member institutions, an annual conference was initiated in 2004 with a theme appropriate to its mission: “Sharing Best Practices in E-Learning ” (MCO, 2006)