1998 Mid-South
Instructional Technology Conference Introduction



What is the next step for teaching, learning, and technology? This question presented itself to us as we began planning the third annual Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference. Over the past years, the conference has focused on exploring the uses of technology for teaching and learning and rethinking teaching and learning through technology. The continuing evolution of this enterprise of bringing together technology and education now seems to necessitate a pause to consider where we are, what we have learned, and where to go next.

With its theme, "Teaching, Learning, and Technology: The Next Step," the third Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference provides an opportunity for such a reflective pause. The conference brings together many of the country's dedicated and innovative higher education professionals so that they can share ideas and expertise.

Middle Tennessee State University and Southeast Missouri State University are again co-sponsoring the conference, providing a stimulating environment for exploring new ideas and possibilities for teaching and learning. Our partnership was formed out of the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Teaching, Learning, and Technology Roundtable program.

At the Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference, university, college, community college, and K-12 faculty, librarians, and administrators discuss and demonstrate the impact of emerging information technologies on the education process. Participants gain insight and share knowledge in more than 50 concurrent sessions offered in the four tracks of Distance Learning/ITV, Faculty Development and Support, Instructional Technology Case Studies, and Teaching and Learning with the Internet and World Wide Web. The conference also offers three featured speakers, interactive workshops, and a special Flashlight Project workshop on evaluating technology in education.

These proceedings give a comprehensive view of the excellent presentations of the 1998 Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference. Dennis Holt, conference co-chair, and I thank all the attendees, presenters, and staff whose work, interest, and enthusiasm continue to make this conference such a rewarding experience.



Lucinda Lea
1998 Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference Co-Chair