Journal of Instructional Science and Technology ISSN: 1324-0781 Editors-in-Chief: Olugbemiro JEGEDE (jegede@ouhk.edu.hk) and Som NAIDU(s.naidu@meu.unimelb.edu.au)

Volume 1 No 4, May 1996
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Welcome to the fourth issue of the first volume of eJIST. This issue focuses on the use of new technologies, particularly those involving networking activities through the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC). The uptake of technology in distance and open learning in recent years has been phenomenal and reflects development in telecommunication, communications technologies and computer technology. It also reflects the changes which have come about in the delivery of instruction through the distance education and open learning mode. The first article, Networking and the learning organization: Networking issues and scenarios for the 21st century, by Lewis and Romiszowski discusses a model of the learning organization in which learning programmes are adapted to the specific requirements of the changing work or social environments. The concept of the learning organization applied to distance education institutions uses the metaphor as a conceptual framework. The paper used some speculative scenarios for the future which draws from Indonesian distance education projects. The suggested list that a distance education organization might consider in its efforts to learn from the experience of other users are worthy of further debate.

The second paper by Jegede, Gooley and Towers reports on an evaluation of the audiographic conferencing professional development program of the Queensland Open Learning Network (QOLN). The evaluation specifically focused on participants' perceived value of the (audiographics) professional development program; identification of areas for revision and improvement; and collection and dissemination of information about professional development programs for audiographic conferencing. This paper claims to have significantly departed from the traditional approach by focusing on the training required to use such technologies for educational applications. The study used a sample of 30 professionals from tertiary education providers who participated in a three day training workshop on audiographic conferencing. The Audiographic Conference Training Program Evaluation Questionnaire (ACTPEQ) developed for the training program was used to assess their training program. The results of the evaluation underpin the need for deliberate efforts to map out and evaluate new technologies within a training environment. As usual we invite you to enjoy the articles and send in your comments.

Som Naidu and Olugbemiro Jegede