Professional Development 

2007 Phillip E. Frandson Award For Literature

The Frandson Award recognizes the author and publisher of an outstanding work of continuing higher education literature. It is given in memory of Phillip E. Frandson, Dean of Extension, University of California, Los Angeles, and NUEA President, 1977-78.

Harnessing Innovative Technology In Higher Education

Kathleen P. King and Joan K. Griggs (Eds.)
Atwood Publishing, copyright 2006

The Internet and new technologies create the potential for students to access learning that is interactive, customized, and self-paced. It promises to allow them to more easily merge lifelong learning with the demand of careers and families, and to expand their choice of institutions and programs. But for institutions to deliver on this potential, a new generation of distance education would require systemic reforms of institutional practice and policy. And it would necessitate new relationships among postsecondary institutions, employers, technology companies, and other important stakeholders.

To help higher educators succeed, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) created a visionary grant program that encouraged creativity and collaboration. The funded projects were innovative, and have had a tremendous impact on distance learning. Harnessing Innovative Technology in Higher Education reports on some of these programs, along with an analysis and synthesis of what worked and why.

In one chapter, Kathleen King and Susan Biro write: "Innovative technology in higher education provides the opportunity to identify needs among our communities and learners, envision solutions, and identify the technology, resources, partnerships, and programs to make it happen. In the process, we learn that the pathway is not linear, and that as we are learning about technology along the way, we are also learning about our learners, our organizations, and ourselves."