THE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Finally, there is the learning environment. The learning environment at UW-Madison right now is the result of a process that constructs program-specific buildings one at a time. One of our great challenges is to build spaces that have flexible programmatic capacities. The programmatic needs of the 20th century called for individual, specialized buildings. The programmatic needs of the 21st century will be quite different, requiring the means for quick communication and the capacity to adapt to changing circumstances. We will need the kinds of spaces that serve multiple programs more effectively. The use of instructional technology represents part of the solution to our need to communicate better, but it is also an immense challenge. The increasing national and global breadth of UW-Madison educational opportunities and activities requires application of distance education and technology to enhance learning wherever it takes place. In a 21st-century communications system, faculty, staff, and students must have universal access to networked communications and information. We need an integrated system of voice, data, video, wired, wireless, and other technologies -- all aspects of instructional technology that are rapidly evolving. To prepare our university for the 21st century, we need to assess and improve the learning experience and the learning environment so that, as a learning community, we can make our greatest contributions and advancements.