Hands-On Authentic Teaching in a Distance Learning Environment (Innovative Practice)

The University of Arizona's online graduate certificate program in Digital Information Management (DigIn) makes extensive use of authentic learning environments that include hands-on experiential instruction in a distance learning setting. DigIn students use desktop and server virtualization to learn how to approach technology and cope with real-world applications and problems safely on their own computers without the need for traditional computer labs. This session will present the learning and learning support technologies and methods used in the first two years of this new program and will discuss their impact on learning as compared with more traditional methods of graduate instruction.