The 12,000 Mile Reach: Teaching and Learning Across the World Starting September 1999, MIT and Singapore are linked as never before. Via Internet2, students at the National University of Singapore (NUS) and at MIT are joined in a single classroom, taught by professors from MIT and NUS, the students separated only by 12,000 miles of plains, mountains and oceans. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the largest use yet of Internet2 for semester-long accredited distance learning. Internet2, the "fat digital pipe" cousin of the standard Internet, represents the type of broad bandwidths that will be available to most of us within the next few years. Working collaboratively, researchers at MIT, NUS and Microsoft will examine the classroom activities as they evolve and attempt to find out how to design an educational system for such global education that optimizes student learning. This first MIT Microsoft collaborative effort will be in the form of a "planning grant." The focus of the planning effort is to assess how the students can best learn in this global classroom. Our effort will not be bounded by currently available technology, but instead will focus first on the student's educational needs -- that being the driving force for new technologies down the road. Examples of the questions to be asked are: What types of real-time interaction do students need and for what kinds of subjects? How can we assure student active participation when they are 12,000 miles from "their professor"? Considering the realities of time zones, how do we use best asynchronous interaction -- made possible by the web and Internet2 fast connectivity? How can we learn from those involved with "best practice" in distance learning? What do the students themselves have to say? Can real laboratory experiences be provided over such distances? Can highly interactive case courses be taught in this medium? How do we assure that any technological "friction" associated with the distance learners does not impede the learning of the on-campus students? (We want the addition of the distant students to be a large positive factor.) MIT's Center for Advanced Educational Services (CAES), under the direction of Professor Richard C. Larson, has assumed responsibility for the technology and operation of the distance learning aspects of MIT Singapore relationship. Professor Larson with his CAES colleagues will lead the MIT part of this planning activity. While the focus of this planning effort is not technology per se, it is likely that part of the summary recommendations will focus on the design and development of software technologies that would best support both synchronous and asynchronous learning at such great distances. It is hoped that as a result of the planning project, a more substantial project can be launched, aimed at creating excellent technology-enabled learning environments for students and teachers who are up to 12,000 miles apart. Related background Information: SINGAPORE-MIT ALLIANCE In November 1998, MIT entered into a major partnership with the Republic of Singapore's two leading research universities, The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) explores the application of information technology to create a new "learning networks" global model for distance-independent engineering education and collaborative research. SMA started in July with two graduate programs conducted by professors from all three universities, hosted by NUS: "Advanced Materials" and "High Performance Computation for Engineered Systems;" a third program in "Manufacturing Systems and Technology" will be offered through NTU beginning July 2000. The SMA program extensively uses state-of-the-art information and communications technology, including Internet2, to facilitate interactions in teaching and research between MIT faculty and students and faculty and students in Singapore. Expected to grow to five graduate programs after two years, the alliance will offer a professional master's-level degree program, as well as master's- and doctoral-level research degrees programs. Annual program funding is in the range of $18 million to $20 million. The initial period for the alliance is five years, with a potential continuation for an additional five years. This highly focused, well-funded alliance gives MIT the opportunity to broaden its role as a global university, to define its own style of contact-intensive distance education, and to learn how to bring this global interaction to Cambridge to enhance undergraduate and graduate education of its own students. In addition, we anticipate strengthened departmental curricula as a result of SMA-funded subject development. Under SMA auspices, the School is developing many new courses that will be available to both the SMA students and residential MIT graduate students. We also anticipate enhanced interdepartmental and inter-School collaborations as a result of both SMA curriculum development and SMA-funded research projects.