ABSTRACT
In 1996 I was invited to give a presentation on supporting ICT innovations in Higher Education at a consultation seminar to inform an inquiry into the future of HE in the UK. ITATL, the IT Assisted Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Project was led by Niki Davis of the University of Exeter, to advise the committee chaired by Sir Ron Dearing, whose report Higher Education in the Learning Society was published in 1997. I drew on my experience of working with teacher educators during 1990-2 to introduce ICT into initial teacher training, and subsequently (1992-4) as an evaluator of a project developing computer-based courseware in Management Accountancy within the Teaching and Learning Technology Programme. This was a time for major change in higher education. I got involved with the Computers in Teaching Initiative Support Service (CTISS) which was a leader in providing professional development for HE teachers using technology and in 1993 joined the newly-established Association for Learning and Teaching. Presenting at the seminar gave me the opportunity of discussing my ideas with participants who were all experienced HE teachers and researchers and the article was revised for publication in the light of their feedback. I was also able to include in the published version a brief review of the major recommendations of the Dearing Report which was published in 1997.
