Beyond Teaching and Learning Paradigms: Trekking into the Virtual University

This paper honors the memory of Hans Mauksch and his contributions to teaching in sociology. A current trend in higher education is the application of various technologies to the processes of teaching and learning. Related issues include the nature of scholarship, the search for academic community, the nature of student development and persistence, and the relationship of these concepts to paradigms variously stressing teaching and learning. Literature in each of these areas is reviewed and linked to the concepts of virtual education and distance learning in order to address the consequences such applications of technology might have on higher education in the future