WITH THE recent failure of large-scale ICT projects in higher education it
looks as if we've finally woken up from the technology dream. In spite of this, though, ICT seems to be an increasingly important medium for
teaching and learning the law. New forms of course design are being used
widely to exploit it. The range of technologies we can use is rich and fast changing,
with portable PCs, wireless technology, and increasing use of
mobile hardware and communication networks over the internet. Web
applications themselves are increasingly blurring the distinctions between
hypermedia, multimedia and the internet. The convergence of online and
face-to-face teaching methods via learning management systems such as
WebCT or Blackboard, for example, is creating new learning situations for
our students, with fresh challenges and opportunities for both students and
staff. At a deep level technology is also influencing module design, the
ways law teachers think about teaching, and the way students learn. It is
all the more important, therefore, to analyse and explore the key
pedagogical and policy issues involved when ICT is used for legal learning,
to learn from international use of ICT in legal education, and to consider
the practical challenges facing teachers and learners globally, and their possible solutions
