University of Illinois Affiliation

The University of Illinois created the first graphical web browser. O'Reilly Media created the first commercial Web site. Now, through the O'Reilly School of Technology, the two Internet leaders join forces to bring you innovative, online I.T. learning that will increase your skills through practice and feedback.

Since 1998, the University of Illinois Office of Continuing Education and the Department of Computer Science has been offering online, experiential Information Technology courses and Certificates through Useractive, a company founded by U of I instructors and alumni. A partnership was formed with O'Reilly Media in 2002, and now in 2007 UserActive's course offerings became The O'Reilly School of Technology.

Pioneers in Computer Science and Information Technology

Founded in 1867 and accredited by the North Central Associate of Colleges and Schools, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been a leader in computer science research and instruction since 1946. From the transistor and ILLIAC to Telnet, Eudora, Mosaic, and the Virtual Reality CAVE, the U of I has continually remained on the cutting edge of innovation by fostering such research facilities as the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and Beckman Institute. Famous alumni include Marc Andreeson, Eric Bina, and Tom Seibel, who funded the recently-built Seibel Center for Computer Science.

To this day, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is consistently top-ranked in the areas of Computer Science and Information Technology.

• History of the U of I Computer Science Department
• History of NCSA

Computer-Based and Online Education

In 1961, U of I faculty created PLATO, the nation's first computer-based education system, as well as the world's first online community. Since then, the U of I has led research in the technology and methodology of computer-based learning, driving creation of the online education world that we have today.

Started by professors Jerry Uhl and Horacio Porta in the late 1980s, Calculus&Mathematica remains one of the most innovative computer-based educational programs to come out of the University of Illinois. Utilizing the notebook technology in Wolfram Research's proprietary Mathematica program, C&M; authors created a Sandbox in which students were guided through their own mathematical discovery through constructivist methods -- building theories through experimentation, and receiving help and feedback from instructors in a Socratic way rather than through passive lecturing. Since then, C&M; has expanded to include all forms of mathematics courses, and still thrives today as NetMath.

• History of Online Learning
• History of Calculus&Mathematica;

OST's Background: UserActive

Having worked closely with U of I professors Uhl, Bruce Carpenter, Debra Woods, and Ohio State C&M; professor Bill Davis since the early 1990s, U of I computer science alumni Tricia Mills Gray and Ohio State math PhD student Scott Gray set out to mirror C&M;'s revolutionary pedagogy for the Information Technology sector. As a result, UserActive, Inc. was formed as a private corporation in 1997, teaching HTML and JavaScript in the newly created I.T. Learning Sandbox^®.

With the help of Woods, U of I alumni and Nomad Linux creator Trent Johnson, U of I alumni and instructional expert Kerry Butson, and Windows programmer Kendell Welch, UserActive expanded to 17 high-quality I.T. courses and 5 Certificate series. Throughout this process, UserActive maintained a close partnership with the U of I Office of Continuing Education, beginning with Marlene Wentworth and continuing to current Academic Outreach head Faye Lesht and registrar Erika Albin.

After the 2005 acquisition of UserActive by O'Reilly Media, the U of I continues its close partnership with what is now the O'Reilly School of Technology. All courses are written and facilitated by OST, then Certified and approved for CEUs--Continuing Education Units--by the U of I Office of Continuing Education. All CEUs and Certificates are granted directly by the University of Illinois, and are sponsored by the world-famous Computer Science Department.

For questions regarding the OST/U of I partnership or backgrounds, please contact us.