Videoconferencing and other distance education techniques in chemoinformatics teaching and research at Indiana University

At a time when the demand for people with expertise in chemoinformatics is increasing, there is still only a very small number of academic institutions that offer chemoinformatics-related classes and degrees. The distance education (DE) approach allows both learning and research to be carried out at multiple geographic locations and institutions, thus leveraging the few educational offerings that are available. In this paper, distance education techniques and technologies (with emphasis on videoconferencing) are reviewed, and examples of how they are used to increase the accessibility of chemoinformatics education and research at the Indiana University School of Informatics are presented.