During the summer of 1998, Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) invented a new way to earn an Educational Technology Master's degree. Founded in 1997 as a university dedicated to utilizing new technologies for both local and distance learning, FGCU's School of Education has enabled learners from across the state to complete a degree program in just 13 months, in large part from their own homes. Utilizing a new model combining traditional World Wide Web-based distance learning with two conference-style in-residence sessions, students gain the benefits of both distance and face-to-face teaching techniques. The two conferences are known as "Tech-Ins" and last three weeks each. This paper discusses the development of the program, the first Tech-In, and reports on the status of the students in the cohort near the conclusion of the fall 1998 semester. (Author/AEF)