New Learning Opportunities

Distance Education Learning Online Articles : New Learning Opportunities

It goes without saying that constantly developing technologies are simplifying our life as well as studying process. However, there also are some negative aspects of such a rapid know- how
development for it's limiting students from achieving their full potential.
While students and faculty work to achieve new skills, new communication interactions, new relationships, new teaching styles and new learning opportunities many are wondering
how they, as an individual, fit into the grand scheme of education.
Quite obviously, the use of information technology and the skills that
which accompany it are in high demand within all levels of our world
that is now centered on interconnectedness and the fast-paced changes
now taking place in the post-industrialization era. But this in no way
indicates that today's use of information technology can only be seen
as beneficial. As the disadvantages become lost in the incredible list
of advantages, it has become increasingly important to focus on what
technology is giving students and faculty, at all levels of education
in Canada and the United States, but more specifically at the
post-secondary level, and more importantly it has become essential to
examine what is being taken away, and potentially lost, from the
original or ideal view of education.

Perhaps in this debate it is necessary to clarify the meaning of
"education" to further a logical debate. Education is the knowledge or
skill obtained or developed by a learning process or also an
instructive or enlightening experience. This idea of education
through enlightenment and instruction seems somewhat ideal by today's
standards but this ideal did once exist long before our arrival, in
the time of the Athenian School of Thought. It was here that ancient
philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Pythagorus gathered
under ideal classical architecture to discuss and debate. These men
were, and still are, considered great thinkers, and although time has
elapsed and so many things have changed, students continue to study
their ideas and theories. This alone speaks volumes on the importance
of setting and their style of expanding the mind: some how it was
accomplished without the use of technology. Learning and developing
was simply done for the sake of knowing and the sake of broadening a
knowledge base, but today the reasons behind developing knowledge are
quite different and this "ideal" definition of education doesn't seem
to exist in our educational system.

In today's educational system many university students are finding
themselves feeling empty and confused with their current
post-secondary experience, and also previous schooling experiences. In
a recent survey, it has been found that thirty-four per cent of first
year university students' drop out. Perhaps the process of
memorization, regurgitation and remaining yet another nameless student
seems somewhat unappealing to those trying to discover what it is that
they want to do with their lives. A saddening majority of students
will walk away with degrees that hold no real meaning or value.
Students experience pressure to attend university, in hopes that
graduation will present them with a job that will make their parents
proud. In a survey done within elementary and secondary levels of
education by MetLife "only 15 percent of students surveyed said they
believe their school is preparing students extremely well to go to
college" and "less than half (42%) of students report that teachers
very much encourage them to do their best". It all seems to come
down to a scramble to keep a grade point average at a comparable high
with other students or to pass a test or paper that will certainly be
forgotten once the year is over. Emphasis is being pressed in all the
wrong places: students are trying to put forth results when what we
really need is guidance and someone to help develop our own personal
knowledge base. We are seen more or less as numbers, rather than
people who are rarely asked what they think or who they are. The
process of true discovery and development, what schools (and more
specifically universities) want from their students can only come
forth from people who know themselves, who know their strengths and
know the meaning of putting in all you have. But, if students aren't
even given the opportunity to discover all that they are, how could
they possibly give it in a post-secondary setting.

With IT taking such a major role within our societies, importance is
being placed upon skills, expertise and basic knowledge of computer
technology, so in order to remain desirable in a competitive work
force students are looking to develop these needed skills. Where
technology has essentially become a necessity in education and the
workforce, it has become a priority for schools at all levels,
especially at the post-secondary level, to integrate technology into
the curriculum. But, the problems seem to truly arise at the
post-secondary setting where universities rely on funding through the
government and students' tuition payments which accounts for nineteen
per cent of universities total annual revenue in 1999/2000.
Basically the rest of the necessary money for Canadian universities
come from sponsored research funding from governments, the private
sector and other non-government organizations which added up to $2.8
billion in 1999/2000. Universities and colleges all over Canada and
the United States are looking to remain desirable to students by being
comparable or advantageous over other higher education institutes.
This need results in a campaign for profits and results, over the
ideal view of education where development and the students' needs are
the priority.

With this said, it seems that computer and information technology
within the university setting can be quite damaging to students and
their opportunities to receive the education and instruction they
want. Placed upon an already unstable system of education which relies
heavily on student payments and corporate sponsors and donations, it
seems unlikely that positive results would prevail. But the truth is
that information technology can be used positively within the
educational system, especially in higher education. With this in mind,
IT is quite comparable to the use of globalization. Globalization is
quite tricky to define, but one basic definition would sound something
like this: increased mobility of goods, services, labor, technology
and capital throughout the world. Used properly, globalization can
have incredible benefits for many. For example, an unemployed Inuit
woman living in Nunavut can make a living for herself by selling her
artwork online without having to suffer the price of a middle man, or
retailer, taking her hard earned money. This is an example of
globalization working for the people of the world, but this same
concept can be misused and that is how we are finding children working
in sweatshops in India. Applying this same theory upon information
technology and its effect on education one would see that both
negative and positive effects can occur depending on the strength of
the educational system at hand.

Focusing first on the advantages of information technology within the
educational system, many find that this new concept of a global
classroom, where technology is integrated into all levels of the
class, is the means of advancing students to a level of educational
learning that has ceased to ever exist. In a survey done by Campus
Computing Project's nearly 600 U.S. colleges and universities it's
estimated that half their students used the Internet daily for their
studies and with a statistic this high, it's obvious that information
technology will integrate itself into the education system, changing
the traditional classroom setting into a global one. This era of
educational change is considered an extremely exciting time where the
system and structure of learning will be pushed as far as our
imaginations will take us, which essentially has no boundaries. Just
imagine, we are only limited by our own creativity and if we think up
something that doesn't exist yet, it can almost be guaranteed that
technological advances will bring it to us in only a short matter of
time. Essentially, our opportunities as students, as educators and as
life-long learners are breaking past the walls that once held back our
ideas.

Technology is also providing opportunities to develop knowledge in
general with the use of university courses and programs online. If you
have access to the resources you can better your education and
therefore your status in the workforce by partaking in distance
learning, or online courses. And, for those who simply want to broaden
their knowledge without the degrees and programs, the Internet is an
educator all on its own, with endless information available at the
click of a button. Students can interact online with other students,
professors, friends, political figures, government and organizations
around the globe; become involved and aware of politics on a national
and international scale; develop interests that otherwise may not have
been available; be aware of news and events occurring within their
world and the greater world around them and also, information on
nations, governments, companies and people is much easier to assess by
the average web surfer, so things become more transparent and truths
can no longer be hidden.

Ideally, these advantages are what the educational system wants within
their classrooms. Technology is basically becoming a necessity at all
levels of education; it is a skill that is being brought into the
elementary, secondary and even more so, the university classrooms. One
day, technology will most likely be necessary within the realms of our
careers so it is necessary to master the skills now. But as mentioned
above, the advantages are somewhat ideal and don't look quite how we
all want them to in our current system of education. It seems that
they look the worst at the university level because it is here that
universities are no longer public, like most elementary and secondary
schools are.

As public support decreased and societal demand increased, the
government pulled back university funding in the 1980's, so these
institutions in Canada and the United States had to raise tuition to
meet the demands of higher education, especially in light of the
desperately needed advancements that technology has brought about.
Many of these institutions have had to turn to corporations for
funding or receive "gifts" from alumni families, much like Acadia
University did with the undisclosed sum of money that alumni, J.D.
Irving, gave to Acadia to build a botanical garden, and campus meeting
place. Elaine Benoit, spokesperson for Acadia's office of public
affairs, insists this will have no bearing on the research conducted.
"We will continue to conduct the same kind of research we have in the
past. It's not a buy-out; we're not selling ourselves to the family."
Excepting an undisclosed sum of money does at least attach an
institution to a particular family no matter what the spokespeople
say. This is another way that technology can lead education from its
ideal version to a version based on gain and profits.

With technology emerging as such a key player, institutions have used
it to their profitable advantage. "Many educational institutions seem
driven to use newly found access to global data communication that
will increase enrollments and will award a vast range of degrees
through massive investments in distance education programs." But,
unfortunately these steps to be adaptive and remain competitive with
"fast track diplomas" have created programs, that "…when compared
in-depth to the curricula of bona fide academic institutions… …these
ventures appeared to be little more than money-making plots managed by
capitalistic-minded individuals who held verily the slightest regard
for academic values." This simple act of taking advantage of students
need for technology and fast paced education seems to have made
education into a commodity, or means to an end rather than an end in
itself.

Students are now finding themselves referred to as "clients" in most
universities and are feeling even less appreciated and less motivated
to truly put themselves into their studies. Now, how is it that
students become "clients"? The universities are realizing their cost
cutting potential through the use of technology. Wired campuses,
distance learning and online classes and discussions won't require
lecture halls, full faculty, libraries and laboratories. The idea of
students becoming clients simply goes hand in hand with the idea of
commodifying education. Universities are taking roles of businesses
where transactions are conducted. Clients pay for their education, or
their degree, and it is given to them by the institution. As Michael
Margolis stated in his article entitled Brave New Universities, "…Institutions
of higher education in United States are considered superior because
they have delivered a lucrative educational product for a competitive
price…"

Also, in a university setting where information technology plays a
major role, both professors and students may sense a lack of belonging
and a lack of relations that might otherwise exist without the
technology. For example, within a wired campus students use email to
contact or ask a professor a question, rather than taking the time to
visit them in their offices. Potentially, a student could go through
an entire year of classes without ever having to talk to their
professor, and in all certainty this has happened. It seems that this
approach undermines all that education is about. By definition,
education is intertwined with enlightening experiences and
instruction. Certainly in this technology based class and campus
setting the student is receiving instruction, but how could a student
ever be enlightened when enlightenment comes from a sense of
self-discovery. Many Canadian and American universities and
colleges support extremely large classes to cover the institutions
annual operating cost and an example of these classes can be seen at
Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The universities
introduction to Psychology enrolls approximately 1000 students and it
becomes unrealistic to say that students are engaged, challenged or
asked to develop their thoughts or mind. These sorts of advances in
personal knowledge can only properly expand under certain conditions
and many of these conditions are neglected in just about all North
American classrooms. By the time university comes for many students,
or "clients" as they will soon be referred to, they have mastered the
skills of remaining unknown, cramming and writing last minute papers
and assignments. The technology only makes the latter even easier to
get away with.

Another disadvantage comes forth in the idea of men and women, and
their different ways of learning and accessibility. Women are
underrepresented on the World Wide Web, just as they are in the
high-tech occupations and therefore some underlying discrimination may
prevail at a university setting. In a survey done by
Nielson/Net Ratings men log on more than women (an average of 54
sessions compared to 50 sessions), spend more time on average (31
hours versus 27 hours), and view more pages (1900 versus 1700).
Women, compared to men, are much less likely to use or even attempt to
access the Internet for a variety of reasons. Many women are
intimidated by pornography, prevalent sexist attitudes and the basic
idea that technology is more directed towards men. Perhaps, in a
university classrooms, where laptops are used women are finding they
are even more isolated than an average student might feel. Not only
are they neglected by their professors, but many do not feel
comfortable with the replacement offered: the Internet.

Fortunately, when looking at the list of disadvantages it seems that
they can all be reversed and used to the advantage of students,
teachers, professors, women and anyone else who might feel that they
are losing out because of technology. For example, women are under
represented in all aspects of information technology but it is that
very technology that is bringing women together and bringing
technology into their lives. Women, for example, are emerging as the
dominant users of the Internet. Following in Nielson/Net Rating survey,
"...women at work logged onto the Internet 23 percent more this August
than they did in August 2001… … while men still outpace women in
Internet usage at work, Internet usage by men at work grew only 12
percent year-to-date."

Also with online courses, information, training and advertisement for
conferences the Internet is basically a meeting place for people to
come together and strengthen their role within the world of IT. When
it comes to students, technology can play a major role in bringing
students and professors together through online discussions and also
online communication can make it easier for students to ask questions
or set up a time to meet in person with other students or professors.
This is where information can be misused, and where it tends to be in
today's classrooms as students are finding they are merely a number in
the grand scheme of things but if students are encouraged early on in
the education system to interact, discuss, debate and share with their
peers and teachers then it seems that the technology will be better
used, rather than misused.

Traditional Aboriginal life seems fitting here, under the topic of
technology and ideal teaching styles. In Aboriginal life, the elders
of the community are highly respected and listened to by other members
of the community. Wisdom is carried from one elder to a listener, not
through notes or typing information into our laptops, but is learned
only through listening. You must listen to understand, and perhaps
that is where technology in the post-secondary system, and basically
all educational systems, is lacking. Technology doesn't hear and it
definitely doesn't listen. For the general public, there is
nothing more real and more engaging than the company of another human
being. Technology simply cannot deliver in all areas of human growth
and development, but if teachers and professors fill in the needs of
students and add technology on top of what they have already
developed, the results would be more incredible than anything the
education system has seen yet.

It seems to come down to the fact that technology can only add to
education, it cannot make it which seems to be the mistake being made
by so many educational institutions today. Therefore, it is becoming
more and more apparent that a mix of both worlds needs to be offered
to the students from the very beginning of the education system, so
that once students reach the post-secondary level they will have both
social and technological skills. If students are raised simply relying
on the technology of the time, they will lack social skills that are
mandatory in most occupations and, more importantly, in life. Besides,
as Aristotle clearly stated human beings are social creatures and
why would be want to alter who we naturally are for something as
impersonal and unnatural as technology?

If the post-secondary education system (students, faculty and
administration) continue to abuse information technology in the manner
it is being misused now, then when you add education to the equation
you only add to the severity of the abuse. Education will continue to
move farther and farther from what is an ideal education and students
will move farther from personal growth and development, to simply
being the results of a bigger corporate campus agenda. Isolation,
through the use of technology, will continue to hold students back
from their full potential because they are never engaged, they are
never challenged and from where they stand no one really cares about
whom they are and what they're capable of. It's often said that
children are our future, but ironically they are being treated much
less than that.
After focusing on the many advantages and disadvantages of education,
on all levels, but mainly the post-secondary level it can be stated
that if we continue to promote education in the direction it has been
going, we will eventually find ourselves in an irreversible
predicament. Education will be further moved from its original, ideal
definition and students will become frustrated with the unproductive,
yet socially accepted method of obtaining a degree, yet no knowledge.
It is the natural desire of students to feel welcomed and celebrated
within the educational system, and quite simply, the only way of doing
that will be to make them feel that way. An answer that seems simple
enough in theory, but practice has proven that it isn't so simple
after all. Universities are finding themselves blinded by the global
recognition, competitiveness and profits that information technology
is bringing them and are allowing the bad in information technology to
overtake all the good that it can produce. In an article written by
Mohammad Hamza and Bassem Alhalabi, they stated that "…If we value
thinking, if we treasure the creative potential necessary to withstand
future information challenges then we, as passionate educators, must
rededicate ourselves to our profession. Only then can wisdom, the
capstone of human thinking and the forbearer of all human knowledge,
intervene to save a decaying educational system." The need to
repair our current education systems, to allow for the positive
flourishing of information technology is one that needs to be
addressed before the collapse of the educational system falls upon us.

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