June 15, 2004

By Brian Goode

Universities rarely reflect on the ambiguous implications or unintended consequences of new technologies. They tend to share the broader cultural assumption that technology is, if not an unalloyed ‘good,’ at least neutral. This assumption is most clearly seen in the countless strategic plans that universities drafted in the past five to eight years to incorporate distance learning into their mission statements. Rarely do these strategic plans wrestle with the implications of distance learning for the structure of the university. The result is that distance learning has set in motion unseen trends and processes that threaten the integrity of the university.

Subscribers: Click Here for the Full Story

Non-Subscribers: Click Here to Subscribe