Schools unready for technology boom

By Bridget Murray
Monitor staff

It will take careful planning by universities to realize the potential of classroom computer hook-ups, web-based courseware and other learning technologies, said speakers at the Miniconvention on Education and Technology at APA's 1999 Annual Convention.

But so far, that hasn't happened, said Steven Gilbert, president of the TLT Group, an American Association for Higher Education affiliate that advises universities on information technology. Instead, universities have raced to wire students and classrooms without much forethought.

And while unplugging computers isn't an option, said Gilbert, finding better ways of using them is.

"We're past the point of no return in this technology revolution," said Gilbert in an Aug. 21 invited address. "But we don't know where we're going."

Technology potentially offers tremendous advantages to students and faculty alike, said another speaker, Mark Luker, PhD, in the miniconvention's Aug. 20 opening address. It can broaden students' access to education, provide more personalized, self-paced learning and boost collaboration among professors and researchers.

But, said Luker, before embracing the latest multimedia craze, universities should consider such questions as who pays for and provides technology--faculty, corporations, support staff or university administrators--and how best can it help students learn.

"Most universities haven't thought about what they really want to accomplish with technology--how they can take this opportunity to redirect their institutions," said Luker. He is a vice president at Educause, an information technology association of more than 1,600 colleges, universities and corporations.

The goal, he said, should be to use technology to enhance learning, lower costs and reach a wider range of students than is possible without it. And psychologists, with their expertise in human interaction and learning, are essential to researching what works best, said Luker and Gilbert.

Opportunities and unknowns

Why the need for research now? Because more people are using computers than ever before, said the speakers. With the advent of the Internet and the proliferation of the personal computer, technology has never been cheaper, easier to use or more engaging, said Luker. And with the additions of video, live sound and digital libraries, he said, it will grow ever more popular in education.

Technology's proponents see scores of benefits, said Gilbert. Computers and web access will cost less and the quality of online interaction will improve, they predict. As a result, they say, more students will be able to access course material and library resources any time, any place. Educators and researchers, too, will be better able to share their knowledge and expertise.

Supporters also claim that the web bolsters active learning through online discussion, builds writing skills through online postings and allows learning at a pace that fits individual students' schedules and needs.

Detractors, however, raise the question of who develops, pays for and supports it, said Luker. Some faculty--the early adopters--have experimented with multimedia classrooms and web-based courses, he said, but most haven't been compensated for the extra money and time they spend doing it.

"It's a labor of love that's not rewarded," said Luker. "Should faculty be bearing this burden?"

Certainly, larger universities provide support through their information technology departments, but often the support isn't evaluated for quality and is inconsistent.

"Faculty and support staff often can't keep on top of the new options," said Gilbert, "leaving them overwhelmed, frightened and confused."

What's needed

Meanwhile, nobody is yet certain what technology does and doesn't do better than the regular classroom, said Gilbert. That, he said, is the question psychologists and other researchers must answer.

"We need to ask ourselves, 'What do we want to gain with technology versus what do we cherish and not want to lose?'" said Gilbert.

Researchers could, for example, examine claims that technology enhances active learning, and the idea of "teacher as coach." Or they could explore how traditional and online educational approaches affect communication between students and faculty. Conducting such research and sharing the findings will require increased collaboration among faculty and students, said Gilbert.

That's not news to students in Thomas Treadwell's psychology of leadership class at West Chester University, nor in Donna Ashcraft's health psychology class at Clarion University--both in Pennsylvania. Treadwell and Ashcraft have teamed students from the two schools in an Internet project. Their students will produce online papers about the links between stress, health, leadership and motivation.

As part of the team-up, writing assistants from the University of Wyoming will advise the students via the Internet on their writing clarity and style. In addition, students will fill out research batteries that gauge their levels of engagement and collaboration with online partners.

Different universities must work more closely with each other and with corporations, said Luker, to improve educational hardware and software and to bolster technological support.

"What we might one day see," said Luker, "is teams of specialists from universities, businesses and elsewhere doing technological content, design, programming, evaluation, testing and marketing."

For more information about the collaborative online project involving psychology students and faculty at West Chester and Clarion Universities, visit the web site albie.wcupa.edu/treadwell/99apa/. For more information about Educause and the TLT Group, visit their web sites at www.educause.edu and www. tltgroup.org.



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