Therc:: are several characteristics of information technology that set it apart from earlier experiences with technology-driven change: 1 ) ~ t s active rather than passive nature; 2) the way that it obliterates the constraints of space and time (and perhaps reality); 3) its extraordinary rate of evolution, relentlessly increasing in power by factors of 100 to 1000 fold decade after decade; and
4)
the manner in which it unleashes the power of the market place. Furthermore, this technology drives very significant restructuring of our society and social institutions through what Brown and Duguid (2000) term the 6-D effects: demassification, decentralization, denationalization, despccia~llzation, disintermediation, and disaggregation. Perhaps we should add a seventh "L)", democratization, since the technology provides unusual access tlo knowledge and knowledge services (such as education) hitherto restricted to the privileged few. Like the printing press, this technology not only enhances and broadly distributes access to knowledge, but in the process it shifts power away from institutions to those who are educated and trained in the use of the new knowledge media.Most discussions concerning information technology and higher educa- tion deaLl primarily with technology's impact upon instruction, for example, online distance education or virtual universities. But the roles of the contem- porary university are broad and diverse, ranging from educating the young to preservi~ng our cultural heritage; providing the basic research essential to national security, economic prosperity, and social well-being; training our professionals and certifying their competence; and challenging our society and stirr~ulating social change. Knowledge is the medium of the university in the sense that each of its many roles involves the discovery, shaping, transfer, or application of knowledge. In this sense, it is clear that the rapid evolution of' inforrnatlon and communications technologies will reshape all of the roles of the university. Thus, to understand the future of the university in the digi- tal age, ~t is important to consider the impact of technology o n each of its activities.
THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY O N THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNIVERSITY
T h e earliest applications of information technology in research involved using the computer to solve mathematical problems in sclence and technol- ogy. Toclay, problems that used to require the computational capacity of rooms of' supercomputers can be tackled with the contemporary laptop com- puter. T h e rapid evolution of this technology is enabling scholars to address previously unsolvable problems, such as proving the four-color conjecture In mathematics, analyzing molecules that have yet to be synthesized, or simulat- ing the birth of the universe.
42
I'art 1: The New 21st Century Environment and ~ t s Implications for Universltic:~...
T h e availability of high bandwidth access to instrumentation, data, and colleagues is also changing the way scholars do their work. They n o longer need to focus as much o n the availability of assets such as equipment or the physical proximity of colleagues, and instead can focus o n hypotheses ;and questions. It has also changed the way graduate students interact and partici- pate in research, opening up the environment for broader participation. 112 fact, Information technology is "democratizing" research by allowing researchers and institutions that would normally not have access to the sophisticated facilities and libraries of research universities to become engaged in cutting edge scholarship.
T h e preservation of knowledge is one of the most rapidly changing func- tions of the university. T h e computer-or more precisely, the "digital convet-- gence" of various media from print-to-graphics-to-sound-to-sensory experi- ences through virtual reality-will likely move beyond the printing pres,s in its impact o n knowledge. T h e library is becoming less a collection house .and more a center for knowledge navigation, a facilitator of information retrieval and dissemination (Daedelus, 1966, pp. v-vii). In a sense, the library and the book are merging. O n e of the most profound changes will involve the evo1u~- tion of software agents that will collect, organize, relate, and summarize knowleclge o n behalf of their human masters. Our capacity to reproduce and distribute digital information with perfect accuracy at essentially zero (lost has shaken the very foundations of copyright and patent law and threatens to redefine the nature of the ownership of intellectual property (Barlow, 1994:).
T h e legal and economic management of university intellectual property 1,s rapidly I~ecoming one of the most critical and complex issues facing higher education.
T h e traditional classroom paradigm is also being challenged, not so much by the faculty, who have by and large optimized their teaching effort and their tirne commitments to a lecture format, but by students. Members of today's digital generation of students have spent their early lives immersed in robust, visual, electronic medla-home computers, video games, cyberspace networks, and virtual reality. They expect-indeed, demand-interaction, approaching learning as a "plug-and-play" experience; they are unacczus- tomed and unwilling to learn sequentially-to read the manual-and instead are incli~ned to plunge in and learn through participation and experimenta- tion. Although this type of learning is far different from the pyramidal approach of the traditional college curriculum, it may be far more effective for this generation, particularly when provided through a media-rich envl- ronment.
For a time, such students may tolerate the linear lecture paradigm of the traditional college curriculum. They still read what we assign, write the required, term papers, and pass our exams. But this is decidedly not the way
Chapter 4: Preparing for the Revolution: T h e Future of the Unlvers~ty In...
they learn. They learn in a nonlinear fashion, skipping from beginning to end and then back again, and building peer groups of learners, developing sophisticated learning networks in cyberspace. In a very real sense, they build their own learning environments that enable interactive, collaborative learning., whether we recognize and accommodate this or not.
Sophisticated networks and software environments can be used to break the classroom loose from the constraints of space and time and make learning available: to anyone, anyplace, at any time. T h e simplest approach uses mul- timedia technology via the Internet to enable distance learning. Yet many believe that effective computer-network-mediated learning will not be sim- ply a n Internet extension of correspondence or broadcast courses. Since learning requires the presence of communities, the key impact of information technolc~gy may be the development of computer-mediated communications and com,munities that are released from the constraints of space and time.
Thcrc is already sufficient experience with such asynchronous learning net- works to conclude that, at least for many subjects and when appropriately constructed, the computer-mediated distance learning process is just as effec- tive as the classroom experience (Bourne, 2000).
T h e attractiveness of computer-mediated distance learning is obvious for adult learners whose work or family obligations prevent attendance a t con- ventionall campuses. But perhaps more surprising is the degree to which many on-campus students are now using computer-based distance learning to augment their traditional education. Broadband digital networks can be used to enhance the multimedia capacity of hundreds of classrooms across campus and link them with campus residence halls and libraries. Electronic mail, teleconferencing, and collaboration technology is transforming our institu- tions from hierarchical, static organizations to networks of more dynamic and egalitarian communities. Distance learning based o n computer-network- mediated paradigms allows universities to push their campus boundaries out- ward to serve new learners. Those institutions willing and capable of building such learning networks will see their learning communities expand by a n order of magnitude.
In the near term, at least, traditional models of education will coexist with new learning paradigms, providing a broader spectrum of learning opportuni- ties in the years ahead. T h e transitions from student to learner, from teacher to designer-coach-consultant, and from alumnus to lifelong member of a learning community seem likely. A n d with these transitions and new options will come both a n increasing ability and responsibility on the part of learners to select, design, and control the learning environment.
44 Part 1: The New 21st Century Environment and its Implications for Universities ...