Technological Change, Virtual Learning, and Higher Education: Prospects, Problems, Potentials

Abstract

This chapter takes a critical look at the current enthusiasm for on-line distance education and virtual learning, as well as some deeper cultural and institutional implications of technological modernization for higher education’s future. I address four complex questions: Does computer-based instruction really improve pedagogy and add value to the learning process? Will the spread of computing and information technologies reinforce, even exacerbate, broader social inequalities? Can on-line education contribute to sustainable intellectual communities in cyberspace? Are pressures for commercialization undermining the ethos of higher education?