How Are You Going to Keep Them in the Classroom After They've Seen MTV? Online Education in a Virtual World

Abstract

Can technology make education more attainable for those on the lower economic levels? If so, this might raise the standard of living for everyone, not just the poor, because their increased income would enable them to consume more goods and services and share more of the tax load. Can technology make education more available to those who cannot conveniently take classes at a fixed time and place? Can it meet the needs of busy professionals for frequent upgrading of their skills? Is teaching online and at a distance as effective as classroom teaching? Can all students learn through this medium, and if not what type of student can most benefit? Will it meet the needs of the MTV generation, who have become accustomed to acquiring most of their knowledge from a television set? What are the most promising technologies that will improve the effectiveness of distance learning? We will explore these topics in this chapter, commencing with some thoughts about the impact of technology in the learning process.