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 New Opportunities in the Learning Field

   Education is the knowledge or skill obtained or developed by a learning process or also an instructive or enlightening experience[1]. This idea of education through enlightenment and instruction seems somewhat ideal by today’s standards but this ideal did once exist long before our arrival, in the time of the Athenian School of Thought. It was here that ancient philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and Pythagorus gathered under ideal classical architecture to discuss and debate[2]. These men were, and still are, considered great thinkers, and although time has elapsed and so many things have changed, students continue to study their ideas and theories. This alone speaks volumes on the importance of setting and their style of expanding the mind: some how it was accomplished without the use of technology. Learning and developing was simply done for the sake of knowing and the sake of broadening a knowledge base, but today the reasons behind developing knowledge are quite different and this “ideal” definition of education doesn’t seem to exist in our educational system.

   In today’s educational system many university students are finding themselves feeling empty and confused with their current post-secondary experience, and also previous schooling experiences. In a recent survey, it has been found that thirty-four per cent of first year university students’ drop out[3]. Perhaps the process of memorization, regurgitation and remaining yet another nameless student seems somewhat unappealing to those trying to discover what it is that they want to do with their lives. A saddening majority of students will walk away with degrees that hold no real meaning or value. Students experience pressure to attend university, in hopes that graduation will present them with a job that will make their parents proud. In a survey done within elementary and secondary levels of education by MetLife “only 15 percent of students surveyed said they believe their school is preparing students extremely well to go to college[4]” and “less than half (42%) of students report that teachers very much encourage them to do their best[5]”. It all seems to come down to a scramble to keep a grade point average at a comparable high with other students or to pass a test or paper that will certainly be forgotten once the year is over. Emphasis is being pressed in all the wrong places: students are trying to put forth results when what we really need is guidance and someone to help develop our own personal knowledge base. We are seen more or less as numbers, rather than people who are rarely asked what they think or who they are. The process of true discovery and development, what schools (and more specifically universities) want from their students can only come forth from people who know themselves, who know their strengths and know the meaning of putting in all you have. But, if students aren’t even given the opportunity to discover all that they are, how could they possibly give it in a post-secondary setting.

   Looking beyond education, for a moment, it’s undeniable that much of our world is based on information technology, meaning that a huge majority of the world’s population works with computer. Over 12.9 million Canadian adults have Internet access either at home, through work or school[6] and the number of American adults with Web access grew from 88 million to 104 million in the second half of 2000[7]. Whether it is computer usage from homes or workplaces, working with or finding government information and services, e-commerce, online education or distance learning, and most of all the Internet offers communication opportunities that many of us had only dreamed of.

   With IT taking such a major role within our societies, importance is being placed upon skills, expertise and basic knowledge of computer technology, so in order to remain desirable in a competitive work force students are looking to develop these needed skills. Where technology has essentially become a necessity in education and the workforce, it has become a priority for schools at all levels, especially at the post-secondary level, to integrate technology into the curriculum. But, the problems seem to truly arise at the post-secondary setting where universities rely on funding through the government and students’ tuition payments which accounts for nineteen per cent of universities total annual revenue in 1999/2000[8]. Basically the rest of the necessary money for Canadian universities come from sponsored research funding from governments, the private sector and other non-government organizations which added up to $2.8 billion in 1999/2000[9]. Universities and colleges all over Canada and the United States are looking to remain desirable to students by being comparable or advantageous over other higher education institutes. This need results in a campaign for profits and results, over the ideal view of education where development and the students’ needs are the priority.

   With this said, it seems that computer and information technology within the university setting can be quite damaging to students and their opportunities to receive the education and instruction they want. Placed upon an already unstable system of education which relies heavily on student payments and corporate sponsors and donations, it seems unlikely that positive results would prevail. But the truth is that information technology can be used positively within the educational system, especially in higher education. With this in mind, IT is quite comparable to the use of globalization. Globalization is quite tricky to define, but one basic definition would sound something like this: increased mobility of goods, services, labour, technology and capital throughout the world[10]. Used properly, globalization can have incredible benefits for many. For example, an unemployed Inuit woman living in Nunavut can make a living for herself by selling her artwork online without having to suffer the price of a middle man, or retailer, taking her hard earned money. This is an example of globalization working for the people of the world, but this same concept can be misused and that is how we are finding children working in sweatshops in India. Applying this same theory upon information technology and its effect on education one would see that both negative and positive effects can occur depending on the strength of the educational system at hand.

   Focusing first on the advantages of information technology within the educational system, many find that this new concept of a global classroom, where technology is integrated into all levels of the class, is the means of advancing students to a level of educational learning that has ceased to ever exist[11]. In a survey done by Campus Computing Project's nearly 600 U.S. colleges and universities it’s estimated that half their students used the Internet daily for their studies and with a statistic this high, it’s obvious that information technology will integrate itself into the education system, changing the traditional classroom setting into a global one. This era of educational change is considered an extremely exciting time where the system and structure of learning will be pushed as far as our imaginations will take us, which essentially has no boundaries. Just imagine, we are only limited by our own creativity and if we think up something that doesn’t exist yet, it can almost be guaranteed that technological advances will bring it to us in only a short matter of time. Essentially, our opportunities as students, as educators and as life-long learners are breaking past the walls that once held back our ideas.

   Technology is also providing opportunities to develop knowledge in general with the use of university courses and programs online. If you have access to the resources you can better your education and therefore your status in the workforce by partaking in distance learning, or online courses. And, for those who simply want to broaden their knowledge without the degrees and programs, the Internet is an educator all on its own, with endless information available at the click of a button. Students can interact online with other students, professors, friends, political figures, government and organizations around the globe; become involved and aware of politics on a national and international scale; develop interests that otherwise may not have been available; be aware of news and events occurring within their world and the greater world around them and also, information on nations, governments, companies and people is much easier to assess by the average web surfer, so things become more transparent and truths can no longer be hidden.

   Ideally, these advantages are what the educational system wants within their classrooms. Technology is basically becoming a necessity at all levels of education; it is a skill that is being brought into the elementary, secondary and even more so, the university classrooms. One day, technology will most likely be necessary within the realms of our careers so it is necessary to master the skills now. But as mentioned above, the advantages are somewhat ideal and don’t look quite how we all want them to in our current system of education. It seems that they look the worst at the university level because it is here that universities are no longer public, like most elementary and secondary schools are.

   As public support decreased and societal demand increased, the government pulled back university funding in the 1980’s, so these institutions in Canada and the United States had to raise tuition to meet the demands of higher education, especially in light of the desperately needed advancements that technology has brought about[12]. Many of these institutions have had to turn to corporations for funding or receive “gifts” from alumni families, much like Acadia University did with the undisclosed sum of money that alumni, J.D. Irving, gave to Acadia to build a botanical garden, and campus meeting place. Elaine Benoit, spokesperson for Acadia's office of public affairs, insists this will have no bearing on the research conducted. "We will continue to conduct the same kind of research we have in the past. It's not a buy-out; we're not selling ourselves to the family.[13]" Excepting an undisclosed sum of money does at least attach an institution to a particular family no matter what the spokespeople say. This is another way that technology can lead education from its ideal version to a version based on gain and profits.

   With technology emerging as such a key player, institutions have used it to their profitable advantage. “Many educational institutions seem driven to use newly found access to global data communication that will increase enrollments and will award a vast range of degrees through massive investments in distance education programs[14].” But, unfortunately these steps to be adaptive and remain competitive with “fast track diplomas” have created programs, that “…when compared in-depth to the curricula of bona fide academic institutions… …these ventures appeared to be little more than money-making plots managed by capitalistic-minded individuals who held verily the slightest regard for academic values.” This simple act of taking advantage of students need for technology and fast paced education seems to have made education into a commodity, or means to an end rather than an end in itself[15].

   Students are now finding themselves referred to as “clients” in most universities and are feeling even less appreciated and less motivated to truly put themselves into their studies. Now, how is it that students become “clients”? The universities are realizing their cost cutting potential through the use of technology. Wired campuses, distance learning and online classes and discussions won’t require lecture halls, full faculty, libraries and laboratories. The idea of students becoming clients simply goes hand in hand with the idea of commodifying education. Universities are taking roles of businesses where transactions are conducted. Clients pay for their education, or their degree, and it is given to them by the institution. As Michael Margolis stated in his article entitled Brave New Universities, “…Institutions of higher education in United States are considered superior because they have delivered a lucrative educational product for a competitive price…[16]

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