ERIC Number: ED404924
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1995
Pages: 48
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Information Technology: A Road to the Future? To Promote Academic Justice and Excellence Series.
Gilbert, Steven W.; Green, Kenneth C.
This publication is intended to provide college faculty and staff with a guide to information technology issues in higher education. Mid-Way through the 1990s, higher education confronts the second phase of the information technology (IT) revolution, a shift in emphasis from the computer as a desktop tool to the computer as a communications gateway. Major academic benefits are expected from increasing use of IT in the areas of content, curriculum, and pedagogy. For the academic year 1994-95, more than half of all entering freshmen were already familiar with an academic use of computing; because of this, IT has become another selling point for institutions as they compete for students. A growing number of faculty report improvements in the quality and effectiveness of their teaching by using IT, but investment in necessary support service staff are not keeping up with investments in technology. Use of the Internet is growing rapidly but access and use are uneven across and within campuses. However, the promises that IT would greatly improve productivity have yet to be realized. Today, it is in the areas of word processing, e-mail, and online information that IT is most common on campus. Many institutions are applying IT to new distance learning efforts. Institutions must plan how this technology will be used and must integrate IT into existing frameworks and goals. (Contains 10 reference notes.) (JLS)
Descriptors: Access to Information, Computer Uses in Education, Curriculum Development, Distance Education, Educational Technology, Electronic Mail, Higher Education, Information Technology, Internet, Investment, Needs Assessment, Technological Advancement, Telecommunications, Trend Analysis
Office of Higher Education, National Education Association, 1201 Sixteenth St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036.
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Teachers; Administrators; Practitioners
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Education Association, Washington, DC. Office of Higher Education.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A