Neil Postman\'s Viewpoint Neil Postman

Neil Postman's Viewpoint

Neil Postman on distance education and technology every culture must negotiate with technology, whether it does so intelligently or not. A bargain is struck in which technology giveth and it also taketh away. The wise know this well and are rarely impressed by dramatic technological change, and never overjoyed."

On the surface, the Internet seems like a blessing for higher education -- after all, so many of the pesky logistical details of going to school are eliminated, such as the need for all students to be at the same place at the same time. Students can coordinate their classes more easily with their work schedules, and professors can teach hundreds of students online through virtual classrooms. The lowered cost of online education because of a lack of a need for brick and mortar areas to learn means education is cheaper. Theoretically, this cost savings can and will be passed on to the consumer, and a variety of lesser-paid, part-time adjuncts serve the roles once held by full professors, creating a student-focused culture rather than an institution designed to accrue profits and a reputation for the university.

What are lost from this 'innovative' approach to education are the benefits of real, face-to-face human interactions between students and professors. The more distanced use of virtual message boards rather than a classroom discussion format requires less of a personal investment in doing all of the class readings -- students make one comment, and then leave the 'room.' Adjuncts have less of a feeling of loyalty for their institutions, and on a macro, societal level, while distance learning may encourage part-time learning, this can be a 'bad' thing as fewer students will feel as though they can afford to sacrifice four years of their working lives for the purpose of gaining a high-quality liberal arts education. Instead, they will approach education in a more technical fashion, in terms of what skills they can gain to improve their ability to get a job or a promotion, nothing more. Societal pressures not to attend four-year institutions may increase from family members, or at very least, it may become more expected that workers take a 'virtual' route to education, unless they are very wealthy.

One of the dangers of technology is that the opportunity to use technology creates different social norms. Today, everyone has a cell phone because it is expected, and to function in society people assume they can contact you 24/7. Society is structured around people with access to a fast-paced car, access to information through television, and a computer. Once technology becomes ubiquitous, it is hard to ignore it, unless you strive to become part of a parallel society like the Amish, governed on different values. If technology and distance education becomes the accepted way education is disseminated, a close faculty and student relationship, sitting at the student union and chatting with friends about important issues will be a thing of the past. Even career opportunities gained at college, like access to internship possibilities may become 'lost.'