An editorial comment on technology and academia -- including

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

I just cannot resist responding back. At  least at Penn and other schools I
know the faculty as a whole is certainly intelligently adopting technology
as it improves the function of the University -- namely to help students
learn. 


It is real easy to look and say technology is not everywhere -- I suspect
that is damn good. Last time technology was spilled on education it was to
suggest that students could watch video tapes and become educated.


As a matter of fact, most of the slowness of using appropriate technology
is due to very poor tools and the pressure from the Administration to
produce research grant dollars while faculty teach, serve, be innovative in
technology,...........


Sometime the Administration will have to stop wanting everything and start
saying what they really see as important and stick by it.


Dave


PRODUCTIVITY AND LEARNING
Educom vice president Mike Roberts is concerned that recent remarks he made
to the Washington Post (Edupage 12 Aug 97) may be mistakenly construed to
suggest that all faculty are resistant to technological change;  Roberts
says that, to the contrary, there are many instances of faculty
enthusiastic the new educational technologies.  But he adds:  "On the other
hand, the notion that the academy can indefinitely resist internal and
external pressures for change and for the productive employment of learning
technology gets less realistic by the day."  (Washington Post 10 Aug 97)