The Role of Education

Being a Webmaster is one of today's hottest careers, yet five or six years ago Webmasters did not even exist. This is an example of how education must consider preparing students for jobs that have yet to be created. Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, recently said (1997), "One of the most central dynamic forces [in the economy] is the accelerated expansion of computer and telecommunications technologies..clearly our educational institutions will continue to play an important role in preparing workers to meet these demands" (pg. 98). He also stated, "workers are facing the likelihood that they will need retooling during their careers...education is increasingly becoming a lifelong activity" (pg. 100). To prepare students to be lifelong learners requires a new approach to teaching, one in which students are taught how to learn on their own. 

Unfortunately, we don't have to look hard to find teachers utilizing new technological tools to replicate old educational models. For example, most uses of distance education employ the same  instructor delivering the same lecture to the same audience, only now the audience can be larger. This distance education model does nothing to address the concept of lifelong learning. This traditional model still places the student in a passive role, merely absorbing as much information as possible. Instead, more collaborative models of distance education could be employed. For example, The Center for Technology and Teacher Education at the University of Virginia uses live video connections with partner universities to bring together professors and students in a forum where all parties contribute and benefit from the collaborative learning experience. However, the overall dependence on the traditional instructional model dominates the majority of today's educational system.