Technology and the Information Age: A Cautionary Tale for Higher Education

Abstract

Technology is a popular issue in higher education. Many institutions are devoting time and resources to its development with a view toward enhanced educational effectiveness. Applications include electronically packaged distance learning, retrieval of information across networks, innovative presentations of classroom materials, independently guided instructional experiences, and sophisticated data collection and analysis tools. Proponents point to an information superhighway that will revolutionize learning and provide a communal network for a knowledge-building society. Adversaries decry technology as replicating the worst features of the television age: superficiality, sound bites, and mindless web surfing. This paper provides a cautionary tale on the use of technology in the context of the authors' professional history in physical education in higher education. Lessons for and against using technology to advance the disciplines are presented to facilitate discussion and reflection among scholars as to what constitutes appropriate technological practice. Finally, a path-analysis model is provided to promote technology as an appealing facilitator of professional practice rather than an end in itself.