The Technology of Education

            It has not always been easy for working adults to earn a degree while working full-time but with today’s technology it is getting much easier.  Today, adults of all ages can sit in their living rooms and earn a degree from a university across the country.  They can learn from an instructor who is not on campus and with students in other states or even other countries.   

            A report sponsored by the New Media Consortium entitled “The future of higher education: how technology will shape learning” found the following:

·         Technology has had—and will continue to have—a significant impact on higher education.

·         Online learning is gaining a firm foothold in universities around the world.

·         University respondents view technology as having a largely positive impact on their campuses.

·         Higher education is responding to globalization.

(Glenn, 2008).

            On-line education is giving all adults the opportunity to work an education into their busy schedules, instead of the other way around.  Students can go to class at five in the morning or ten at night, whatever is easiest for them.  Adults armed with little more than a computer, a little effort, and some time can finally achieve their dreams of a higher education. 

The specialization, customization and convenience that distance education affords has found an eager audience among students, working professionals and employers. Many academic institutions, and especially those with a public-service mandate, consider online learning key to advancing their mission, placing post-graduate education within reach of people who might otherwise not be able to access it.  (Glenn, 2008).

The use of technology in education has made great strides. Where we were once learning to use computers, we are now using computers to learn.

References

Glenn, M. (2008, October). The future of higher education: how technology will shape learning.

Retrieved July 19, 2011, from http://www.nmc.org: http://www.nmc.org/pdf/Future-of-

Higher-Ed-(NMC).pdf