The New Technology:Is it Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem in Technical Education?

This paper attempts to raise some significant questions about theory and practice in educational technology and the way in which educators perceive it. It also deals with cultural, social and philosophical issues that are often ignored in discussions of the use and potential of technology in education. While drawing together a varied image of the state of technology in the college today, some common themes emerge.

* Technology is not a panacea. Its use does not automatically lead to more, better, or cheaper learning; its introduction will not always happen quickly or easily; and it will not automatically compensate for poorly educated teachers or high numbers of students in individual classrooms.

* Designing technology-based products for learning requires special care. One cannot simply reconfigure what has been used in the past and expect radically different results, nor is that process of design and development necessarily easy to specify at the current moment.

* Technology has social as well as cognitive effects. While we often think of computers and their use in education as topics principally technical in nature, these systems are in fact intensely social in how we perceive them, how we use them and how we assess their effectiveness and value.

Coping with these diverse and sometimes unanticipated aspects of technology-based learning environments requires' educators to exercise special care m their design and use, and in working with others to use them.

Because technology is credited as being a significant factor in increasing productivity in many industries, some people believe that more effective use of technology in colleges could do more to improve educational opportunities and quality. Research indicates that while there are poor uses of technology in education, appropriate technology use can be very beneficial in increasing educational productivity.