The Influence of Technology on the Advancement of Scholarship in Education?

What do you believe has been the influence of technology on the advancement of scholarship in education?

Technology is a part of everyday life. We cannot escape its impact on everything whether it's the use of a cell phone to access the internet or the use of a laptop computer while on the go or even HD television. There is no escape so we either have to learn to accept it and adapt or be left behind. Technology's influence on the advancement of scholarship in education has wide reaching effects. Perry and Smart (2007) suggest that "to succeed in the twenty-first-century environment, graduates will need to be intellectually resilient, cross-culturally literate, technologically adept, and fully prepared for a future of continuous and cross-disciplinary learning" (Perry & Smart, 2007, p. 17). In other words, the learning environment should prepare students for the real world. Teachers have to meet the students where they are. No longer are students bombarding teachers' offices, instead filled inboxes await once the email is turned on. Perry and Smart (2007) posit that the increasing diversity of students is necessitating more faculty attention to addressing individuals' learning needs, and the increase in technology requires faculty to and implement new technology-related skills to facilitate their teaching and to respond to the constant press of email messages" (Perry & Smart, 2007, p. 65).

Technology's impact has definitely been felt in the nursing field. "Nursing is currently taught and practiced with great reliance on technology" (Bastable, 2007, p. xi). This is especially evident in our program. We communicate primarily through discussion postings on WebCT, emails and when in groups, telephones. Face-to-face communication is quite rare. Technology has greatly aided in research. Garfield, Cronin, and Atkins (2002) argued that "research was clustered around three variables: producers of the communication . . ., artifacts of communication . . . and communication concepts" (Garfield, Cronin & Atkins, 2002, p. 146). The impact of the new communication technologies to scholarly communication cannot be understated.

References

Bastable, S. (2007). Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practioners (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Garfield,