Virtualization Of Teaching In Higher Education Constitutes Both Hope And Promise

Virtualization of teaching and distance learning in higher education constitute both hope and promise, if it is dealt with adequately and a clear view of its possibilities and limitations is maintained. Some of its possibilities are: the reduction of operating costs for teaching and learning programs, increased control of learning by the learner, more interactivity between all actors involved in the teaching-learning process, individually paced learning and lifelong learning. “Virtualization can deliver education to people, instead of people to education," wrote one scholar. But will it happen on a mass basis, worldwide?

All of this seems very tempting to higher education, which is so very pressured by the exceedingly high demands made upon it by society. In terms of its limitations, we mention: inequalities existing with regard to its level of incorporation to the Internet. This is especially true with assimilation of information among countries or even within social groups within countries and resistance to change. There is also the problem of the high costs of technology and its access to all groups within various countries. Problems exist in developing countries with a lack of resources to obtain new technology and provide universal access to it, including widespread computer usage and access at reasonable costs.
It seems that the growth of distance learning in higher education worldwide is directly linked to the inequality that stems from the varying levels of wealth that differentiate one country from another. This will not be resolved worldwide until the gap between rich and poor countries is closed. This is not within the control of educators but politicians. Thus the future of distance learning is based in the present.

Another very important factor that will decisively influence the future evolution of education into distance learning at its different levels is the emergence of a new generation of youths that is growing up in a world dominated by electronic technology, which is completely contrary to the philosophy of unidirectional and non-interactive transmission of information that characterizes television and other mass communications media. Don Tapscott published a study that dubbed this new generation the “N-Generation” – the Network Generation. Furthermore, these youths are able to learn this technology with ease and flexibility because it is essentially interactive and closely linked to their psychological needs and expectations. The conclusion is that students take to the idea of distance learning because they are so familiar with the technology.

The question for higher education planners and managers is what will happen when this generation works its way through the education system and reaches the university. Are universities prepared to meet the needs and expectations of a generation that can handle technology better than its professors? The demands they will make on the education system are not without context, for they will be the agents through which the new knowledge society will impose its culture. Will this increase the use of distance learning? Undoubtedly, the passage of young people through the education system will require change and will imply that they will not accept just the traditional solutions to the issues linked to their traditional classroom learning indefinitely.