Brown and Duguid Implications of the Conclusions Drawn in the Readings

What interested me the most about the conclusion drawn by the authors was the change that they predict for universities as a result of the digital age. Some of these technologies supplement traditional learning environments and provide additional opportunities for construction of knowledge or collaboration among students. Many of these technologies have been or are being implemented in colleges and universities around the world.

The interesting question is whether these technologies could replace the college campus altogether? I don't think that they could.

The authors cite several reasons that digital technology would not replace the physical presence of universities. They reason that knowledge has a social component and that face to face interaction between the faculty and students better promotes learning. However, a more compelling reason for maintaining campus life exists, in my opinion.

College in the United States is not just about learning what is necessary to pursue a career; it has become, for a certain sector of our population, part of a rite of passage from youth to adulthood. For many teenagers, not yet ready to face the adult world, it is not only a semi-adult, fairly safe environment in which to pursue academics, but also an environment in which they are able to live independently with other students their own age, while still receiving financial support from home. For their parents as well, it is a solution for children too old to continue to live at home, yet too young to be "thrown to the lions" of the real world.

Moreover, distance learning, while it has been positive for me, a middle-aged woman changing careers, can’t replace the social aspect of learning needed for younger students just out of high school. It can’t replace the knowledge and maturity gained through living away from home and being mentored by peers and professors, while still enjoying the financial "safety net" of your family. It can’t replace the camaraderie and the academic influence professors exercise just by being available to chat in the dining hall or at football game. These issues are less important to older students who have already developed these social skills.

I sincerely hope that asynchronous learning continues to be used by universities as a supplement to their rigorous academic programs and that new technologies, as they develop, will also be incorporated. I also hope that administrators and scholars use restraint in allowing these technologies to replace what is so vital and unique to the college experience for undergraduate students, the social contact in a fairly encapsulated environment between students and their mentors.