January 12, 1998 | | NEWS. Over The Edge Page 3 New education technologies cause a stir t By Mason Wright BURNABY, BC (CUP) For some people, the future of post-secondary education doesn’t mean much more than choos- ing a major or receiving a diploma. But for some people, it spells online courses and electronically marked term papers. Not surprisingly, these and other proposed tech- nological develop ments in education are sparking debate in academic cir- cles. The lines are clearly being drawn between two sides of the debate. On the one side stand univer- sity administrators and their corporate partners, who say a marriage of technology and education will not only benefit stu- dents, but save money as well. : On the other side, mem- bers of the university fac- ulty question the technol- ogy’s impact on the edu- cation system, their jobs and their ideas. Caught in the middle of the debate are the mil- lions of students whose educational fate is ulti- mately at stake. Recently, the debate has centered on_ initiatives supported by some pro- fessors at Simon Fraser University. Last November SFU hosted the annual confer- ence of the TeleLeaming Network of Centres of Excellence in Vancouver, which focused on online education. Simon Fraser has strong links to the informal asso- ciation of researchers and clients, which is funded by both public and private funds. One of its profes- sors, Linda Harasim, heads the network’s board of directors, which includes representatives from such industry heavy- weights as IBM Canada, AT&T Canada and the Bank of Montreal as well as government leaders and post-secondary administrators. Ultimately, the group hopes to transfer their findings to Canadian schools and companies. Simon Fraser has shown its interest in new learning technologies in other ways as well. In 1996, Harasim and Prof. Tom Calvert launched a spin-off com- pany of Simon Fraser University called Virtual Learning Environments, Inc. With the release of its Virtual-U technology which it promotes as an “online learning environ- ment for design, delivery, and. enhancement of courses at the post-sec- ondary level” the compa- ny has become a leader in the research and devel- opment of education technologies in Canada. But the involvement of corporation, government and administrators in the debate has some acade- mics worried. York University Prof. David Noble, who is criti- cal of the technology in education debate, has written extensively on what he calls’ the “automation of higher education.” “The high-tech transfor- mation of higher educa- tion is being initiated from the top down, either with- out any student and facul- ty involvement in the deci- sion-making or despite it,” he writes. Not so, says Ron Marteniuk, who will become interim leader of the | TeleLeaming Network of Cenires of Excellence when Harasim goes on leave next year. “(At the research level) there is tremendous inter- action with different inter- est groups,” he says, not- ing the network was recently commended. for its involvement of gradu- ate students. “| feel that there's a real- ly good give and take at the research level,” he added. But others insist faculty need to be more involved in the administration and development of online learning technolo- gies. Andrew Feenberg, who teaches at San Diego State University and was a special guest speaker at last week's conference, says administrators and educators have different priorities around this issue. “The business and administration actors are looking for ways to cut costs, so they make dif- ferent decisions about technology than faculty would make,” he says. But Marteniuk, who is also dean of applied sci- ences at Simon Fraser, disagrees. “We have business leaders that are concerned about the wel- fare of Canada, not just from a financial perspec- tive, but from a social per- spective, from a cultural perspective, and so forth,” he says. “A lot of those corpora- tions are putting money into the (the TeleLeaming Network of Centres of Excellence) to ask the question, ‘how can we better society?” Marteniuk adds. “That’s not to say that they don’t have a financial interest and might profit from it, but I’ve always been impressed by the breadth of knowledge of many people in industry.” Still, critics continue to have concerns about online education, includ- ing whether it will cause educators to be squeezed out of the education process altogether. “(Faculty) are scared. because they’re being told they're replaceable by machines,” says Feenberg. He argues education technologies have in a “devastating deprofes- sionalization” of a teacher's job. Recent developments seem to support his argu- ment. For example, technolo- gies for marking the con- tent of student essays are now being introduced, such as the software developed by Peter Koltz at New Mexico State University. Marteniuk says that fear is ungrounded. “There’s a misconception about what the main thrust of the TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence is. It's not about technolo- gy replacing teachers. It's asking the question (of whether) good pedagogy can be facilitated through the use of educational technology,” he says. Marteniuk says prelimi- nary research results sug- gest technology will not replace human contact, but. can be used to enhance it and contribute to a better learning expe- rience. York's Noble, however, doesn’t buy that argu- ment. He compares the de- skilling of teaching jobs to a trend that has swept through other areas of industry in the past: Taylorism. “Once the tasks are dis- assembled parts of them can be mechanized,” he says. “What we're seeing with professors is exactly the same process: identi- fying what a professor does to break down those tasks and then see what can be outsourced and what can be automated.” Noble concedes technol- ogy can sometimes enhance the learning experience, but only in a certain context. “That environment is small, seminar-type groups of highly-motivat- ed people, and it requires more, not less, labour in terms of teaching. That is not the way this technolo- gy is going to be used.” Despite the criticisms of Noble and others, howev- er, most people agree there is a place for online education in today’s world. “The (education) system isn't perfect,” says Simon Fraser communication professor Richard Smith. “You can go a hundred miles north of here, and people can’t get any kind of university education.” Freenberg agrees. “It's very important for (isolated students) to have the same chances everyone else has and distance learning can make a huge difference,” he says. Even Noble, the most outspoken of critics of new education technolo- gies, acknowledges they are sometimes neces- sary. “| have no quarrel at all with people having access this way if they don’t have access,” he says. “| think that should be applauded. We _ can't assume that what they’re getting is as good what they would get on the campus, but it’s better than nothing.” Of Banks and Loans By Nicole Larson Its that time of year again, student loan time. Unfortunately, loans may soon be harder to get for many students at universities, colleges and profes- sional schools across the country. The feder- al government is in the process of a six month assessment that will decide if schools with high student loan default rates should remain on a list of about 7,000 institutions eligi- ble for loan programs. Even though it is unlike- ly that UNBC would lose its loan status, stu- dents are worried. “! would have to drop out of school,” said Kara Smith, a UNBC student with a loan, “I don’t think I'd be able to get a job and pay off the loans | already owe, either.” The assessment is being pushed by banks who loan money to stu- dents on behalf of Ottawa and the provinces. They have been saying loan defaults are costing them too much money. This assessment comes at a time when student loans are at their highest point in the last 15 years and grad- uates are taking longer and longer to repay their student loans. According to Statistics Canada about half of all students borrow money, and within 2 years of graduation, about one borrower in twenty defaults on their student loan. Although, for every defaulted loan, there are five or six graduates who repay their loans completely, in the same period of time. Here at UNBC between 11,000 and 12,000 students, about 37 percent, have loans. The average loan for students at UNBC is $6,342, which over the course of a 4 year pro- gram can add up. On average, in Canada in 1995, at graduation each college borrower owed $9,600 and each bachelor’s borrower owed $13,300, as reported by Statistics Canada in December. Even though a total of $5,739,550 has been given to UNBC students this year in the form of awards, grants, student loans, and_ scholar- ships, loans still make up a large portion of that money. If UNBC were excluded from Federal and Provincial student loans many stu- dents would not be able to finish or even start their degree. “Let's just say,” said Smith, “If | couldn't get a loan next year, | would have to spend what's left on lot- tery tickets and pray for a windfall.”