I feel that it is only natural to wonder the worth of each of these technologies; why are these colleges putting money towards these technologies? Are they actually trying to give their student athletes and fans a once-in-a-lifetime experience, or are they using the technology to entice students to hand over a tuition check?
I suppose either reason and others are ok. It’s a free country after all.
However, I wonder what the impact of all these big, flashy technology investments will have on students in the future.
I wonder if students will be able to use these technologies to boost their educational experience and prepare them for life post-graduation, or if students will only be hypnotized by merely a great experience and end up paying for beautiful visuals and training facilities through their mountainous student loans until middle age sets in.
Plus, I wonder how these technologies will affect current students’ perception of the world once they leave college. Will they expect to see huge, teched-out facilities in the work world, will they expect the workplace to customize their environments and work gadgets, and are these expectations realistic?
When will technology investments get so big and expensive and drain funds for colleges and workplaces alike? When will people be dazzled enough by video walls and touch screens and interactive cameras?
What happens to the colleges and work places that can’t afford or keep up with these demands?
I fear that over-the top technology will skew end users’ perceptions of its function in a college setting.
I fear end users – instructors and students alike – will develop a false sense of technology’s role in reality and formulate unrealistic expectations of what technology can and should do for them. I fear that technology will eventually serve the sole purpose of wowing people rather than teaching them.
As a small voice in a large industry, I encourage colleges to use technology as creatively as possible – do what it takes to get butts in seats and give students the best experience possible.
However, I challenge colleges to consider end users’ future before they place an order for the newest product to hit the market. Is the technology you are investing in a necessity or commodity, self-serving or donating to end users? Is it going to benefit end users, or warp their expectations of what technology can do for them in the real world?
Will your investment break the bank, or gain an ROI of good learning and reasonable profit?
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