The Human Element: Faculty Collaboration in an Increasingly Digital World
The Human Element: Faculty Collaboration in an Increasingly Digital World
Like most technologies, Web 2.0 learning tools can connect or divide us. The path we choose depends on how we understand and use the tools. Since ancient times, technological advances have stoked fears (among some) that our humanism will erode when new technologies grab hold of how we interact. No less a scholar than Socrates warned us that writing words down on parchment would kill our memories. Conversely, technological advances have also been seen as life-giving and nourishing, particularly by early indigenous populations who innovated to advance agriculture and irrigation. This fundamental separation — whether technology is bringing us together or pulling us apart — is alive in the 21st century, including within U.S. higher education. Students and faculty are the most impacted.
