New Technologies and Professional Communications in Education (Occasional Paper 13), David Smith, (Ed.) London: National Council for Educational Technology, 1988, 168 pages. |
VOL. 6, No. 2, 85-86
Clive Neville's Foreword to this book sets the tone of "cautious excitement" that runs throughout the contributions. Although the title refers to "New Technologies," the emphasis is on computer- based communications. It is suited for people involved in education - teachers, administrators, researchers - who are not computer buffs but who do have an appreciation that there is potential for the application of computer-based technologies to their field of endeavour. As the Preface says, "The book is not intended to be an academic treatise, but a `snapshot album'" of the possibilities and issues consequent on the development and use of new information technologies in education.
The book is divided into four parts. Parts I and II deal in the main with the use of computer- based communication as a means for fostering professional development and co-operation among educators; they examine some of the issues that arise as a result of the new forms of communication. One issue that receives some attention is that education is following its usual slow pace in taking advantage of innovations, and there is an underlying concern that the technology should not be an end in itself. Part III builds on the issues explored in the first two parts and examines electronic communications and open learning. Part IV consists of four case studies on the use of computer-based communications.
As I read many of the contributions, I found myself thinking of ways in which some of the ideas could be implemented in my own institution - the "snapshots" do encourage one to want to develop a full-length film on some of the themes. The case studies in Part IV, which highlight success and failure, can help in the formulation of ideas. One small but annoying problem with some of the papers was the use of acronyms that were not explained.
Christine Marrett
Project Officer
University of the West Indies Distance Teaching Experiment
(UWIDITE)
University of the West Indies
Mona Campus
Kingston 7
Jamaica, W.I.