Thanks to Jason Harrison for putting the dissertation in html format.
The brink of the 21st century is permeated with giant technological advances in the relationship between education and communication systems. The dizzying pace of the advances in the digital world has resulted in rapid metamorphoses in the understanding of such concepts as information, knowledge and learning, on one hand, and the methods employed for conveying these concepts on the other. The explosion of high tech has resulted in the necessity to redefine many of these previously familiar ideas. Reliance on technology demands more specialized qualifications for working with the increasingly more intricate equipment. At the same time, this amplified demand for technical knowledge appears to overshadow other areas of both practical and philosophical significance. Rapid exchanges of information leave little room for analysis and contemplation, thereby blurring the distinction between mere data and the further reaches of knowledge. This a priori conceptual analysis provides a means for a philosophical investigation of knowledge as it applies to culture and technology and as these aspects relate to distance education. This investigation opens the discussion of issues concerning the introduction of technology into the educational process. At the same time, the discussion is presented as a cautionary tale to raise awareness of the issues and suggest further studies.
Since the accumulation of information has been expanding at an exponential rate of growth, its processing and significance have become increasingly more difficult for the average person to understand. These accelerated developments contribute to the ever-widening gap between the mass of information and possibilities, on the one hand, and an individual's personal opportunity to achieve mastery over the elusive yet increasing body of knowledge, on the other. Commercial advertising entices the consumer to purchase various computer programs under the promise of one's newly acquired ability to download "knowledge into their hard-drives." Such advertising promises further confuse the issue of facts and their meaning.
In order to make sense of all this progress, knowledge must be distinguished from information in kind as well as in degree. This investigation will attempt to unravel the distinction between information and knowledge in the hope of discovering the limitations of technological means of educational delivery. As will be shown, knowledge refers to a wider process of manipulation of information along with synthesis and analysis. Understanding basic principles that govern the underlying reality requires more than transmission of data. If this definition is correct, then technology may enhance the learning and education process, yet it can not relay knowledge. The risks inherent in overconfidence in technology may conflate the transfer of information and knowledge. The distinction between these two concepts refers to information being the precept while knowledge provides the concepts and means of integrating the data. Technological advances offer a solution for dealing with the increasing amount of data and information by extending the natural qualities and capacities of the human mind. Technology may aid the processing and storage of information in a fast and accurate manner, but the sentient being manipulating the information is the one that has knowledge. Reducing knowledge to just information transfer weakens and overly simplifies the idea of education and thereby confuses the need for understanding the concepts for the manipulation of the information. Thus, on the one hand, new information and data grow exponentially, but on the other hand, computers and other related tools provide wider and faster access and usage of the available data. The power of the computer -- especially in the areas of communication and social change -- was made acutely poignant by the implementation of electronic mail in the White House, and its subsequent press release:
Today we are pleased to announce that for the first time in history, the White House will be connected to you via electronic mail. Electronic mail will bring the Presidency and this Administration closer and make it more accessible to the people. (letter from the President and Vice-President in announcement of White House electronic mail access, June 1, 1993).[1]1
It would appear that without these high tech advances and equipment, human progress in knowledge and understanding of the world would be very slow and difficult. The opportunities that new technology produces allow for large databases with fast cross-references which have hailed the era of global information highways and the integration of more diverse ideas. The same forces that propel humans to constant adjustment and change -- that is, the technology -- also provide the tools for re-evaluation and thereby enrich the intellectual relationship between individuals and their environments. All these features offer the promise of more free flow of information and thereby greater interaction among diverse populations and geographical spans.
Fast-paced modern societies and demands for specialization increasingly require more precise skills and abilities on the part of individuals. Along with this, there is an increasing need for life-long education, since adults must continually upgrade their knowledge to meet technologic advances. In other words, it appears that on the whole, society itself is becoming a complex school, forcing the necessary participation of its citizens in the continual up-grading of skills in order for these citizens to be able to cope with the ever-changing world. The technological changes in turn affect the available body of knowledge and its component data bases. Philosophical questions arise about the implications of technology in particular dealing with education and learning. It is necessary to address the role of information and its transference in the learning process and the methods whereby information can ultimately become knowledge.
The processes of education and learning promise the delivery of knowledge to students, and technology is seen as a possible alternative means of teaching. The question becomes whether technology would ultimately enhance education, and how best it may be employed in the process. Together, technology and its effects on individuals and their understanding of the world, produce new ways of formulating knowledge and also new means to enable individuals to find meanings amidst the data. Knowledge is to be viewed as the ability to synthesize facts, evidence, principles, laws, and logical reasoning. In order for this concept of knowledge to be achieved, alternative teaching and learning methods must be sought. Is education to be to reduced to the manipulation of information, or is the learning process more complex relying on discussion and dialogue and thus necessitating real time personal contact between the teacher and the student?
Traditional schooling appears inadequate to meet these new pressures. This deficiency opens the door for new considerations of ways to teach, learn and understand. Time constraints, in conjunction with the many roles and expectations that plague modern adults, place special demands and strains on traditional schooling. This forces learners and educators alike to search for alternative teaching and learning methods. Of primary importance in formulating such methods is the continuous incorporation of the latest studies in neurobiological research, psychological testing, memory and intelligence developments. All these areas significantly contribute to our understanding of the thinking processes of human beings along with sociological and cultural studies. Formulating teaching and learning methods that follow the pattern-forming processes of the brain can greatly enhance education by emphasizing the understanding and synthesis of ideas and their relation to the more complex body of knowledge the individual already possesses.
Among the alternative methods are correspondence and evening courses which have a long history, but which are also being replaced by newer methods that incorporate audio/visual and interactive techniques made possible by the latest technological advances.[2]2 One may ask if the introduction and emphasis on technology encourages a commercialization of knowledge and what the reprecussions of such a view would be. There are a number of companies sprouting which, enabled by access to the Internet, promise individuals a variety of educational activities that claim to produce knowledge. One very important point to consider is the role that academic institutions play in this process of commecializing education, and what can happen to such ideas as standards, quality and curricula.
As electronic and informational technologies proliferate and become more readily available, their philosophical implications and their subtle influences on the individual need to be discussed and evaluated. At present the gap between those who have access to technology and those who don't is widening, especially the disparities between various countries. The analysis of current methodologies for the implementation of technologically based alternative methods, employing the ever-growing array of technological possibilities should provide prescriptions for their improvement as well as uncover their inherent limitations. The increasing dependence that modern humans exhibit toward the electronic and technological world creates different paradigms for defining knowledge and its reliance on accumulation of information and data bases. Does increased access to the proliferation of information improve knowledge accumulation, and who should be in charge of controlling the quality and standards of learning? In other wor ds, if education is to be viewed as a business enterprise, can anyone become an educational entrepreneur? Does the business paradigm threaten the quality of education by placing it at the whim of a free market which is based on supply and demand?
To remain economically viable and progressive and to continue to grow in personal terms, individuals today need to understand the ubiquitous role technology plays in their lives, and especially in their education. This understanding should provide a window to the metaphysical world inhabited by modern persons and render vague and ambiguous the distinction between "reality" and "possibility." Technology has enabled the creation of new worlds -- virtual reality and cyberworlds -- in which individuals meet, communicate and interact. These new virtual spaces provide different dimensions for dialogue and may become increasingly useful in the learning process. Dialogue provides the opportunity for exchange of ideas, but it also emphasizes the personal, co-learning dimension that is necessary for a deeper understanding of the educational process. Currently, video games and other computerized techniques are employed to enable individuals more stimulating as well as remedial learning environments, especially providing alternatives to cope with learning disabilities.[3]3
In order to maximize the potential of the information technology, the ideas concerning learning require a discussion that will synthesize philosophical with educational practice and theory. Various philosophical questions arise, for example: what is knowledge? What is its relationship to data and information? Other important questions are: is all knowledge and communication to be understood in terms of the transmission of digital information? Are there any inherent dangers in such overwhelming dependence on electronic media and technology? Education has long been understood in terms of providing knowledge, but this aspect relies on viewing "knowledge" as a process that includes ideas about truth and reality. The educational enterprise is deemed responsible for producing knowledgeable individuals who are sanctioned by institutions of learning with various degrees designed to reflect a standard curriculum that aims at integrating the individual into the larger society. The curriculum emphasizes skills and knowledge about the self and the world at large. The degrees conveyed by various institutions relfect the standards society deems necessary in order to recognize an individual's accumulated knowledge. What is the process by which persons begin to integrate relevant information into the complexity that becomes an "educated" citizen? The metamorphosis of information, data and understanding into knowledge needs to be analyzed to reveal the role of technologically based processes of learning in the educational enterprise. To this extent, this investigation is a conceptual exploration of these ideas.
One important cornerstone of American democracy is public education, which was designed to ensure the thoughtful exercise of civic duty within the community and the voting booth. In the words of George Washington, the First President of the United States: "Religion, morality, and knowledge being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."[4]4 Yet, our rapidly changing world demands scrutiny and continuous re-evaluation of the concept and processes of education, of the assumption of the purposes of education and the end products education is thought to produce. This discussion will juxtapose theory and application in an attempt to synthesize them. The philosophical framework of semiotics will inform this work for conceptual as well as practical analysis.
This work will be divided into three parts corresponding to three areas of investigation, namely: philosophy, technology and education. The work integrates philosophy of knowledge with an overview of recent developments in distance learning, thus exploring the myriad of issues arising from the new possibilities. Part I will begin with establishing the underlying assumption that permeates this analysis, which is that all human thought involves the manipulation of signs and symbols and the formation of patterns. All human languages are composed of symbols, and it is through these symbols that a common ground of communication is possible. These same symbols also make it feasible to establish the existence of the independent, external world, which provides the commonalty of language. Different approaches to the study of signs and symbols will be discussed. The two forms of analysis are semiology and semiotics. The process of semiotic analysis will inform the discussion of "data," "information" and "knowledge" in order to discover their differences.
Part II will follow with a discussion of technology and its application to human interaction. The major question of this analysis will be the effects of technology on consciousness. This exploratory conceptual investigation proposes an analysis of technological progress to discover the influences such advances have on individuals and their understanding of the world. The suggestion here proposed will be named the anthropological paradigm with aims to integrate various perspectives, such as the humanities, along with technological skills for a more complete knowledge.
Part III will analyze selected learning and teaching theories together with their application within the context of adult and continuing education. Some of the possible goals of the educational enterprise will be analyzed along with the impact of technology of teaching as well as learning methods. This philosophical analysis of the role of technology and its impact on the field of adult continuing education is intended to develop a variety of implications for uses of teaching methods that rely on the full and rich range of new electronic developments. At the same time, some inherent critiques and dangers that result from too much emphasis and reliance on these new technologies will be revealed and discussed. The premise of this analysis is that education can be enhanced by technology, as long as technology is viewed as a tool for learning to be employed in conjunction with more traditional methods. Thus, technology does not provide a complete alternative to replace prevailing educational practices; rather, it can aid the educational process. The end product, or goal, that becomes the desired outcome of the educational enterprise should address the democratic, responsible and self-sufficient aspects of individuals, preparing them to be capable of bettering themselves and contribute to society. Such individuals need to understand the world they inhabit in all its complexity which includes the physical, social, economic, political, cultural and personal aspects of life, but even more importantly the generalities and commonalities of the human condition. It is supposed that education shows the path to the discovery of human nature, along with the world.
"The prophets of the information revolution warn that the new media will soon lead to the demise of the book...[but] the new media restore a dynamic balance between image and text." Umberto Eco, "Gazeta Wyborcza," Warsaw, Feb.24-25, 1996
The discipline of philosophy provides various concepts and theories for the interpretation and understanding of the world and of human society. To this end, it offers various tools for analysis of information. For centuries, one of the most important preoccupations of philosophy in the Western world has been aimed at a comprehensive synthesis of ideas within the area of epistemological investigations particularly concerned with the goal of grounding knowledge on secure foundations. Although there are different approaches to the process of asking general questions about humanity and its place within the greater scheme of the world, philosophical discourse aims at clarifying and defining such ideas. For this purpose, the study of communication and language becomes of paramount importance.
Language is paramount among the capacities that characterize humans, setting us off from even the most perfectly formed and functioning of the other beasts on earth; so as a matter of species pride -- if nothing else -- we would hold up language as a marker of our humanity and thus a focus of our scientific interests. By understanding language, we understand something important about ourselves.[5]1
Language is not only to be viewed as a vehicle of communication, but even more importantly as an instrument of thought. The articulation of thinking becomes the verbal utterance with the aid of which one can express needs, desires and ideas. The transformation of vocal sounds into words, which can point to objects or concepts, and thus signify, provides the beginning of spoken language. In this manner, human beings have developed various symbolisms which serve to codify the shared commonalities of human existence.
In Chapter 1, an investigation of signs and symbols will establish their necessity for all thinking processes humans may employ. This analysis will be followed by a discussion of semiology and semiotics, their respective differences and the semiotic process of analysis. Semiotics will be informing the analyses in this work. The triadic approach exemplified by the triads medium, message and code or sender, receiver and code, where the code always provides the communicative link, will be stressed. The process of semiotic analysis will be mentioned with the intention of showing its usefulness in the study of technology and its applications.
Chapter 2 will employ an a priori conceptual analysis to investigate the meaning of the terms: "data," "information," and ultimately, "knowledge." The prominence of a rational outlook will emerge as the central means by which human beings make sense of their worlds. To this extent, information is necessary, yet it must be based on a skeletal structure formed via theoretical understandings of the phenomena of the world. The goal of this chapter is to establish knowledge as a synthesis of information and theoretical principles (the variety of principles derives from numerous sources, such as science, history, humanities, etc.) which provide for the meaningful interpretation of the raw data.
Within the field of cognitive science, studies have shown "that there are biologically given dispositions toward certain types of language structure and toward a particular maturationally based sequence in which these structures appear."[6]1 In a sense one could state that language based on some biological programming becomes universal and is thus "one of the central cognitive properties whose possession makes us truly human."[7]2 These studies further suggest that learning a language is also dependent on the environment, making language acquisition a "complex interaction between a child's innate capacities and the social, cognitive, and linguistic supports provided in the environment."[8]3 Such studies suggest that there might be more commonalities between individuals and cultures and that "beneath the kaleidoscopic variation in human behavior that we easily observe, there may be many universal organizing principles that constrain us and contribute to the definition of what it is to be human."[9]4 The search of such commonalities or principles, though largely the paradigm of science, provides important input into the field of education and philosophy, for both these fields are concerned with the understanding of the totality that makes human beings. Thus, language is an important field of learning, which by its uniqueness as an attribute of the human condition, can provide a rich vein for the understanding of humanity.
Signs and symbols are the underlying structures that make all other thought and communication possible. The study of signs is the area of scholarship that can reveal the formations and transformations of meanings. This chapter will investigate what signs are, how one may study them, and what they show. Since prehistoric times, human beings have employed various symbols for communication and development of ideas. It is even probable that the energetic images displayed on the walls of prehistoric abodes, such as caves, were considered visual symbols to convey various concepts and thoughts. The cave of Lascaux, for example, displays realistic imagery of animals alongside with abstract symbols of triangles, dots and lines. With the further development of languages, and especially signs and symbols for the representation of spoken words, humankind was enabled to enter its historical period. Thus, history itself was born through the recording of events. The record-keeping within various civilizations may be diverse, and even without the written word, signs and symbols appear visually or in the remnants of artifacts. For the oral traditions, human memory itself and various mnemonic devices, have served to maintain cultural identity and continuity. In all human expressions of thoughts and ideas, in every communication process, mankind uses signs.
No civilization has ever been able to develop, grow, or progress without some symbolic system which allows the build-up of ideas and concepts. To put it another way, science, technology and every other mechanism designed to explain the world requires a continuity of ideas that grow like a pyramidal structure on their predecessors. Even in cases where new ideas have been radically different from those of the past, it was the existence of the prior concepts that allowed such diversity to come into being. And yet, human memory is fallible, and thus systems of encoding knowledge and ideas of necessity have been developed. Encoding information -- whatever its original purpose may have been, whether political, economic or social -- allowed for ease of transmission and dissemination. This resulted in further additions to the existing body of knowledge. Thus, alphabets, pictograms and other such symbolic representations of thoughts enabled humans to create fields of knowledge and perpetuate their growth.
One may be sympathetic to Socrates in the Phaedrus, in passages where he criticizes the invention of writing as a detriment to human memory use. Without such means of recording ideas, however, progress and development in the field of ideas is impossible. Illustrating his view by recounting a mythological origin of writing, Socrates tells the story of the Egyptian god Theuth who presented his writing discovery to the king only to be rebuked by the latter:
When it came to writing Theuth said, 'Here, O King, is a branch of learning that will make the people of Egypt wiser and improve their memories; my discovery provides a recipe for memory and wisdom.' But the king answered and said,' O man full of arts, to one is given to create the things of art, and to another to judge what measure of harm and of profit they have for those that shall employ them. And so it is that you, by reason of your tender regard for the writing that is your offspring, have declared the very opposite of its true effect. If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls; they will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks... it is no true wisdom you offer your disciples, but only its semblance...[10]5
Thus, the importance of writing is only one of reminder, rather than one of memory, for it can not serve as a substitute for the real living memory of human beings. In the same dialogue, Socrates further elaborates the criticism by pointing to the silence of written words: "they seem to talk to you as though they were intelligent, but if you ask them anything about what they say, from a desire to be instructed, they go on telling you just the same thing forever."[11]6 In other words, the living dialogue and discussion is lost once one engages in silent reading, for at that moment the author is not available for further clarification of his ideas. But writing allows a more systematic presentation of ideas and the addition of new information into the existing framework, thus enabling the building-up of knowledge.
One need only think of the tragic consequences and tremendous losses incurred by the burning of the famed Alexandrian library, to realize the importance of recording thoughts. The city of Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 332-331 B.C.[12]7 This city became, over the centuries, a center for learning with a university and two royal libraries that were dedicated to the copying and annotating of ancient manuscripts and collecting all available knowledge under the Byzantine empire. Throughout the tumultuous passage of history, however, wars and with them fires periodically destroyed the collections of manuscripts even in antiquity, starting with the conquest of the city by the Roman emperor Augustus. It is believed that all the amassed manuscripts were lost again when the Arabs conquered the city in 641 or 642 A.D.[13]8
Thus, one could say that encoding and recording of thoughts and events is perhaps one of the hallmarks of humanity, for no other animal species has been known to produce such prolific record-keeping systems. The coding allows for a systematic building of understanding of the world. By scientifically and historically investigating and analyzing the underlying principles of the natural world and of human constructs, one can formulate more comprehensive concepts that lead to better understanding. But the encoding of ideas is only half of the truth, because for every encoded message there needs to be a decoding system by which the receiver of the message may decipher it. Without the ability and knowledge to decode symbols, their meanings and significance, the messages are lost.
Recall the difficulty of historians and archeologists in uncovering lost cultures without knowledge of their writing systems. The physical remains of artefacts provide the opportunity to tap into the "wisdom of the ancients," and thereby discover the guidelines and constructs they employed to formulate meanings. It is important to arrive at a better comprehension of the past, for the past teaches individuals about humanity and human beings, which in turn allows people today a better understanding of themselves and the human condition. The underlying assumption is, of course, that there are certain general aspects of the human condition that are shared across cultures and space-time coordinates. Social and political formulations appear across the globe, for humanity congregates in social systems. The interaction with the world of nature and the desire to provide some viable explanations of observed phenomena appear as inspiration for symbolic systems that may be cultural or social and that become recorded or p assed down through generations as words of wisdom. Such examples abound, from the Egyptian hieroglyphics to the Mayan scripts. It was only through elaborate struggles and partly lucky discoveries -- such as the discovery of the Rosetta stone -- that the beginning of comprehension for the hieroglyphics became available.
The Rosetta stone came into the possession of the French Napoleonic army in 1799,[14]9 and was subsequently studied. It is a bilingual stone, with two forms of Egyptian writing and also Greek.[15]10 Prior to the discovery of this famous Rosetta stone, scholars had to rely only on their imagination, through which they envisioned a variety of explanations for the mysterious script. But once some of the hieroglyphs were shown consistently to symbolize certain sounds and words, scientists were able to begin reading the encoded messages with greater rigor, rather than mere speculation.
Thus it is with any symbolic system that the decoding relies exclusively on knowledge and familiarity with the system itself, otherwise the symbols lose their power to relay their message. One could transfer this idea to humans as well as to machines, for just as humans may read a word or image, so the machine may apply its decoding mechanism to translate a string of bytes into letters or characters. This process of decoding by itself does not provide for meaning or understanding, rather it only changes the symbols into possible meanings for further interpretation. Yet without a system or mechanism of decoding the symbols remain obscure.
The newly emerging field of cognitive studies has uncovered diverse means by which cognition and intelligence may be understood. Since intelligence is a complex manifestation (and there may be as many as seven types of intelligence), no single account for it may ever be produced. Nevertheless, one important requirement for intelligence appears to be the "ability to store and manipulate symbols."[16]11 This may be viewed as the most important distinguishing mark between the lower animals and humans. Although even in this domain studies have shown some animals to be capable of learning symbols (such as gorillas learning sign language) nevertheless, in the wild these animals do not appear to produce elaborate symbolic communication structures outside basic vocal sounds, especially abstractions that are built upon each other. Yet, in this respect, any sentient being capable of mastering symbolic representations can be said to be intelligent. Human beings have managed to distinguish themselves by the extent and variety of their symbolic languages. To this extent, words are verbal sounds, letters and written words are graphical signs.
For example, Aristotle remarked in his treatise On Interpretation:
spoken words are symbols of mental experience and written words are the symbols of spoken words. Just as all men have not the same writing, so all men have not the same speech sounds, but the mental experiences, which these directly symbolize, are the same for all, as also are those things of which our experiences are the images.[17]12
Our world is permeated with signs and symbols. Human beings are submerged in signs. For example, the indicators on the streets and highways are signs indicating directions, possible dangers or various other necessary concepts to help motorists navigate perilously. In everyday life, most signs within given cultures are taken for granted. People are conditioned to respond almost subconsciously to such signs like the traffic indicators, nonetheless, these signs have to be learned and their significance encoded in the individual's repertoire of meanings.
It is important to note that signs are largely a product of societal transformations, and that they reflect changes that society perpetuates. Nonetheless, the signs that make up a language refer to certain commonalities of human experience of the objects of nature, such as trees and rocks, etc., which are reinforced by perceptions. Language points to the objects that make up the surrounding world and presents the modalities of interpreting and discovering that world. A history of signification would show how signs acquire meanings, and also how they become lost or re-integrated and transformed as new signs appear. Since all types of communications are based on some types of signs, it is possible that these indicators influence thoughts, or in the words of Marshall McLuhan:
All media of communications are clichis serving to enlarge man's scope of action, his patterns of association and awareness. These media create environments that numb our powers of attention by sheer pervasiveness. The limits of our awareness of these forms does not limit their action upon our sensibilities...Another approach to clichi is to point out that the more deeply people participate in a culture, the less the motive for innovation.[18]13
An example of the clichis that McLuhan mentions might be the well-known smiley face, which has become a symbol with many interpretations, to the point that it is hard for people to actually draw a face without simplifying it according to this sign. Some signs have become so common that they are almost universal, such as the cross and its association with the Christian religion. Such associations become hard to mistake. Since communication occurs via signs, the study of sign-making is necessary for a richer and more comprehensive understanding of meaning and the definition of meaning itself. The next two sections of this chapter will analyze two modalities of studying signs, first as a dyadic enterprise, as semiology, followed by the triadic method of study of semiotics.
Studies of various systems of symbols have given rise to new areas of investigations. One such area is the field of semiology which stems from the linguistic studies of the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure, who first referred to semiology in his course in General Linguistics of 1915:
A science that studies the life of signs within society is conceivable; it would be a part of social psychology and consequently of general psychology; I shall call it semiology (from Greek semeion 'sign'). Semiology would show what constitutes signs, what laws govern them.[19]14
This diversity of communication includes signs, symbols and other types of objects that are used to stand for something else. Such signs and symbols may be visual or written or even non-verbal. The term "symbol" comes from the Greek "symballein," which means "to put together," and the noun "symbolon," which refers to "sign" or "token."[20]15 From these two terms one finds that a symbol is the putting together of signs. Thus a symbol would incorporate in itself various signs and synthesize them.
Accoding to Saussure, linguistic analysis relies on a dyadic relationship between the idea or concept implied by the words and the actual words themselves:
I propose to retain the word 'sign' [signe] to designate the whole and to replace 'concept' and 'sound-image' respectively by ' signified' [signifie] and 'signifier' [significant]; the last two terms have the advantage of indicating the opposition that separates them from each other and from the whole of which they are parts.[21]16
The signifier is the written or verbal utterance, the sound effect of a word, which contains its meaning or concept in the signified. Thus the signifier "cat" has as signified the furry little animal, the pet itself. Saussure explains that one can analyze independent words in this way, by looking at the difference between the sound-image and the inherent meaning. When taken together, words become language, which is to be understood as: "Language is a system of interdependent terms in which the value of each term results solely from the simultaneous presence of others..."[22]17 The value, or signification of a particular word in a language stems from its relations with other words within that same language, for one can not accomplish a linguistic analysis of words taken separately, but rather in conjunction to other terms.[23]18 Thus, a linguistic and semiological analysis rests on the two-partite, or dyadic, separation of language into signified and signifier, as Saussure claims:
A linguistic system is a series of differences of sound combined with a series of differences of ideas; but the pairing of a certain number of acoustical signs with as many cuts made from the mass of thought engenders a system of values; and this system serves as the effective link between phonic and psychological elements within each sign. Although both the signified and the signifier are purely differential and negative when considered separately, their combination is a positive fact; it is even the sole type of facts that language has, for maintaining the parallelism between the two classes of differences is the distinctive function of the linguistic institution. [24]19
This dyadic system basically shows the sign or symbol to be related only to its meaning, thus simplifying the communication enterprise. The semiological account, by limiting the significance of signs in this fashion appears to disregard some important aspects of symbolic representation, such as the value of a common ground of shared meanings. Therefore, a different system of linguistic interpretation, semiotics, will be considered. This system is also concerned with signs and their meanings, but is mainly based on a triadic, or tripartite, differentiation of the components of a sign. This will be addressed next, and will provide the framework for the rest of this discussion.
The Greek term "semeion," which means sign, gave rise to the study of signs, and the rules related to signs and their systems - semiotics. This study was first introduced by the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914).[25]20 Throughout his philosophy, Peirce elaborates a fundamentally triadic relationship, which is also applied to semiotic analysis.[26]21 Semiotics concerns itself with studying all the various means that humans employ to communicate with each other, the laws that govern these exchanges, their productions and the media of their dispersion.
Semiotics focuses on the system of rules governing the content of a given text or the communicative information that stresses the role of signs in shaping meaning. Semiotics is based on empirical as well as theoretical studies. The theoretical approach is aimed at establishing widely applicable principles, yet it has been severely criticized as too speculative, even though there is continuous effort on the part of semioticians to present and clarify their theories in an objective, scientific manner. Rather than being an independent academic discipline, semiotics represents a range of various studies and concrete applications such as: studies in art, literature, philosophy, anthropology and mass media. In semiotics, signs are anything from which meanings may be generated, or in the words of Peirce:
A sign, or 'representamen', is something which stands to somebody for something in some respect or capacity. It addresses somebody, that is, creates in the mind of that person an equivalent sign, or perhaps a more developed sign. That sign which it creates I call the 'interpretant' of the first sign. The sign stands for something, its 'object.' It stands for that object, not in all respects, but in reference to a sort of idea, which I have sometimes called the 'ground' of the representamen.[27]22
Therefore, signs may be images, graphs or words. The philosophy of Peirce is permeated with triadic divisions systematically elaborating this metaphysics of the three universal categories of firstness, secondness and thirdness:
Firstness is that which is as it is independently of anything else. Secondness is that which is as it is relative to something else. Thirdness is that which is as it is as mediated between two others. In Peirce's opinion, all conceptions at the most fundamental level can be reduced to those three.[28]23
This tripartite distinction is most fundamental and thus, the study of thought, which is based on signs is also systematically divided in the same fashion:
A Sign or 'Representamen', is a First which stands in such a genuine triadic relation to a Second, called its 'Object', as to be capable of determining a Third, called its 'Interpretant', to assume the same triadic relation to its Object in which it stands itself to the same Object. The triadic relation is 'genuine', that is its three members are bound together by it in a way that does not consist in any complexus of dyadic relations.[29]24
This type of division allows one to incorporate in the analysis of signs not only the object that the sign represents but also the other party, the one that makes sense of the sign, the interpretant. Naturally without someone to interpret the meaning of the sign, the sign remains meaningless. This triadic relation shows the fundamental distinction between semiotics and semiology. In the latter, as was seen above, the relationship is dyadic, and focuses only on the sign and its object. Semiotics, on the other hand, introduces the third element, the interpretant. Peirce further elaborated his triadic system and classified signs into three categories; Icon, Index and Symbol:
An 'Icon' is a sign which refers to the Object that it denotes merely by virtue of characters of its own, and which it possesses, just the same, whether any such Object actually exists or not...An 'Index' is a sign which refers to the Object that it denotes by virtue of being really affected by that Object... A 'Symbol' is a sign which refers to the Object that it denotes by virtue of a law, usually an association of general ideas, which operates to cause the Symbol to be interpreted as referring to that Object.[30]25
In other words, an icon resembles its object, such as a photograph, a painting, a map, or a diagram. These types of signs are likely to be read and understood easily, for they are less arbitrary and more "natural." An Index is a sign which is inherently connected causally or existentially to the signified. For example, an arrow may indicate a direction (this can also be iconic), a watch can be used as an index for time, the cross can be an index for Christianity. The Symbol is a sign which is purely conventional and arbitrary and does not resemble the signified. Such words and their meanings are somewhat arbitrarily associated. For example, the English word "earth" has the same meaning as the Latin word "terra," yet neither of them resembles the signified and their meaning appears to have arisen by pure conventions. Such then is the division of the myriad of symbolic notations human beings have invented. Peirce also introduced more complex divisions, but for the purposes of this work only the above-mentioned distinctions will be employed.
One important feature of Peirce's philosophy is the triadic division of categories within his metaphysics that underlies all other investigations. These categories Peirce named firstness, secondness and thirdness, and he believed them to represent three modes of being: "they are the being of positive qualitative possibility, the being of actual fact, and the being of law that will govern facts in the future."[31]26 Another way to view these distinctions is to see them as categories of consciousness: "first, feeling, the consciousness which can be included with an instant of time...second, consciousness of an interruption into the field of consciousness...third, synthetic consciousness, binding time together, sense of learning, thought."[32]27 Thus, feelings and perceptions passively received may belong to the first category, while experience, causation, and other interpretations of reality belong to the second, and the third binds the two through the usage of thought and principles. He further explains that "every genuine triadic relation involves meaning...[and] that a triadic relation is inexpressible by means of dyadic relations alone...[and] beyond the three elements of Firstness, Secondness, and Thirdness, there is nothing else to be found in the phenomena."[33]28
When discussing language, and especially its communicative employment, it is necessary to remember that symbols also operate in a triadic relation, for: "a sign stands for something to the idea which it produces, or modifies."[34]29 There is a sender, a receiver and a message; or one could think of the triadic relation also in terms of a message, a medium and code for deciphering the message. It is important to mention that the dyadic relationship does not provide for meaning, since the sign and the object it signifies require someone to interpret them. The code for interpretation stems from the individual who is contemplating the sign, and thus the sentient being stands for and elements and how they function. Thus, the value of a semiotic theory lies in its elaboration of the process of communication and thereby in revealing the most effective means of communication. In more recent times the ideas of Peirce have been employed by other semioticians to develop more general and perhaps simpler theories that explain our thought processes. According to Umberto Eco, for simplicity's sake, various symbolic structures can be classified as "sign functions" which constitute a generalization of the different signals mentioned above. "A sign-function arises when an expression is correlated to a content, both the correlated elements being the functives of such a correlated."[35]30 The "sign functions" are categorized together because they are employed to signify something other than themselves, in other words, they point to something else. These sign functions are composed of a "signifier" which represents the material form of the sign, and the "signified" which represents the content or the concept for which the sign is used. Thus, a written word is a sign which has as signifier the letters composing it and as signified the meaning contained by the word. For example, the word "fire" is the sign, the letters f-i-r-e constitute the signifier, while the concept of a fire is the signified. But in order for signs and symbols, etc., to become sign functions they require interpretive codes. Eco further elaborates:
A sign-function is realized when two 'functives' (expression and content) enter into a mutual correlation; the same functive can also enter into another correlation, thus becoming a different functive and therefore giving rise to a new sign-function. Thus signs are the provisional result of coding rules which establish 'transitory' correlations of elements, each of these elements being entitled to enter - under given coded circumstances - into another correlation and thus form a new sign.[36]31
The signs can be organized into codes by paradigms and syntagms. Codes are similar to conventional rules by which signs become meaningful and thus used in communication. Paradigmatic classification of signs is referring to a set of associated signs which belong to a specific category. Nevertheless, each sign of the set is different from any other sign of the same set or association. A typical example is the vocabulary of a language which forms one paradigm. In a paradigmatic analysis of a text one has to search for various patterns, such as through a structuralist approach in which one studies binary oppositions like: old-new, rich-poor, good-bad, private-public, form-content, medium-message, etc. In the case of the syntagm, the signs are combined to form something meaningful - a meaningful whole. Thus, a sentence is a syntagm of words carrying a specific message. A syntagmatic analysis of a text involves the study of its narrative sequences. In semiotic narratology, the focus is on the narrative units and the grammar of the plot. A syntagmatic analysis of film and TV involves an analysis of how each shot and scene is related to each other.[37]32
In order for communication to occur, a signal must be sent from a source via a channel to a destination. In the cases where the destination is human or has intelligible functions, the signal gives rise to an interpretive response, which in turn requires a code that the sender and the receiver share. Without some social, cultural or some such convention there would be no standard by which one could determine the meaning of signs and develop definitions. Thus, through interpretation codes are an integral part of the communication process and semiotics. In each text the signs are organized according to some such code, which is akin to a set of rules operating within a broad cultural framework known by the users of the medium.
For example, the linear perspective that the Italian Renaissance developed into a systematic and mathematical construct, imposes a special understanding of depth and space on the viewer, which is not a natural biologically evolutionary view. One does not find this type of perspective in other cultures and art forms prior to their interaction with the Europeans. The Chinese system of perspective, for example, is isometric, providing a bird's eye view of the world, whereas the ancient Egyptians seldom used perspective techniques in their art. And yet, after the discovery and demonstration of Filippo Brunelleschi, which was the first drawing in linear perspective,[38]33 it was impossible for artists to conceive of realism without referring back to this method of portraying the illusion of the actual scene set before their eyes. Furthermore, the one-point linear perspective system (that gave rise to such works as the "School of Athens" by Raphael) forces the viewer to see the world from one point in space and time and thus be stationary. But this is unnatural. Yet this momentous development produced an encoding system with tremendous repercussions not only within the field of the arts, but also in such areas as city planning and urban development.
Once the code was learned, anybody could follow its mathematical system and succeed thereby in producing the illusion of depth in visual representations. The development of art in the West continued the study of perspective which resulted in a more dynamic approach that freed the works from the static and orderly canons of one-point linear perspective to the dramatic and asymmetrical compositions of later periods, especially the Baroque. Thus, each culture has its own such codes which are generally understood by its members who use them to interpret and understand communications.
However, codes are not static, rather, they are dynamic, in continuous flux, and thus they have a socio-cultural and historical character. Furthermore, codes need to be learned in order to be employed meaningfully. An example of this is the difficulty the U.S. and audiences had with the art of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi. In 1926, while he was on tour to exhibit his works in New York, the artist was stopped by the customs officials who demanded that the artist pay a tax for his works, which they considered to be simply pieces of metal, not art.[39]34 The work "Bird in Space," which is a severely simplified vision of the soaring of a bird, concentrating the energy of the flight itself, did not appear as a bird to the customs officials. In other words, their previous conditioning as to what constitutes a work of art did not provide them with the opportunity to "read" this piece as a representation of a bird. The customs officials -- as well as most viewers -- were conditioned to see explicit objects and subjects in works of art, which were recognizable and representational. Brancusi's sculpture attempts to reveal the essential forms, rather than the superficial details of an object. Thus, his "Birds" did not have the proper components to make them recognizable, such as feathers and wings.
The early audiences could not understand those simplified images and could not even see the shapes they represented. It took some re-learning to see and to actually envision what the artist created. Today, audiences have learned many visual codes, and Brancusi's works have become very influential and almost as self-evident as the earlier type of artistic representations. But other codes have been lost. For example, the myriad of symbolic connotations that some medieval images employed today require much study and research to become understood, whereas during their historical period they were obvious to most viewers.
Along with visual images, texts also contain codes that are determined by the cultural context in which they are produced. Each media text exists in relation to others, and is therefore a part of a group, a genre or a specific type. Intertexual studies compare and analyze various treatments of similar themes or the same treatment of different themes in order to draw out important information. The results of such studies offer the possibility to assess differences and similarities between various media. According to Eco, a general theory of semiotics would require both a theory of codes and a theory of sign production:
A design for a general semiotics should consider: (a) a 'theory of codes' and (b) a theory of sign production - the latter taking into account a large range of phenomena such as the common use of languages, the evolution of codes, aesthetic communication, different types of interactional communicative behavior, the use of signs in order to mention things or states of the world and so on.[40] 35
The theory of codes would be concerned with signification and interpretation. The theory of sign production would really be a semiotics of communication and would analyze the various means by which codes and signification systems can be manipulated. One way to envision such systems could be Peirce's idea of abduction which, according to Herman Parret:
expresses the iconic qualities of semiosis by imaginative reasoning, and it is in this way that abduction is the primordial and spontaneous response of man to the semiosis or the life of meaning iconically imposed on him. The logic of abduction depends on the aesthetics of the icon and it is only an extension of Peirce's semiotics to say that abductive understanding is nothing other than our sensibility for icons surrounding us, and forcing us to reason with imagination.[41]36
Any system of signs would require a medium of transmission, which would give it a specific structure and principles of operation. The film and TV media contain audio-visual codes. Some semioticians have considered TV and film as being similar to languages and thus semiotically analyzable, for they are based on writing. Lapsley and Westlake have investigated the grammar of such media which they liken in equivalency to written language, for example, a shot is a sentence, a scene a paragraph and a sequence of scenes is seen as a chapter.[42]37
One could also follow the investigations of Marshall McLuhan into the technologies of today and envision a great change produced by the Gutenberg press (which also became a title for his well-known investigations of the effects of the press): "The development of print technologies provided the matrix for all the mass-production techniques of the industrial age."[43]38 It is true that the development of printmaking opened a whole new era, in that more people began to have access to written material that was being mass-produced. This event in turn created a more literate public; that is, more people were able to learn to read and write, and thereby participate in the usage and production of meanings. Symbols again thrived, and could be build up into systems of knowledge.
In principle, semiotic analysis can be applied to any texts or elements or situations which have specific content or signification. "The world of objects, states of affairs, and events all constitute contexts, but so do possible worlds: the fictional worlds of our dreams, fantasies, and desires...discourse-dynamic contexts determining the meaning of words, demand the transcendence of meaning."[44]39 Thus, a semiotic analysis can provide a framework to use in unraveling the codes employed in communication. Such a system can enable one to tackle even an unknown process of signification, by providing the method of moving from similar signs to clusters of symbols and placing these within a larger framework.
An example of such systematic analysis is provided by the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics, or more recently of Mayan script. Michael Coe delineates the history of the study of Mayan scripts in his excellent exposition, Breaking the Maya Code, which concludes with the remark: "In one of the greatest intellectual achievements of our century, the Maya code has at last been broken."[45]40 In both cases the signs were a mystery, but analysis that started with the known world and moved to classifications of symbols eventually led scholars to discover meanings in the images studied. The next chapter will be informed by a semiotic framework in order to analyse the concepts of information and knowledge. Starting with the notion of raw data and moving to a discussion of information, the purpose of this analysis later will be to determine what constitutes knowledge, and how it differs from mere information and the acquisition of information.
The triadic division explained by Peirce, can be applied to the process of communication itself. Within the triadic form that includes the sender, the receiver and the code, the unifying element emerges as the common code that the parties share, which makes communication possible. This code may encompass various representations or ideas, yet ultimately it has to be composed of bits of data, information and some type of knowledge. The atomic structure of the code, of necessity has to refer back to the larger world; the cultural, social, economic and political realities from which individuals draw their concepts and within which they operate. This atomic structure presents itself as a triadic system in which data and information mix with other aspects to form the larger, more encompassing sphere of knowledge. In the following sections this triadic division will be further explored.
Years ago, the renowned guru of communication, Marshall McLuhan, boldly stated his well known phrase, "the medium is the message," in an attempt to analyze the new, expanding electronic world of his day. With this famous phrase, he wanted to usher in the time of computers and communication media, which he saw as fundamentally changing human beings and their responses to the surrounding world. In McLuhan's view, humanity is constantly shaped by the media it develops, almost as if caught in a vicious circle of new technology, which in turn changes attitudes and produces ever newer technology. Thus, he wrote:
The medium, or process, of our time - electric technology - is reshaping and restructuring patterns of social interdependence and every aspect of our personal life. It is forcing us to reconsider and re-evaluate practically every thought, every action, and every institution formerly taken for granted. Everything is changing - you, your family, your neighborhood, your education, your job, your government, your relation to 'the others'...Societies have always been shaped more by the nature of the media by which men communicate than by the content of the communication... Words and the meaning of words predispose the child to think and act automatically in certain ways. The alphabet and print technology fostered and encouraged a fragmenting process, a process of specialism and of detachment. Electric technology fosters and encourages unification and involvement. It is impossible to understand social and cultural changes without a knowledge of the workings of the media.[46]1
From the above, one can see the emphasis placed on the means, modalities or delivery methods by which communication occurs, rather than on the meanings conveyed. The question, however, centers around the interpretation of the term "medium," as well as the ways in which these electronic devices actually change and overtake the content of the communication process. Could one really assert that it was the radio that produced the mind set of Nazi Germany, and not the content of Hitler's speeches? The difficulty of such an assertion lies in overlooking the distinction between the electrical impulses of the radio waves and the sounds that appear out of the machine. While it is true that the radio translates speech into waves for transmission, nonetheless, at the other end, the receiver translates them back into speech. And although one may acknowledge that the radio made possible wide dissemination of ideas, nonetheless, it was the words themselves and their interpreted meanings that produced the actual impact. Oth erwise, all radio transmissions would produce the same effect without distinction in the content expressed.
If the above statement were true, there would be no difference between a speech by Hitler and a broadcast of music, for the medium itself would produce its own message, and each of the various media available today would have its own characteristic message it would convey at all times. But this obviously is not the case. Rather, the content of the message becomes interpreted according to the meanings attached to it by the receiver.
One could rephrase the above as: "the communication chain assumes a Source that, through a Transmitter, emits a signal via a Channel... but a Code is needed which is shared by the Source and the Addressee...through which the Meaning is decided."[47]2 Communication is primarily dependent on the shared signification of words and sounds that the transmitter and receiver have in common. Stated another way, a communication would not be successful if individuals did not share a common language, for example, a radio broadcast in a foreign language will only be understood by those who have a working knowledge of the language. It may be the case that our understanding of the world may be shaped by the language we use and the meanings attached to various phenomena. Yet, one needs to understand that ultimately those same meanings derive from the external world and its manifestations. For example, for the inhabitants of the tropics the word and meaning of "snow" may be paradoxical without the actual experience of such phenomena. Thus, one may find that languages which developed in the tropics may not include a designation for "snow." This fact supports the idea that the environment and the external world influence development of meaning in a language, and not the ot her way around. One should, however, point out the fact that language, akin to society, is in constant flux and as such it is perpetually changing according to the needs and experiences of the interlocutors.
Technology and science also contribute to the changing of language and meaning, as advanced studies explain the world in more specific terms. For example, as new particles or chemical compounds are discovered, not only new terminology is produced, but these new words find their way into the everyday language as well. But the criticism of McLuhan was mainly directed at bringing forth the influences that language, meaning and media have on humans and vice versa, in order to show the dependency of modern humans on their own artificial constructs and the mind-set that results from the technological advances.
Yet, there is a definite difference in the behavior and attitudes of modern humans as compared to those of the past, prior to the advent of the electronic proliferation. "Media serve as the central nervous system of modern society. The search to understand these media draws us into a search for the center of all that is life in the late 20th century."[48]3 As more technological equipment becomes accessible and especially more commonplace, its integration into everyday life becomes so complete that one begins to take its existence for granted to the point that one can not imagine life without the object.
In this sense, then, the media and all its artifacts became completely synthesized into the human world. Do these objects become part of human life in an anthropomorphic manner? Do they start dictating a person's being-in-the-world to the point of replacing other sensory experience? Are humans today content with watching nature on TV, rather than experiencing the real nature in the wild? Even if the answers to such questions would be affirmative, it is not clear that the result would be necessarily negative. One may actually be able to extend one's experience by employing media such as the TV to gain more knowledge of the environment than one's personal experience could produce.
Another relevant point is the comparison one could draw between media as used for communication in antiquity in the form of orators and the more prevalent channels of today with radio and TV. Perhaps the mediation of the electronic devices may change the perceived message the speaker is presenting. Certainly there is a distinction between listening to a speech on the radio and watching the same individual give the same speech on TV. But one may argue that the difference stems from the attention the listener gives to the content of the speech itself. Thus, the radio does not present the visual distractions that the TV does, and the listener can devote more concentrated effort to the words expressed. On the TV screen, however, the speaker's appearance and movements can be scrutinized, sometimes to the detriment of the content of the speech.
Are these differences to be seen as impetus for artificiality as McLuhan would have us believe? "Marshall McLuhan once warned us that we were drifting so far away from the real taste of life that we had begun to prefer artificiality, and were becoming content with eating the menu descriptions rather than the food."[49]4 But is this really artificiality, or, could one claim that the employment of machines, for example, the answering machine, is really promoting more freedom and choice for individuals instead? One could also mention the new developments in virtual reality which allow the individual diverse experiences through the mediation of technology. The helmet, goggles or gloves one could wear while hooked up to a computer may provide one with the experience of conjured worlds. This medium has applications in simulation exercises and medicine, as well as artistic productions of imagined spaces. At the moment, this field is still new, and the first large-scale applications have centered on virtual games. Perhaps in the future virtual travel or communication among individuals meeting in cyberspace may become more readily available. As such developments become available, their impact on ideas about reality, or the distinction between reality and constructed, virtual reality may become blurred.
Perhaps one could argue that the proliferation of machines allows one to gain more freedom for other pursuits, for one need not be tied to the phone in order to receive messages without fear of missing an important call. If one understood freedom to include choice and control of one's surroundings and life, then striving to create an artificial environment can become an expression of one's freedom and imagination. With one's choice of surrounding space, visual and acoustic space, humans are able to create the unique environment to suit each personality. Certainly heating and air conditioning were instruments of comfort, but also instruments that allowed humans to gain control over environments viewed as hostile to human pursuits and interests.
Today, the addition of multi-media equipment of surround space and compact disks appears to complete this image of a controlled environment. Perhaps this could be considered the ultimate freedom. Freedom and knowledge are inextricably linked. One could argue that the usage and creation of knowledge provide human beings with the potential for achieving freedom (in a personal, rather than political sense). The more one knows about oneself and the world one inhabits, the more choices one may envision and activate. Thus, the major point about the technological developments is their impact on knowledge and their usage in human society.
The first question to be addressed is the composition of data itself. In our technological world data are transferred via cables, phone lines, and other such devices which convert the information into bits. Technology refers to "tools and instruments [that] are material systems for increasing the efficiency of human action."[50]5 There are numerous types of tools, but all are operated by individuals and they can be subdivided into three major categories: "those that furnish energy; those that utilize power (power machines replacing man in his processing of material); and those involved in information (operational machines replacing man in his operations of creating, transforming, or transmitting information)."[51]6
For the purposes of this analysis, the latter category is the one of major concern. It should be pointed out that technologies proliferate infiltrating most aspects of human action. With the invention of data processors and computers, humankind has entered what has come to be commonly referred to as "the information age." "The data processor is an element of connection, of coordination among a huge number of technologies, just as in itself it is the product of diverse technologies conjoined. People thus came to a new conception of technology, as an environment and as a system."[52]7 The environment of information processing itself can be seen as a system, such as the Internet or the World Wide Web. In the computer age, information is transferred by first being converted into bits that flow through the memory of the computer and via cables to be dissipated to its destination. "The information superhighway is about the global movement of weightless bits at the speed of light."[53]8
The computer stores bits that activate basically two different states, one of order and one of disorder, within its memory. The computer also has a coding system that allows it to transform these bits into information.
A bit has no color, size, or weight, and it can travel at the speed of light. It is the smallest atomic element in the DNA of information. It is a state of being: on or off, true or false, up or down, in or out, black or white. For practical purposes we consider a bit to be a 1 or a 0. The meaning of the 1 or the 0 is a separate matter. In the early days of computing, a string of bits most commonly represented numerical information.[54]9
By converting all information into strings of bits, one can transfer and store large amounts of data digitally. Today, the computer has the ability to convert all types of information into strings of bits, not just numerical computations. This is a basic reduction process that renders various information, music, images and so on, as strings of 0s and 1s. One may object to this type of reduction by pointing out that the world of experience and the sphere of operation on the human level does not conform to such clear-cut division. Certainly human experience and feelings are not known to individuals as strings of data. Yet the process of communication in itself detaches the individual from experience through the mediation of language. By utilizing words to expr ess one's experience, one begins to abstract from that experience and symbolize it, so as to communicate the experience to another. Perhaps, one could view the translation of word-symbols into digital ones, as a further step in the abstraction process.
From the macroscopic point of view, it [the world] is not digital at all but continuous. Nothing goes suddenly on or off, turns from black to white, or changes from one state to another without going through a transition. This may not be true at the microscopic level, where things we interact with (electrons in a wire or photons in our eye) are discrete. But there are so many of them that we approximate them as continuous.[55]10
Nevertheless, the applications of digitization are numerous and increasingly important. One can exchange information fast and at large distances economically and with relative ease. Yet, an important question emerges: what happens to the information when it becomes strings of bits, and more importantly, what about the meanings and contents of that information? This question will be addressed in the next two sections respectively.
Converting information into bits allows for all media and consequently all information to become digital. The modes of delivery may vary, such as audio compact disk, computer of TV, yet the basic transformation is in principle the same: the conversion of information into strings of bits. The conversion is based on a code that the recording mechanism and the receiving one share, and it is this code that allows the computer or compact disk player to convert the stored digitized information into words, images or sounds. Thus a hierarchy of codes emerges, for the technological machine employs a code to convert the words into bits and then back again into words, while the human being employs a different code to convert the words on a computer screen into meaningful sentences. Naturally, by themselves neither bits, nor the information that is reduced to bits, contains any meaning until an intelligent or sentient being can integrate that information and sort it into some significant content: "the intelligence is in the receiver, and the dumb transmitter is indiscriminately sending all the bits to everybody."[56]11 Leaving the atomic structure of the bits aside, one needs to consider the concept of information itself. Can information become knowledge, or is it simply a building block on a hierarchy that incorporates other components such as emotions, cultural phenomena and so forth? Also, does the usage technology fundamentally change the components of knowledge or even the being-in-the-world that affect the sphere of human interaction and behavior?
McLuhan explains a basic distinction he perceives between two different modes of spatial relations: "Until writing was invented, man lived in acoustic space: boundless, directionless, horizonless, in the dark of the mind, in the world of emotion, by primordial intuition, by terror. Speech is a social chart of this bog."[57]12 But why such focus on emotion? Is it necessarily the case that reason and rationality do not develop in an acoustic world? Is it a correct assessment of early humans to say that because they did not write they lived in an acoustic world? After all, the hunter-gatherer, nomadic tribes moved in a visual world of necessity, since that world was filled with visual wonders and dangers. In any case, the primacy of sight and vision can not be denied especially for the early humans, which had to compete with other and more powerful animals for survival. It is not even clear that those early nomads relied exclusively on auditory memory, for the visual aspect of their world appears on the cave walls of their famous cave dwellings, such as Lascaux. One can also add that images present much larger informational contents than their verbal descriptions. The myriad of art works and artefacts that human beings created over the centuries provides testimony for the influence and necessity of symbolism and communication among humanity.
But McLuhan is adamant in his assessment of the alphabet and print medium: "The alphabet created a lineal and visual environment of services and experiences (everything from architecture and highways to representational art) which contributed to the ascendancy or dominance of the left, or lineal, hemisphere."[58]13 However, the passage of time itself is progressive with a certain linearity, as the normal passing of the seasons shows and results from experience. Even modern theoretical physics cannot conceive of time as moving in any other direction than forward continuously, in which case the conditioning of progression of events in time must be seen as linear.
Steven Hawking, who is normally considered perhaps the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein, explains:
To summarize, the laws of science do not distinguish between the forward and backward directions of time. However, there are at least three arrows of time that do distinguish the past from the future. They are the thermodynamic arrow, the direction of time in which disorder increases; the psychological arrow, the direction in time in which we remember the past and not the future; and the cosmological arrow, the direction in time in which the universe expands rather than contracts. I have shown that the psychological arrow is essentially the same as the thermodynamic arrow, so that the two would always point in the same direction. The no boundary proposal for the universe predicts the existence of a well-defined thermodynamic arrow of time because the universe must be in a smooth and ordered state. And the reason we observe this thermodynamic arrow to agree with the cosmological arrow is that intelligent beings can exist only in the expanding phase.[59]14
Thus time moves in a forward direction. Furthermore, the measurement of time must consist of increments that are consistent and constant. For example, no matter where one is located on the planet Earth, the time it takes the light of the sun to reach the observer will be about eight minutes. This concept is a direct consequence of the "equivalence of mass and energy, summed up in Einstein's famous equation E=mc2 (where E is energy, m is mass and c is the speed of light), and the law that nothing may travel faster than the speed of light"[60]15 and the speed of light is a constant.
The above discussion has concentrated on the idea of time from a physicist's point of view. However, another major component of time is the personal, psychological aspect that is culturally and socially determined. But this second concept of time represents how human beings feel or live in time, whereas the first interpretation presents time as an external component existing within the universe itself, without any dependency of human perception. Thus one may find differing interpretations of the passage of time like the existential mode of being of "homo religiosus" of archaic societies. According to Professor Mircea Eliade, the father of comparative religious studies, "in archaic societies... there is the obligation to repeat the cosmogony and return to the past... the primordial event is periodically re-enacted...so that one becomes once again contemporary with the mythic illud tempus and the revival of the past is made present."[61]16 Yet, although many archaic societies may be essentially oral cultures, it is not the lack of writing that produces this religiosity, as can be seen from the revelations of Maya hieroglyphs which describe these types of re-enactments in written forms. This mixture of mythic, primordial time with the present was an existential response to the world, meant to ensure the continuation of life and culture.
There is a precise being-in-the-world that characterizes archaic societies and distinguishes them from their modern counterparts. One could argue that human beings today also entertain re-enactments which are designed to renew the vitality of the state of affairs, or usher in a new era full of promise (for example, elections for governmental officials, especially Presidential elections, and religious holidays). Nonetheless, the natural progression of everyday events or biological conditions happens in a more linear fashion, as in birth, childhood, adulthood, and so on. A human being is not a fifty-year-old man before he is a five-year-old child. Looking at this from another view, a five-year-old child can not know the equivalent of a fifty-year- old, as a simple calculation of time and experience shows. The information and knowledge of the adult will of necessity be greater than the child's, for the child simply did not have enough time to gather as much information and with it knowledge.
Information provides the building blocks of facts and data and other statements that reflect the world and thoughts of human beings. Within this category one would include all sense-based information as well as more abstract mathematical formulas and tidbits about the world. Thus the term "information" refers to any material that can be translated into symbols or signs and ultimately into bits that can be stored on disks and be exchanged via cables. Modern technologies facilitate the exchange of this body of information and, at the same time, provide for large data-bases for extensive storage of information. However, the information itself is simply facts and bits, both of which require codes for interpretation. To such codes the next section is devoted, for the contention is that the various codes are the actual building blocks of "knowledge."
The major point of the above presented discussion is the concept of knowledge and its relationship to the state of information and data bases. There appears to be a hierarchy that starts with data and information, but moves to interpretations and syntheses by incorporating processing codes which derive from one's accumulated experience, culture, socio-economic and political circumstances. In this view, knowledge refers to the whole, or totality of the above-mentioned areas, thus acting as an umbrella under which all these facets are included. If "the brain is the computer; religion, prejudice, bias, and so forth are all software....Yes, we say, brains that needed to store more information than they could hold invented artificial brains that merely reproduced the filing system that was familiar to them."[62]17 In this way, one could envision the computer as an extension of intellect and mind. One may view the computer as an extended memory bank, which can provide easy and fast access to information. Thus, it extends the natural capacity of human beings to store and access their memory. And yet, the brain with all its physico-chemical reactions still has to process the information. And to this end, it requires the intellectual capacity of a sentient being. A brief description of the human brain is in order, for a better understanding of thinking processes. The human brain is made up of numerous cells that are known as neurons:
"The 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons, that carry out primary operating functions make up the gray matter of the brain. Then times that number of glia cells form supporting structures. Nerves interconnect the neurons, and regions containing largely nerves form the white matter. A range of chemicals, known as neuro-chemicals, influence the functioning of neurons and nerves. The unit of function in the brain is the neuron... A neuron has one axon [which] can branch and connect to many other neurons. at the point of connection, the incoming axon swells out to form a bulb called synapse... So the brain can be thought of as a vast, highly interconnected network of neurons...The function most neurons perform is to 'fire' their axon."[63]18
The nerve cells and their synaptic excitations form the "hardware" of the human being and are the neuronal building blocks for encoding information, committing it to memory and hierarchically building upon it the structure that eventually becomes "knowledge." The patterns created by repeated neuronal firings form the basis of our understanding of the world.
But, "computer culture interprets all knowable reality as transmissible information."[64]19 If knowledge were equivalent to information, then the storage of information guarantees knowledge, which would force one to admit a database within the realm of knowledgeable items. Naturally, the missing link here is the processing of the information, the manipulation of data and the various schemes of interpretation that would provide meanings. The processing of information is based on generic structures that humans employ to represent the world around them. These structures are in turn based on patterns that are derived from regularities encountered within the field of reality. The organization of data according to such patterns gives rise to a hierarchy of understanding of the world, from simple explanations to increasingly more complex schemes.
The term "knowledge" designates a much larger encompassing structure of facts and symbols that are related by laws through which their meanings can be deciphered.[65]20 The laws that connect and help explain the facts derive from observable regularities inherent in the world. These laws are a product of critical examination of the facts and manipulation of the relevant symbols. The laws are akin to the codes that individuals apply to various information and communication exchanges. These codes are composites stemming from accumulated experience, learning, principles, and cultural factors. Thus, knowledge requires critical analysis and examination of issues and structures of explanatory nature. To this end, critical analysis is brought about by critical questioning, comparison and contrast.
Knowledge is ... induced through sustained two-way communication; that is through the active and voluntary participation of the learner. Knowledge depends upon what one does with information and how it is integrated into existing cognitive structures through interaction with others. Knowledge is awareness developed through critical analysis. The function of education is to develop the skills of critical analysis and, therefore, the ability to acquire knowledge. In the communication process information is transmitted through one-way communication, while knowledge is induced through two-way communication. Knowledge is organized and meaningful information; its acquisition is the focus of educational activities. To help individuals acquire knowledge for awareness, educators must move beyond the promise of communications and information technology and begin to harness the power of technology to induce knowledge."[66]21
But how could one induce knowledge, one may impart information and teach skills to manipulate that information, but the actual usage of that information remains in the domain of the user himself. Meaning must be provided by the inquiring mind, which is the one interpreting the information available. Meaning is to be discovered by grasping the development of ideas. Meaning is in constant flux, perpetually fine-tuning and adjusting the prevailing interpretations, for it is intertwined within the socio-cultural milieu and thus necessitates adjustment to the world around it. In this sense, the facts in themselves do not provide meaning, rather the schemata of interpretation, or as Umberto Eco explains it, the Code supplies the proper synthesis and structure into which the data can be fitted. So, data becomes the detailing of the trees to form the larger forest of meaning. Thus, knowledge can be viewed as the larger umbrella under which a variety of skills and data are synthesized.
Along with basic skills, such as reading, writing, etc., one needs the powers of reflection and analysis, by means of which an individual can sort the information available and make sense of the world. Here, perhaps one could detect an inherent danger in reliance on technology. For example, the usage of calculators has prevented some people from exercising basic arithmetic skills, to the point that without the calculators they have trouble adding, subtracting and so on. One needs to learn and practice these basic skills first, before employing the time-saving tools of technology, otherwise the machines themselves become unintelligible. Naturally, there are calculations that human beings may not be able to complete or do so only after great struggle and time, without the use of a computer. Yet, those types of mathematics are of a very high order, and again, the basic skills were mastered first.
One also needs to distinguish between various types of knowledge such as "know-how" and "know-that." Bertrand Russell proposed a division of "two sorts of knowledge: knowledge of things, and knowledge of truths."[67]22 Russell further subdivided the knowledge of things into knowledge of things by description and by acquaintance:
Knowledge of things, when it is of the kind we call knowledge by 'acquaintance', is essentially simpler than any knowledge of truths, and logically independent of knowledge of truths, though it would be rash to assume that human beings ever, in fact, have acquaintance with things without at the same time knowing some truth about them. Knowledge of things by 'description', on the contrary, always involves,...some knowledge of truths as its source and ground.[68]23
The major difference between the two types of knowledge is that acquaintance refers to direct awareness such as sensory perceptions and personal introspection. Russell explains that "all our knowledge, both knowledge of things and knowledge of truths, rests upon acquaintance as its foundation."[69]24 Another way of explaining this, is "Know-how" which usually refers to a skill employed in producing some object or, for example, fixing a car. This type of knowledge comes from practice and experience. The more often one employs a particular skill, the better that skill becomes, such as the more often one draws a portrait, the closer the likeness of the image becomes to the individual represented.
Some skills can only be achieved via practice. For example, one can not learn how to fix a carburetor on a car by simply reading manuals; rather, one needs to actually take the carburetor apart and see its components. Such skills are learned by practice, and this kind of knowledge is sometimes difficult to impart, for example the mechanic who can tell what is wrong with a car simply by listening to the sounds the car produces, though he may be a great mechanic, nonetheless, he may be hard-pressed to explain exactly what he heard and how he made his diagnosis.
Certainly the cars of today can be diagnosed by computers, and the above mechanic may be at a loss to determine the problem. But the reason here is not that his skills are not good (they are not the relevant types of skills), rather, the machine itself was computerized to start, in other words, the above-mentioned mechanic would still be a better diagnostician to the older models of cars, for which the computers may be unable to be of help. Thus, one could state that "know-how" is task related and specific to the given problem.
The other type of knowledge, "know-that" may encompass the first, but it usually refers to the integration of relevant information based on general principles. Thus, historical facts woven into a continuous story present the knowledge of a particular time period or place. This type of knowledge does not necessarily involve first-hand experience, but it does require that the information be ordered according to principles of logic and rationality. Under this category one may encounter the so-called book-knowledge, facts and information. Yet, even here, the data needs to be organized, interwoven and systematized. The facts themselves would not be sufficient, for example, simply knowing a string of historical dates would not make one knowledgeable of history. Rather, the dates must complement events, names and socio-economic influences, in order for the historical progressions to emerge. Some types of principles of continuity and social structures must be integrated together with the plain facts. Yet, under this heading one may also include the Russellian "knowledge-by-description," which refers to the recorded experience of others which one may read and thus vicariously "know" by following their descriptions. As Russell points out:
The chief importance of knowledge by description is that it enables us to pass beyond the limits of our private experience. In spite of the fact that we can only know truths which are wholly composed of terms which we have experienced in acquaintance, we can yet have knowledge by description of things which we have never experienced.[70]25
One may read the accounts of travelers and achieve some knowledge of distant lands from their descriptions, without actually undergoing the experience oneself. It is obvious that much of what we consider knowledge is achieved in this fashion, due to the limitations of individuals in both time and possibilities. Here, however, the media, the computer and the global connections may be of unsurpassable help. The individual who can not travel, for whatever reason, may be able to connect to distant lands via the new technology and thus gain knowledge of other people, customs, etc., and even perhaps communicate with those individuals. A video program about the Serengeti may enable people to see, hear and learn about that environment and the animals within that particular habitat, although it does not provide them with first-hand experience.
The inherent danger here is the possible false sense of security in one's knowledge, in the sense that watching the program certainly does not reveal the totality of the Serengeti and the intricacies of its life-cycle. Necessarily, the program will be limited by time constraints, personal decisions of the producers, and so on, which would render it somewhat superficial. But the viewer is aware of these limitations to start, and can continue exploring various aspects of that world by choice, through watching more programs, reading books, or even visiting the land himself. The encouraging aspect of such learning is that it opens new doors and possibilities for the viewer. One certainly has to admit that watching a pride of lions hunting or the migrations of the wildebeests on a video has resulted in knowledge gained by the viewer, provided that a certain degree of honesty was included in the production of the program itself and the labeling of it for the viewer, such as documentary, for example.
Yet the term "knowledge" encompasses a larger dimension besides information, experience and synthesis. It is also possible that one may view knowledge as progressing by degrees. Certainly this appears to be the way children learn, starting with simple ideas and increasing their complexity. From this point of view, then, one will never achieve complete knowledge, for each new thought or idea, in turn, generates new questions and areas of investigation. How could one then claim to have "knowledge"? Perhaps knowledge is not to be considered a possession, rather a continual search for a better explanation of self and the world. One could follow in Socrates's footsteps, and, realizing one' own ignorance, pursue the elusive search for truth. It appears that Socrates considers the question of knowledge and truth to always be ready for re-opening, "that any conviction he has stands ready to be re-examined in the company of any sincere person who will raise the question and join him in the investigation."[71]26 This way, one is always prepared to open the discussion and avoid strict dogmatism.
One of the more phenomenal accomplishments of Socrates was his method of investigation, the elenchus, which used the means of testing and re-testing one's assumptions and convictions. This method does not guarantee an answer, but it provides the path which, when faithfully followed, can bring one closer to finding the truth. There is the assumption, of course, that there are truths out in the world which humans may be able to uncover. In part, the quest for knowledge is also a quest to understand and explain the world (and ourselves), and thus human effort is directed at uncovering that world with increasing precision.
Although the primary usage of his method, for Socrates, was for moral discourse for the discovery of the "good life," nonetheless, this system of investigation may be successfully employed for other subjects, where one begins with a general question and proceeds to scrutinize the possible answers in search of contradictions or inconsistencies. The elenchus has been compared with scientific investigations, where the process is also similar in that a proposed hypothesis is pursued and the experiments conceived may either lead to its modification or acceptance. This method is part of the on-going dialogue that aims at synthesizing information, intellect and ideas to arrive at "knowledge." This method also betrays the essential composition of the human mind, as Susanne Langer explains: "Rationality is the essence of mind and symbolic transformation its elementary process."[72]27 Thus, semiotic analysis can be employed in the study of mental acts which underlie all concepts.
For the ancient Greeks, following the lead of Socrates, knowledge also included social norms and moral concepts. The famous Socratic paradox, "virtue is knowledge," incorporated ethical and moral values and demanded of the knower to act according to such precepts. For Socrates "to know" included the ability to provide a reasonable and intelligible account of one's knowledge. Without the possibility to explain or communicate what one knows, that knowledge is either irrelevant or meaningless. Yet this demand appears too rationalistic and has been severely criticized, for it is possible to envision situations in which the capacity or eloquence necessary to render one's knowledge intelligible to others may fall short of one's actual knowledge. For example, a distinguished artist may have trouble explaining how or what was necessary for him to produce a work of art, and yet the work itself may exhibit qualities of knowledge, say of anatomy or color, or perspective. The explicative powers may demand other, speciali zed knowledge, such as expression, eloquence, simplicity, patience and so on, which are not necessarily part of the specific subject-knowledge that requires the explanation. To give an explanation of what one knows necessitates that one be aware of one's knowing and how one came to know. For Socrates, self-awareness and self-examination are the most pressing of a human being's concerns, since they are relevant to the intrinsic meaning of what it means to be human. But even with the diligent care that Socrates himself gives in the Platonic dialogues to enlightening his fellows to the necessities of self-examination, still, this is perhaps the most difficult level for humans to accomplish. Nonetheless, the legacy of Socrates urges us throughout the centuries, from antiquity to today: "the unexamined life is not worth living."[73]28 Maybe this is too harsh of a pronouncement; however, the lessons of antiquity can be useful even today, while modern humans evaluate their own ideas of knowledge in view of the encroaching world of technology which threatens the very foundations of epistemological discourse. But how exactly does technology affect our ideas? Marshall McLuhan may provide direction for this investigation:
We, who live in a world of reflected light, in visual space, may also be said to be in a state of hypnosis. Ever since the collapse of the oral tradition in early Greece, before the age of Parmenides, Western civilization has been mesmerized by a picture of the universe as a limited container in which all things are arranged according to the vanishing point, in linear geometric order. The intensity of this conception is such, that it actually leads to the abnormal suppression of hearing and touch in some individuals.[74]29
Naturally, the space of the Middle Ages was not linear nor geometric; rather, the vanishing perspective was re-discovered during the Renaissance. But today's world is still following the ideas developed during the Italian Renaissance, as far as the concept of space is concerned. McLuhan is correct, however, in ascertaining that the cyber world is actually creating a more cubistic perspective that is in constant flux, rather than a fixed point of view. But even this tendency is not a result of the computer age; rather, it has a long history of development, as can be witnessed from the Mannerist and Baroque eras, in which the struggle to overcome the rational, linear one-point perspective was initiated. The fragmented world of the Baroque multi-point perspective appears to culminate in the all-encompassing space of the virtual world. The simplification of history that McLuhan offers continues:
Having gleefully scrapped our traditions in headlong pursuit of the demon of progress, now that we Westerners embrace postliteracy we find no roots or resonance in alphabetic culture. Prior to literacy, the job of transmitting the accumulated knowledge of the culture was given the poets: Homer's Illiad and Odyssey are meticulously encoded encyclopedias of the arts, manners, sciences, and mores of his Greece. After writing, the logos was smashed and the oral establishment drowned in a sea of ink. Fragments of the old system were soon retrieved and recast in the pattern that became the trivium and quadrivium, or 'seven liberal arts.' The trivium comprised grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic; the quadrivium, arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music. The trivium is our concern: all three of its elements are arts and sciences of language.[75]30
Although McLuhan is prone to generalizations, he attempts to analyze the electronic age by juxtaposing what he calls the visual space against the acoustic space: "Visual space is a man-made artifact, whereas acoustic space is a natural environmental form. Acoustic space...is presumably the natural mode of spatial awareness, for it was not the side-effect of any technology..."[76]31 By this division, McLuhan attempts to set in opposition the world of pre-historic humans and the rest of the historical period, while comparing the environment of pre-alphabetic societies with that of today's media. By this he means that prior to writing man could not have envisioned the types of divisions in awareness and modes of being that a predominantly visual world artificially imposed.
This concept is relevant, for should it prove correct, then the sphere of knowledge and the modes of apprehending understanding would differ significantly in these two worlds. But again, it is difficult to see how the alphabet itself was able to provide man with the separation of inner and outer worlds, only the separation of historical and mythical accounts. Also, conversely, can it be that after the introduction of the alphabet humans necessarily saw these distinctions clearly? After all, in the early days of the alphabet, not too many individuals had knowledge of reading and writing, and for most of history illiteracy has permeated the greater majority of society.
McLuhan's analysis focuses on the introduction of linear perspective, which dates back to the time of the ancient Greeks, but was further systematized during the Italian Renaissance. "It is interesting to note that most of the Italian artists during the first half of the fifteenth century did not suddenly adapt to linear perspective, and the new art-science was never applied to scientific drawings or architectural models until the time of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)".[77]32 Also, one may add that it was the desire to understand and imitate the visual world that actually led the Renaissance masters to systematize linear perspective and employ this new mathematical concept in their artworks. Thus, it was the visual world and its experience that originated the search for clearer representational mechanisms, not the discovery of perspective that led humans to become aware of the visual world. It is also important to note that the optimistic belief in the return to the acoustic world, that McLuhan envisions being facilitated by the computerized environment, is still heavily visual, for access is relying on typing in words or clicking icons. It is doubtful that one could separate these two modes of being-in-the-world so categorically, most likely a deeper synthesis may be achieved. To some degree most individuals operate in both these modes, visual and acoustic, at least at times during their everyday activities. One need only consider the act of driving a car, to note that the driver must employ a mixture of skills, spatial, visual, acoustic.
The relevancy of technology is most important to enable man to grasp the vastness of accumulated knowledge thus: "...the computer revolution is a revolution in human knowledge; computer-serviced reconstruction of human knowledge can be the means for progressing to a flowering of worldwide human intelligence."[78]33 Since human memory and learning are based on a build-up of connections which link pre-existing ideas to new ones, the possibilities the computer provides is to elaborate these links and introduce novel ones. With the exponential growth of information today, only a computer database can allow humans to keep abreast of the new data. Knowledge encompasses both the storing and making accessible of information but also the paradigms employed to make sense of the data.
Perhaps the new technologies can be viewed in an optimistic light: "With the irrepressible growth of the knowledge industry - a conglomerate that might be very broadly defined as information goods and services, with education as its largest segment - we are rapidly becoming a learning society."[79]34 Not only are we becoming a learning society, but inevitably we must so become if we are to remain viable in the modern world. A learning society means that the process of learning should preoccupy most people, most of their lives. The process of learning here delineated refers to life-long learning, that is a continuous discovery and synthesis of past and new modalities of thought, akin to a continuous re-shaping of the self. This is not equivalent with individuals continuously going to school; rather learning does and should permeate all levels of life and all human enterprises. With the advent of computer proliferation, continuous learning may be even more accessible. One could argue that people are already engaged in continuous study, for every day provides new experiences; however, a more advanced course of study may further people's creativity and intellect.
The synthesis of information may become easier to achieve if one follows some organizational principles which computer programs may facilitate. One still requires a sentient being with intellectual capabilities to integrate the available data. Furthermore, knowledge implies the active participation of a subject who understands, interprets and uses information and data. Thus, the triadic relationship of information mediated, synthesized or integrated via an intellect reappears. The integration of data and its employment during the length of an individual's life and activity, whether for personal benefit or for the benefit of society the method of semiotic analysis and to investigate the distinction between information and knowledge. The major point about these concepts is that information provides building blocks to knowledge. One employs facts and information data in a synthesis that evolves into the larger and more encompassing knowledge. Thus, knowledge can be seen as the framework, the skeletal structure which facts and data fill and complete. In addition knowledge also includes a moral dimension that guides the use and application of information according to ethical concerns. The computer age provides the opportunity to access more data at a faster pace than the human memory could synthesize. In this fashion, the computer is an extension of human memory with better capabilities of storage and retrieval of information. The human element provides the analysis of the information and thereby, transforms it into knowledge.
"These new technologies are a fact, and there is no way to escape from them...But we should watch diligently over the development of these new media. An abundance of information can destroy information..." Umberto Eco, "Gazeta Wyborcza", Warsaw, Feb. 24-25, 1996
Having looked at the distinctions between information and knowledge, and having analyzed the difference as one of modality of employment, it is important to address the role and influence of technology on these concepts. Does the emerging technology change and transform knowledge itself, or merely the access to the information databank? Also, what types of technologies are available and how are they employed to further the educational enterprise? The major contention here will be that the various technologies that are available mainly act as modalities of communication. In other words, technology provides tools that facilitate human interaction and communication faster and over greater geographical expanses.
The next two chapters will address, first, the available technologies and their use, and then, their influence on the individuals using them. After brief explanations of the technologies themselves, the analysis will focus on important questions relating to the transforming attitudes and concepts that these technologies may impose on human beings. Chapter 3 will briefly discuss databases and computers as well as their role in distance learning technologies. Do these new methods and technologies change the approaches to learning, and if so how could one employ such systems more efficiently for continuing education?
Chapter 4 will again take a triadic approach which consists of the technological paradigm, the idea of quantified knowledge and the "anthropological" paradigm which will be proposed as encompassing the other two. The "anthropological" paradigm will be suggested as the unifying and larger sphere that includes the other two aspects and may be employed to minimize the danger of technology de-humanizing individuals. This proposed paradigm will be shown to provide the necessary codes through which information may be exchanged in a meaningful manner and with it knowledge may occur.
The codification of information and its transference from one individual to another is part of the enterprise of communication. In order for communication to be successful, the code between the sender and the receiver needs to be shared. The first necessity of communication, and consequently of learning, therefore, must be the common code. Otherwise the information can not be used to provide a framework of knowledge. Some questions concerning technology center on the ways that technical equipment may influence what is considered knowledge and how one goes about achieving it. Along with this the process of learning may be furthered by empowering individuals to become more self-sufficient and independent in their learning pursuits. Again, technology may facilitate the learners to set their own programs and courses of study. The fast access to a myriad of information may also provide unexpected outcomes, such as new connections and syntheses, thus furthering the available frameworks of knowledge. Perhaps creativity and imagination could benefit as well. It is necessary to understand not only the possibilities but also the limitations that the new technological equipment furnishes.
In order to comprehend the magnitude of influences that technology exerts on humans, especially in the education field, one first needs to distinguish between the various media employed. All technological equipment shares the common trait of being vehicles and tools either of communication or of the production of objects that enhance human life. According to McLuhan: "All media are extensions of some human faculty - psychic or physical."[80]1 Naturally, humanity is to be distinguished by many aspects and features from other animals, and one of these is presented by the extent of its tool-making capability, which exceeds that of any other animal species. Tools became quintessential for human development and their proliferation allowed for progress. Here, progress is seen as the advancement of society, and is viewed as the general impetus driven by the desire to improve the quality yet diminish the limitations of human life. Progress is to be und erstood as providing a better environment for humans, an environment that also takes into account freedom and equitability.
The concept of progress is also closely tied into the cultural and social improvement of communication between individuals as well as cultures and civilizations. Progress is a general term that can not be easily reduced to a single definition, for it must also take into account the history and geography of a particular area, which exert influences on the particular community discussed. For the purposes of this analysis, however, a progressive society would be viewed as attempting to improve not only the living conditions, but also the mental and intellectual situations of its citizens.
The various technologies that humans have invented have enabled them to become more efficient in their tasks. McLuhan further elaborates: "The wheel...is an extension of the foot...the book is an extension of the eye... clothing, an extension of the skin...electric circuitry, an extension of the central nervous system."[81]2 Throughout the history of humankind, various tools and media have been in continuous development, intentionally changing the world humans inhabit and the way humans understand themselves. These innovations have enabled man to produce food and other objects, faster and with greater ease, but they also have perpetuated the desire for more innovations.
"Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act - the way we perceive the world."[82]3 If the invention of media impacts humans to change according to the new possibilities presented, can one then also argue that the choice of media itself is prompted by the desire for such changes? One could interpret the above as, our desire to have less work or easier production may in itself create the desire for such tools and technologies. But, is altering the environment and fastening the exchange of information extending our knowledge?
There is no doubt that some of the developments that enrich human lives are also found to impact upon the environment and upon the planet, as in the greenhouse gases and global warming. It appears that with every innovation there are positive as well as negative repercussions stemming from its introduction for large-scale consumption. Thus, the media humans create will change themselves and their environment, and in a perpetual cycle prompt new developments. An important point needs to be clarified - the inevitability of technology. To a certain extent the usage of technology becomes inevitable due to the globalization of economy.
Today's world is globally interwoven spatially and economically, and this in turn, necessitates a common level of communication and trade. In other words, all governments and countries are connected via telephone and the satellite communications enable instantaneous exchange of information. Technology may not be appropriated on an individual basis, or it may take a long time to achieve that level of proliferation; nevertheless, on the larger scale of country, government, or even community some technology becomes employed. It is near impossible to sustain an isolated existence, and it may not even be desirable to do so.
Turning now to the developments of communication media, and in particular those tools which are employed in education, one finds a myriad of electronic possibilities. One invaluable development has been the extensive memory that can be gained from computers and disks. This is truly an extension of human capabilities of storage and quick retrieval of information. Databases are the enormous storage files where manifold bits of information are stored in some orderly and easily accessible fashion. One could type in some word or phrase and begin researching the vastness of literature that actually contains that particular term. Because the bits travel at near speed of light, the retrieval of relevant information can be formed at a much faster pace than human beings could produce using their own memory banks, which are fallible.
Computers have been used in education in various ways since the 1960's, as assessment tools, computer-assisted learning, communication device, tool for special needs, drill and practice, tutorial, and simulation programs.[83]4 Some advantages to using such modern systems of learning are: "Distance teaching has enabled many people to gain access to formal education despite personal, domestic, occupational, geographic or other factors that might otherwise make study impossible."[84]5 It is necessary to note that the advent of the computer has brought about the new idea of variety in application of this new device such that:
Computers in all their early forms were for counting, calculating, and measuring. Now, in the short space of only one generation, we have discovered that computers may be applied to nonnumerical, to practically any form of information and human knowledge. This breakthrough into a new human era is a projection of Pythagoras's cryptic dictum that all things are numbers - an eerie projection of things to come.[85]6
Another new tool is known as hypertext, which is a concept generally inspired by a Vannevar Bush (1945) article in the Atlantic Monthly that predated digital computers.[86]7 The defining concept behind this new tool can be explained as follows:
Hypertext is non-sequential writing: a directed graph, where each node contains some amount of text or other information. The nodes are connected by directed links. In most hypertext systems, a node may have several out-going links, each of which is then associated with some smaller part of the node called an anchor. When users activate an anchor, they follow the associated link to its destination node, thus navigating the hypertext network. Users backtrack by following the links they have used in navigation in the reverse direction.[87]8
Hypertext is a set of screens or files of text to which other screens or files can be branched interactively in different ways by following links between them. The organizational arrangement of the files is essentially nonlinear, although parts of the hypertext may be accessed only through predefined linear trails if the author or authors of the hypertext so desire.[88]9 The concept of nonlinear access of textual material and the reconstitution of text has also been a philosophical tradition that predates computers, in the work of Leibniz and Otlet, for example.[89]10
When considering computer-aided learning one usually thinks of individualized or independent study. On-line data bases may be used and electronic (e-mail) mail may link individuals. In these cases there is no urgent need to provide the visual component; people communicate by sending written material through the electronic media. One component of this process is the delay between message and response, but these can be counteracted by frequency of transmission. Computer discs with read-only memory (CD-ROM) provide for large storage of data digitally, which can include a variety of media visual and audio. This data can then be accessed via a desktop computer. Such CD-ROM's can be utilized as supportive material and for self-assessment in education. Students can also link with other networks, which will allow for cross-referencing material. The software can also provide instant feedback to the student via quiz-type questions and this can direct the student to overcome difficult passages and provide remedial procedures.[90]
11 The networks can also link students via the World-Wide Web, Hypertext and the Internet on a global scale to ensure that the most up-to-date information is available.
At the same time, the computer may provide instructional programs, such as drill and practice, that can be useful in a variety of subjects. In such cases the instructor may not be necessary, or just a few visits may be needed. The student has the opportunity to be in control of their learning and pace. As long as a particular unit is learned, the student receives immediate feedback from the computer itself. This type of instruction appears to fit the theory that adults are largely voluntary participants in education.[91]12 In computer-aided instruction especially, the emphasis is on self-directed learning. But naturally, this type of study requires a high motivational level on the part of the student and also a high level of independence. Nevertheless, the advantages are that the student makes all the choices in the learning process, which of course, implies that the student is already skilled in self-directed learning techniques. The disadvantage to this type of learning remains the lack of communication and exchange of ideas.
The Commission on Instructional Technology defines Instructional technology as:
a Systematic way of designing, carrying out and evaluating the total process of learning and teaching in terms of specific objectives, based on research in human learning and communication and employing a combination of human and non-human resources to bring about more effective instruction.[92]13
Although this definition is broad, nevertheless, it shows that the goal of resources focuses on effectiveness of instruction and the outcome of the educational enterprise. Some definitions are necessary in order to gain a better understanding of the process of education via technological or alternative means. The first difference is between active and passive means for learning, which translates into two-way communication and one-way communication, respectively. If the technological media is considered, one-way communication refers to: print, audio/video cassettes, radio/TV broadcast and laser videodisc.[93]14 What all these media forms have in common is the fact that by themselves, they provide only one-way communication, although if used in conjunction with other media they can be transformed to two-way communication. One-way communication is passive, with the student being more or less an observer, absorbing (hopefully!) the material. Such instruction is independent, but the student may understand the material wrong and not be aware of the deficiencies.
By contrast, two-way communication, which historically began with correspondence courses and more recently moved to teleconferencing and microprocessor-based technology[94]15 , provides the opportunity for feedback and thus active learning. Teleconferencing is described as "two-way electronic communication between two or more groups, or three or more individuals, who are in separate locations; includes group communication via audio, audiographics, video and computer systems."[95]16 As the above definition shows, the emphasis is placed on the interaction achieved through the electronic media and thus the method of learning is group-centered. It is difficult to sustain active participation while watching a person talk on a monitor, but if there is some form of dialogue the interaction draws the viewer into the conversation thereby actively engaging their thinking processes.
The term "distance education" may have first appeared in the 1892 catalogue of the University of Wisconsin.[96]17 One could ponder the idea of distance, for to some extent any communication involves some distance. Also, since the centennial may have already passed, the progress of technology could be viewed as providing more opportunities and bridging more distances than ever before. The ever-changing new technologies have reached the point where interactive links can bring together various groups of individuals spanning great distances. Distance education, as it has come to be called, refers to the possibilities of linking different classroom sites via fiber optic cable, satellite or microwave. There are some criteria for a system to be considered "distance education" as opposed to regular classroom delivery. The most important criterion refers to the usage of media equipment that links the students and the instructor, thus having them be physically separated and communicating via the media.
Other criteria may be similar to a regular classroom, such as the teacher and students having a contract and an institution backing such a contract to ensure a learning-teaching environment. There is also need for assessment and guidance to ensure the optimal learning environment.[97]18 Another way of viewing distance education is: "A short definition of distance education might be any formal approach to learning in which a majority of the instruction occurs while the educator and learner are at a distance from one another."[98]19 The authors provide four defining elements of distance education:
In other words, the major distinction between a regular classroom and one equipped for distance education relies first and foremost on the physical distance between learners and teacher which is to be bridged via electronic means, thus rendering geographical location irrelevant. The second point above, referring to the influence of an educational organization, relates to the verification system discussed above, as well as to the ordering and systematizing of the learning enterprise.
Today, nearly everyone in America owns a TV, and most individuals own a VCR, which can be useful educational devices, through the various courses offered and educational videos. The technological advances can assure that adults become more self-sufficient and self-directed in their learning, as well as autonomous in their choices and methods. Computer-aided instruction can provide the learners with the possibility to set their own pace and receive patient and immediate feedback for their work. Teleconferencing, which is defined as: "Two-way electronic communication between two or more groups, or three or more individuals, who are in separate locations; includes group communication via audio, audiographics, video and computer systems"[100]21 can also be included in the different technologically based methods available. Adding teleconferencing to the classroom, can bridge distance gaps and allow individuals to interact not only over great distances, but also with other cultures and peoples, thus ensuring a wide range of ideas and dialogue.
At the same time, technologically based education systems can reach people who may be disadvantaged by not having child care, or transportation, and thus not being able to leave their homes. These new methods can be flexible and adaptive to the busy adult, thus ensuring that the adult population can meet their right to lifelong education. It is important to stress that a democratic country requires equitability, opportunity and a knowledgeable populace in order to ensure that true democratic policies are instituted. Thus, inherent in the very concept of democracy is the necessity for viewing the educational enterprise as a right of each and every citizen, rather than the privilege of a select few.
Overcoming the obstacles of physical distance can foster wider distribution of knowledge and produce equitability. Most distance learners, today, fit the non-traditional student characteristics, such as age range between 20-40 years, being part-time students, having high motivational levels for learning which are of an intrinsic manner, and preferring to study at home at their own pace, and also being distributed over a wide geographical area.[101]22
The systems, though they vary, mostly require TV monitors, microphones and video cameras at all sites. Sometimes, this equipment is connected by telephone, but most likely either microwave or fiber-optic cable is used. In some instances satellites are used. Thus, there is an emphasis on two-way traffic between students and the learning organization and instructors, that distinguishes the distance education methods from other more traditional educational methods. The emphasis in any distance set-up would be the interaction at a distance that can be produced via technology. Computers may be added to the other communication aids to enhance possibilities by allowing for pre-programmed data to be employed.
The major point about these various configurations, the common element is the interactive possibility. Thus, one individual may provide a presentation at one site, and this can be transmitted to all the other activated sites simultaneously. At the same time, any individual at any of the sites can activate his microphone and video camera to interact with the speaker, ask questions or provide comments. In this manner, one can employ the system as one would a regular classroom, for instruction and discussion.
Yet the most important addition this type of system provides is the ability to bridge distances and thus allow individuals more flexibility in learning. Rather than having to be on campus, one can simply use facilities at a library or local school to hook-up to the main originator site. This is especially useful for a large portion of the adult population, which is required to continue their education for re-certification or to keep abreast of new developments. For individuals who have full time jobs and families, it becomes easier to take courses if the distances are overcome. It is possible that as technology becomes more accessible such link-up could become available even in the individual home. For now, however, the costs are prohibitive. Nevertheless, the new technologies promise "a wider range of teaching functions and a higher quality of learning; lower costs; greater student control; more interaction and feedback for students."[102]23
Depending on the sophistication of the equipment used, one can have audio teleconferencing only where the connection is strictly auditory, or one could have a visual component added via video, in which case the participants also have the possibility to see each other and thus be even closer to a regular classroom setting. Naturally, either of the systems used may have drawbacks, such as difficulty in comprehension or differences in degree of understanding by the students, but these are objections to be dealt with in the traditional settings as well. The only other significant difference is the proper functioning of the equipment, which may malfunction, in which case contact would be lost. Therefore, in order to ensure that the equipment is properly maintained, distance education programs require a technical assistant and operator at each facility[103]24 , or at least easy and quick assess to such an individual.
The more technical equipment one conjoins to the basic framework, the more possibilities one may have in more extensive communication. For example, one could add a fax machine, in order to send and receive homework on the spot. The advantages of this type of instruction are apparent, not only as related to large distances, but also because today people are used to TV monitors and other technical equipment. At the same time, dialogue and communication are paramount for a truly successful educational system, and therefore, students still require the interaction with the teacher and each other. This form of communication is the closest to the traditional methods except that people are not occupying the same physical space. But the process of learning includes and involves the same basic principles that the face-to-face teaching does, namely discussion, question and answer and sustained contact with students and teachers. Thus, students usually go to some designated classroom, which could be located in different areas, and they establish contact via the cable structures or telephone lines. In this case the student is still required to set aside special time zones as well as be able to have transportation to the nearest facility. But this method differs from the traditional classroom learning by allowing small and dispersed target groups to electronically connect with one another.[104]25
Although there are difficulties in comparing the traditional classroom with the distance learning systems, some studies suggest that the competency outcome for students is comparable. The difficulties arise from the classic differences in interaction provided by both systems, for in distance education there is less chance for classroom experiences, since the interaction happens via media connections. Therefore, some non-verbal communications are necessarily left out. Nevertheless, in assessments, students employing technological learning devices performed on a par with traditional students and sometimes even reliably better, especially in knowledge-based tests.[105]26 The overall assessment of the new possibilities that technology could offer to education are considerable, not only in terms of opportunities but also in terms of variety of courses and accessibility. The main findings suggest that students enrolled in such courses considered travel time as the major impediment to traditional education.[106]27
Yet, it is not only geographical distances that can be lessened by the new technologies, rather a myriad of other educational improvements can also result from its usage. "Distance education, with its increasingly sophisticated use of media, can bring together interdisciplinary teams to create materials - print, video, audio, computer - that allow even a solitary instructor to achieve a degree of interdisciplinarity."[107]28 Distance education media can reinvigorate the role of experience in the learning process. These new technologies allow for broader experience to be shared among the students, and thus to extend diversity and increase possibilities. Computer simulations and interactive videodisk programs - with their capability to compress time and give the student vicarious experience - are only one way that we can, and are, bringing experience back into education.
Our technology allows us to create new kinds of learning communities. Teleconferencing, computer conferencing, computer bulletin boards that allow isolated distant students to share ideas with one another are new ways for people to come together. The learning community need no longer be confined to a classroom or campus. It can be very heterogeneous, and the diversity of people brought together by telecommunications can be used as a way of discovering new commonalties. In turn, the curriculum can address explicitly issues such as how to bring the experiences of practitioners into pre-professional education and how to ensure international perspectives in teaching.[108]29
Distance and technologically based education use different equipment and there are many varieties of instructional methods. Overall, however, all these methods share in their philosophical foundations the idea that adults are independent and self-directed (at least that they have a tendency toward self-sufficiency), and being in general voluntary participants in the educational process. The voluntary aspect is important, for although there are instances of mandatory certification; nonetheless, most educational pursuits are chosen by the participants, and even in the mandatory cases adults still maintain some choice (when and which courses to take, etc.). Many articles and books have been written about the methods and practices of instruction via technology and the various programs currently available that employ these innovations. In the majority of cases, the stress is placed on possible improvements in methodologies with emphasis on interactive media. It is the interaction among individuals who are located at a distance from one another, that provides the most advantage in technologically based education.
Although the history of distance learning can be traced back to the last century, and self-directed learning all the way to antiquity, it is the technological advantages that are of concern here. One could also envision pre-historic humans learning through trial and error, or in some other way engaging in self-directed and self-initiated learning processes. Correspondence courses have existed since the 1830's[109]30 , but the advent of computers and more recently e-mail and audio-visual teleconferencing have dramatically changed the structure of adult learning. Many differences exist between traditional education and technologically based learning, and the most obvious of these is the fact that traditionally students are set in a classroom, with face-to-face instruction from a professor, while in computer-aided learning the interaction is between the student and the computer. In this latter case, the familiar social interchanges do not exist, the computer providing limited feedback - only what it has been programmed to do - while the personal contact may involve non-verbal clues and other such interaction. In educational practice it is important to remember that, "first and foremost, adults are individuals possessing unique needs, values, attitudes, goals, beliefs, motivations, and self-concepts"[110]31 which may not be addressed by a computer and even overlooked during the limited interaction of a "virtual classroom."
Although much of the literature that attempts to characterize adults has been criticized, and many of the attributes given to adults also apply to children, nevertheless, some of these characteristics are useful in devising a program of study for adults and keeping in mind that learning implies a synthesis of knowledge and experience which builds up on itself in a spiral fashion. One can draw a parallel here to the spiral ascent to Beauty in the Symposium of Plato. In the speech of Socrates from the Symposium, Diotima explains to the young Socrates the ascendancy of the vision from particular to the universal. Starting with the appreciation of a beautiful body, the soul ascends to the vision of the Forms, the universals that all beautiful bodies share. Once the Forms become visible, the soul can grasp the vision of the supreme Form of the Good. At this point, the soul becomes liberated from the senses, and through reason and the dialectic achieve union with the divine through this knowledge of the Good.[111]32
For some educators, the distinguishing characteristic of distance education is the emphasis on technology, thus excluding postal means of delivery such as correspondence courses, yet this need not be the case. A combination of various resources which may include the postal delivery system may be used in conjunction with the computers. But there are some important criteria that characterize distance education. According to Keegan, quasi-permanent separation of teacher and learner, influence of an educational organization, a two-way communication via technical media are the important factors.[112]33 The emphasis is placed on the physical separation of the individuals, with the possibility that they may never really meet face-to-face. This may be a crucial point, for one may ask if such lack of physical interaction may change the educational practice and the responsibility of learning itself. Does the lack of face-to-face meeting force the student to take a more active role in the responsibility of their own learning, or does this make it easier to produce blame for one's failures on the system, or the teacher, or both?
In a distance education classroom, the students will also be different, usually, from the traditional students. Technology allows more educational opportunities for a larger geographical area especially for previously deprived individuals, while at the same time providing more flexibility through an open door type of policy.[113]34 In other words, by relying on lower or even a lack of formal academic requirements, distance education programs can reach a large portion of the adult population, perhaps even those groups that need literacy and basic skills training. Perhaps the system can be used to offer courses of interest to students, not only sequences of academic requirements, in which case education could also take on the aspect of pleasure and entertainment, not only degree and certification.
Another important aspect of distance education courses is the flexibility it is capable of offering in curriculum as well as content.[114]35 This allows for a wider pool of offered programs at different levels. In the communicative context of learning, one can see the computer as providing the possibility to reorganize the way interaction occurs among people as well as create new and innovative learning environments. At the same time, however, the student may need to become familiar with the technology, so as to overcome any fears or threats the new environments may produce, for,
the exposure to new and different experiences must take place in the absence of threat because threatening situations hinder perceptions. This idea goes hand-in-hand with the major construct of dialogue/support in distance education; freedom to experience new perceptions is imperative and appropriate dialogue and support should enhance this freedom.[115]36
One aspect of distance education which has caused some discussion is the high cost of the systems needed. While technology becomes more complex, the price may be driven down somewhat, yet state of the art technology appears to be more out of reach for individuals. The complexity of integration of different media as well as more technical instructional materials makes this type of education become feasible only within larger institutions. This naturally pertains to sophisticated technology such as interactive audio-visual settings, whereas audio cassettes and videos or TV programs remain accessible to average individuals. But these forms of distance learning do not have an interactive component and thus the difference between them and traditional instruction is greater. One can watch a video or some other educational program but one does not have the opportunity to discuss or ask questions and one remains a passive observer, rather than an active participant in the learning process. However, a combination of these media and a conference room with video components linking students and teachers may supplement the learning, thus providing the interactive component.
However, if the material from a lecture is to be transferred to the distance technology, it is important that the technology employed be relevant and wisely utilized. For example, using videos and networking the sites can help make the class a joint environment of learning. The administration of the institution also needs to be aware of the new demands for support operations. The support would require on-site coordinators to take care of the equipment and serve as liaison between the central organization and the site. Also, technicians are needed to ensure that the equipment is operational.[116]37 Thus, the most noteworthy way in which distance education differs from traditional programs is the former's reliance on team work, which in turn requires strict coordination between the instructor, administration and the site coordinators, as well as other supportive staff, such as graphic designers, editors and librarians. It is of paramount importance that study materials be delivered on time and be available to the students at the remote sites to promote smooth delivery of course instruction. But outside of these considerations, the students themselves need to be prepared in the use of the new technology so they are not intimidated or frightened by it. Thus computer skills need to be taught early in the educational enterprise.
Along with the technological connections of various sites, computers and different software applications can also be employed to enhance learning. A number of networks, such as "internet," "usenet" and "world wide web" provide fast link-up to numerous data bases and instantaneous communication across the globe. These systems provide access to information and discussion groups. At the same time, electronic mail allows users to transfer messages via network connections and these can become important means of communication between students and professors. Since the messages are stored electronically on files, they can be accessed at any time from any connected computer, thus allowing flexibility in communication. E-mail does not necessitate simultaneous presence of the communicating parties, but it provides instantaneous access to messages. Examples from the medical professions abound, and they are illustrative providing good practical information on the use of distance education technology. For the health professions, where there is a constant need for continuing education due to new developments, new machines and regulations, the distance education system would prove most useful. The medical field has seen a growth in the area of telemedicine, along with other computerized applications. Such applications, which are based on extended experience in the field, can provide a good perspective on the organizational and schematic function of distance communications and the transfer of various data of information. Telemedicine may be defined as:
the use of telecommunications systems to provide access to expert advice and patient information to enable the management of patients, and the education of patients and clinical staff, irrespective of their location; or telecommunications-supported medical practice.[117]38
The use of such a system would allow for patients in remote areas to profit from the expertise of health care providers and professionals at other locations, and thus be assured of the best care. Such systems already exist. At the Medical College of Georgia and the Oklahoma Medical Information Network, telecommunication lines are used to provide access to information and specialists.[118]39 Such systems were extensively employed during Desert Storm, and even today in Bosnia via satellite communications. These types of systems can be continuously updated to keep individuals abreast of new developments. At the same time, international boundaries can also be crossed and a global system can be effected. Health Care International is actually establishing such a network on a global scale.[119]40
A network linking universities and research institutions, as well as practitioners, can be useful in medical education because students can receive access to relevant information. E-mail can link the students with the instructors to further interaction and dissemination of relevant announcements and other information. Computers also play an important role in education, in particular due to their extensive memory, which can hold a wealth of information in a variety of ways, including graphics, videos and assessment tests. In medical imaging especially, computers can provide evaluation of the knowledge that students mastered, as well as self-paced learning opportunities. Increasingly, higher levels of study place more demands on students including self-sufficiency and independence, and these areas are best served via computerized instruction. In radiology, which is based largely on repeated exposure to visual information and experience, computers can facilitate and expedite learning.[120]41
There is no doubt that the technological revolution is affecting more people every day. By employing technology in the service of education, more people can be reached and consequently have the opportunity to grow and learn. Distances can be overcome and the various media can provide faster and more reliable dissemination of knowledge. Yet much work remains to be done in producing better software and more user-friendly interfaces. Nevertheless, with the addition of multimedia capabilities, computers and on-line services, the population as a whole has better chances for their birthright of a complete and necessary education. With a better educated populace, economic development can be sustained and a better standard of living achieved on a global scale. It is important to recognize the necessity of education as a lifelong process and the aid that technology can provide in making education more equitable and democratic. At the same time, the job market demands a well educated workforce to remain competitive and progressive. As the technology becomes more widespread, it will also be more feasible and commonplace. One can look forward to a future where all individuals will have access to knowledge and learning. Some relevant questions, however, require an answer: how is diversity, openness and better understanding of humans emphasized? Will this emphasis on technology lead to further fragmentation of social groups? These questions will be further addressed in the next chapter along with some assessments of the impact and influence of technological advancement and proliferation on humanity.
Having looked at the various technologies, and their modalities of application, it is necessary to consider the implications resulting from their use. How do these technologies affect the people involved? As with most new developments, the computer also appears as a double-edged sword. Even as far back as 1928, Bertrand Russell wrote: "Machines are worshipped because they are beautiful, and valued because they confer power; they are hated because they are hideous, and loathed because they impose slavery."[121]1 Necessarily, one would find both positive and negative outcomes, just as one could argue that the invention of the automobile has given people the freedom to travel, yet it has also caused pollution and the exploitation of natural resources.
Similarly, the computer may bridge geographic distances, but it may also fragment and de-personalize communities and individuals. Nevertheless, as in the automobile example, perhaps the positives far outweigh the negatives and one could argue that:
there is a sense in which the technological revolution associated with computing represents the apotheosis of science as the dream of Reason, the ultimate expression of the classical scientific world-view, within which nature, knowledge and human progress are seen as inextricably linked.[122]2
Ever since antiquity, philosophy has struggled with the dualism of reason and emotion. Yet "Rationality is the essence of mind, and symbolic transformation its elementary process...rationality...is embodied in every mental act...[123]3 One cannot escape being to some degree rational, for human consciousness, conditioned by the progression of events in time and space, necessarily demands the application of rational principles for thought processes. To even demand proof of rationality already presupposes some type of argumentation. An anecdote from antiquity will amply illustrate this point: the philosopher Epictetus was once confronted by a skeptic who demanded that he be convinced that logic was necessary. Epictetus is said to have asked the skeptic if the latter would desire a demonstration of the necessity of logic. In response to the affirmative for such a demonstration, he pointed out the a priori necessity of logic for the determination of the validity of the demonstration of logic.[124]4 Thus, one needs some rudimentary logic to differentiate between good or bad arguments, for without logic one cannot tell whether rationality is necessary or not.
Since the computer is based on logic and mathematical precision, it attempts to mimic some of the functions of the rational mind. If one views the computer as an intellectual extension of the human mind, one can see that using this new medium may allow for further research into the intricacies of the mind and thereby extend its limitations. And computer-based studies of thinking processes can expand our attitude as to the complexities of the human mind itself. The computer does not replace the brain, but it offers some paradigms of study, for example:
The starting point is to demonstrate that any state change (generally firing) of a neuron can be interpreted on a system level as the recognition of a pattern, where pattern is carefully defined and includes both objects and changes to objects. A model can then be designed that can be summarized with the term 'cascaded pattern extraction hierarchy.' This hierarchy is a network of pattern recognition units in which each takes a selection of input signals and determines if a high enough proportion of its programmed pattern is present, in which case it also signals...The brain can thus be visualized as a pattern extraction template, in which successive layers are able to extract more and more complex patterns from relatively simple input.[125]5
Although the brain is the most complex organizational organ, and no machine is capable of completely imitating the brain's functions, still, some functions can be studied through computers. Certainly the swift access to information allows speedier synthesis of disparate data. The enriching mechanism of the technological world is obvious when one considers the extrasensory information that can be derived from machines which: "multiply the powers of humans, enabling man to penetrate a new milieu, reveal sights unknown, liberties and servitudes."[126]6 One can cite the examples of the telescope, microscope and so on to support the positive aspect of technological progress. All these machines allow better scrutiny of the phenomena that constitute the world.
Yet one may exercise some caution, for this extension of human senses is on the one hand employed by humans and due to their limited senses it is used to interpret data, and on the other hand, it shows that the value of equipment lies in exploration. Scientists and other scholars are to be viewed as explorers, engaged in risk-taking enterprises and driven by the desire to produce contributions to knowledge, not certitude.[127]7 Having stated this, however, one must also add that some concept of truth and some degree of certitude is necessary and the proper outcome of any inquiry is the search for truth, even if that search will not achieve perfection. The search for certitude, however, drives the scientific progress which creates better and improved machines that in turn enable "with higher resolving power, the incertitude vanishes, much as the light of the sun drives away the phantasms of night."[128]8
When discussing the technological paradigm, one needs to realize that the computer acts upon mathematical and digitized information, and in this sense it is a rational system with which individuals, who are not always rational, interact. In the words of Jacques Ellul, who studied the technological phenomenon at length, there are mutual influences between man and machine and his ideas are very insightful, worthy of being quoted at length:
In reality, we must not confuse the technological system and the technological society. The system exists in all its rigor, but it exists within a society, living in and off the society and grafted upon it. There is a duality here exactly as there is between nature and the machine. The machine works because of natural products, but it does not transform nature into a machine. Society too is a 'natural product.' At a certain level, culture and nature overlap, forming society, in a totality that becomes a nat ure for man. And into this complex comes a foreign body, intrusive and unreplaceable: the technological system. It does not turn society into a machine. It fashions society in terms of its necessities: it uses society as an underpinning; it transforms certain of society's structures. But there is always something unpredictable, incoherent, and irreducible in the social body. A society is made up of multiple systems, multiple types, multiple patterns, on different levels. Saying that technology is the determining factor of this society does not mean it is the only factor! Above all, society is made up of people, and the system, in its abstraction, seems to ignore that.[129]9
From the above quote one can see that the human element is a necessary and perhaps even a symbiotic component in the technological world, even though there is continuous opposition between the orderly, rational and quantified side of the machine, and the unpredictable, emotive aspect that consciousness entails. It is this opposition that is painfully brought about in all discussions that purport to reject technology on the premise that it is cold, calculated and rational and therefore contrary to human nature. But even this debate is an age-old one, for the ancients also attempted to synthesize the rational with the emotive. Some philosophers emphasized the rational above and beyond the passions, citing predictability, calculation, and logical proof as the major reasons for striving to greater rationality and control of the passions. For the ancient Greeks, "sophrosyne" was one of the most admired virtues man could exhibit, and its meaning, though vague in translation, refers to moderation, temperance and sel f-control.[130]10 Yet, even such stress on rational self-control implies the emotive and passionate aspect of man that it requires to become subdued. The impetus to self-control and rationality in itself acknowledges that the individual person is an amalgam of these two tendencies, the rational and the emotive, and that it is through a balanced mixture of the two that the totality of the human being emerges.
The technological world, and in particular the advent of the computer, however, is also a harbinger of new possibilities. New worlds can be created and explored and human experience itself can be redefined:
The ultimate Virtual Reality is a philosophical experience, probably an experience of the sublime or awesome. For the sublime, as Kant defined it, is the spine-tingling chill that comes from the realization of how small our finite perceptions are in the face of the infinity of possible, virtual worlds we may settle into and inhabit. The final point of a virtual world is to dissolve the constraints of the anchored world so we can lift anchor - not to drift aimlessly without point, but so we can explore anchorage in ever new places and, perhaps, find our way back to experience the most primitive and powerful alternative embedded in the question posed by Leibniz: 'Why is there anything at all rather than nothing?'[131]11
But what guidelines would be necessary in order that such drifting becomes fruitful? Today, it appears that the biggest attraction of computers is still the entertainment value of games and even the users of on-line services appear to be concentrating on emulating the talk shows in their "chat groups." These types of uses that technology makes available are an integral part of the technological system itself. As Jacques Ellul explains:
Man cannot live and work in a technological society unless he receives a certain number of complementary satisfactions allowing him to overcome the drawbacks...[distractions] are thoroughly indispensable in making up for the uninteresting work, the deculturation caused by specialization, the nervous tension due to excessive speed of operations, the acceleration of progress requiring difficult readjustment.[132]12
Technology shapes man and provides the above-mentioned distractions, which in turn influence the way man sees himself and the world around him. One must also mention the deplorable fact of technology encroaching upon all facets of life, particularly as "old civilizations collapse when in contact with the new."[133]13 The older cultures, like hunter-gatherer communities, tend to be displaced, even as there are meager attempts to study them and incorporate them into the new, technological world. One can certainly lament the loss of wisdom, culture and way of life, that modern, production-oriented societies impose. One can also attempt to salvage the knowledge and wisdom such cultures have developed through their modalities of life. Perhaps technology may be of help in such an enterprise, by recording through various means their way of life. Nevertheless, one should also remember that technological means have allowed man to reach new heights, combat disease, extend life-expectancy, and overall "Technology, properly interiorized, does not degrade human life but on the contrary enhances it...The use of a technology can enrich the human psyche, enlarge the human spirit, intensify its interior life."[134]14
The concern of this investigation is the effect of technology upon knowledge, and although some traditional means to ascertain knowledge may become cast aside, nevertheless, the improvements upon the body of knowledge that technology offers appears to counter the losses. Applying the ideas of knowledge explored earlier, one can see that technology and especially the computer alter what is considered knowable or even worth investigating. The mathematical precision required by the computer quantifies the known into translatable bits of information. The computer makes it possible that the accumulated mass of information be accessible and manipulated, used. Since the invention of printing information has steadily amassed, to the point that human memory and individual intelligence could not cope with its sheer bulk. "The computer is now the relay between that collective memory and its utilization by man."[135]15
One could argue that this new medium is still too novel and its full exploration and potential will take time, but some guidance may still be necessary. Although research can benefit greatly from global connections and on-line accessibility, one may require a type of sorting mechanism through which one may separate valuable information from trash. In education this was, among other things, the role of the instructor: to provide guidelines, but if one were to independently set out via computer links to study a subject, how would one achieve the necessary checks and balances to ensure relevancy of material? In this case it would seem that basic education may need to incorporate skills of critical analysis, so that individuals can be prepared to employ rationality when dealing with the overload of information. (But isn't this the meaning of "basic education" in the first place?) There are other dangers inherent in the proliferation and increasing dependence on computers. The disembodied "elimination of direct human interdependence"[136]16 creates a world of little or no personal contact and isolation. Although more communication is possible, it appears that less real communication happens, rendering this situation as a paradox in which humanity and human relations become lost in the information processing of databases. The technology available today makes possible teleconferencing and on-line real time communication, through which individuals from different locations can be brought together to study or discuss problems, but this mode of communication loses some distinctive human interaction presenting everything in the format of a video. What are the implications and influences of these types of communication on the thinking and synthesizing of knowledge and information; in other words, are we being changed by the media? Teleconferencing can be defined as:
a group method of learning at a distance. Of all the means used to support distance education, teleconferencing most closely simulates the transaction between teacher and students in a contiguous or conventional form of education. The exchange is conversational in nature, it may be spontaneous, and it is immediate. A second characteristic of teleconferencing is the regularity and immediacy of two-way communication...A third characteristic of teleconferencing is that it is ideally suited to the design and delivery of distance education to small and widely dispersed target groups.[137]17
One may still object that even such immediate exchange may be lacking in the actual presence and sharing of the same space among individuals, and thus a certain human element may be missing, for the interaction is mediated by a TV screen. The main idea here is analogous to the usage of the telephone, for the phone also provides the possibility of real-time interactive communication without the actual presence, a type of disembodied voice, yet the spontaneity and immediacy of a conversation is preserved. Again, one could say that what one loses in terms of presence one gains in terms of spatial distance covered. The teleconferencing adds the visual element, thus allowing for added interaction and also non-verbal clues. The global, instant access which crosses long distances and overcomes access problems provides the possibility for interdisciplinary and multicultural communication, as well. Does this make communities fragile and ephemeral, stressing a spatially large arena of possible communication? Another aspect of the computer is the possibility of anonymity.
Since communication takes place behind the computer monitor, one may argue that the interlocutors in a dialogue can never be certain of each other's identity. Certainly, one has seen a rise of reports on the abuse and misuse of the computer lately, and perhaps most of those cases are due to this ability to hide one's identity. "The computer creates anonymity and anonymity grants all participants equal status. This evens out participation but impedes resolution."[138]18 Thus, under the guise of anonymity individuals may behave differently toward each other, perhaps caring less for common courtesy and civility. Since one can impersonate anyone, there are no real checks to relate back to reality.
Along with such possible personality hide-outs, the computer and the TV also appear to produce other effects, as Herbert Krugman reported in a paper delivered to the annual conference of the Advertising Research Foundation, in October, 1978:
the ability of respondents to show high right brain response to even familiar logos, their right brain response to stories even before the idea of content has been added to them, the predominantly right brain response to TV, and perhaps even to what we call print advertising - all suggests that in contrast to teaching, the unique power of the electronic media is to 'shape' the content of people's imagery, and in that particular way determine their behavior and their views.[139]19
But one could argue that education and social pressures were always means of social control and influence. Perhaps the above quote is too strong, for these media may influence people to buy certain products, but it certainly is far from determining people to act certain ways. For the most part the TV is considered a passive, entertainment medium, meaning that for most viewers is it akin to relaxation rather than active intellectual engagement. "Printing... created the portable book, which men could read in privacy and in isolation from others.... literacy conferred the power of detachment, non-involvement."[140]20 Could one perhaps use the same analogy for the computer age, for in most cases, individuals are alone typing at their computers or reading their e-mail? For those types of uses, the interactive element is not in real-time. One can employ the computer, as seen above, to interact, but one can also use this mega-tool for solitary research, in which case the similarity to print media is obvious.
The invention of printing did away with anonymity, fostering ideas of literary fame and the habit of considering intellectual effort as private property. Mechanical multiples of the same text created a public - a reading public. The rising consumer-oriented culture became concerned with labels of authenticity and protection against theft and piracy. The idea of copyright - 'the exclusive right to reproduce, publish, and sell the matter and form of a literary or artistic work' - was born.[141]21
Even here, the distinction is minimal, and furthermore, the material placed on the computer networks becomes public property to be used by all. It becomes increasingly more difficult to secure copyrights and authenticity, for anyone could access the material and manipulate it. Perhaps guidelines are necessary, yet the global aspect of the connections makes it near impossible to control the distribution of materials, as some recent controversies have shown. It appears that the most exercising freedom of choice. The fear appears to be one of possible anarchy, as many commentators have gloomily expounded.
Today's television child is attuned to up-to-the-minute 'adult' news - inflation, rioting, war, taxes, crime, bathing beauties - and is bewildered when he enters the nineteenth-century environment that still characterizes the educational establishment where information is scarce but ordered and structured by fragmented, classified patterns, subjects and schedules.[142]22
Is news the equivalent of information? Are the so-called talking-heads that enumerate various events from around the globe in minutes providing the viewer with bits of information? How fragmentary are the programs claiming to take the audience around the globe in 30 minutes? Obviously the depth of presentation is of necessity limited, yet the inclination of the reporters to interpret facts may still be presented, albeit in hidden format. It may be that under the guise of "news" the viewer is really provided with a propagandistic view of the world. One could certainly cite the increasing sensationalism as the core of news broadcasting, which in itself seeks to uncover levels of human behavor that one may consider private. The proliferation of talk shows exploring various real as well as fictional life styles may also attest to some loss of a valuation system, in part driven by the rating- hungry media.
Without some basic understanding of the structures of the world, one could easily become lost in this myriad of real facts and nonsense. One needs some mechanism of discrimination between the true and the false, and such a mechanism is achieved through learning. Learning is based on patterns, which are difficult to detect from disparate strings of information. A row of data will be meaningless without some code by which to interpret the facts. The code needs to reflect reality and provide some basic principles of order and organization which the individual may employ to distinguish statements that may be true from those that are fictional.
Print technology created the public. Electronic technology created the mass. The public consists of separate individuals walking around with separate fixed points of view. The new technology demands that we abandon the luxury of this posture, this fragmentary outlook.[143]23
Yet the solitary individual remains, and perhaps is emphasized even more, for he is now in control of the information he receives and manipulates, by having practically unlimited access to various databases. "Education must shift from instruction, from imposing of stencils, to discovery - to probing and exploration and to the recognition of the language of forms."[144]24 In order to discover new possibilities, one needs a body of knowledge from which to begin looking. Thus education needs to emphasize critical analysis and rational thought, which would enable the individual to make intelligent choices and exercise his freedom with responsibility. The new paradigm must emphasize the qualities of the media, non linearity, discontinuities and instabilities, in order to equip the user with the ability to make sense of the information available and produce some order. The paradigm proposed here, the anthropological paradigm, which emphasizes the totality of the individual together with a basic mastery of knowledge, will be addressed in the following section.
The proposed paradigm, anthropological paradigm, addresses the whole individual which stems in part from the socio-cultural and economic milieu. The position to be elaborated here will stress that this paradigm provides the necessary code to synthesize technology and knowledge. In other words, the forest shall be expounded first, and the individual trees and leaves shall fill in the necessary details, thus forming a viable mosaic of interwoven data, ideas and general principles.
If all human interaction, communication and knowledge is being transformed into information processing, what is the status of imagination and creativity, as they were traditionally thought of as distinctly human characteristics? Will the artistic genius of a Michelangelo become bytes in a computer memory? A more important question arises also: could one reproduce the genius of Michelangelo via computer-mediated technology?
In other words, the greatest fear associated with the technological age appears to center on the perceived dominance of technology in human life. If the future is based on the manipulation of technology, then a real possibility arises that humanity may lose its "special" status as creative and passionate synthesizers of knowledge. Certainly, as was shown above, the technological, modern age replaces other types of wisdom, diminishing the realm of possible knowledge. On the other hand, it is also true that many researchers are feverishly trying to save what little non-quantifiable knowledge remains, by documenting the life styles and habits of non-technological peoples. Yet one could argue that recording of shamanic practices and rituals is only a means to store and document those areas of knowledge prior to their disappearance. Would this type of practice really save those worlds?
Since prehistory, the records of cave decoration show humanity entertaining both abstract and realist ideas side-by-side. The famous caves of Lascaux and others display images that prehistoric individuals produced which visualize the animal world in realist detail alongside with abstracted and ritualistic symbolism that alludes to magical practices. It was this propensity to abstract that gave birth to the symbol by schematizing concepts and thoughts. One could take this analysis further, by noting that realism is based on observation and experience, imitation and the personal understanding of the world that comes strictly from one's being-in-the-world. This is the side that relies on the personal feelings, passions and is in large part conditioned by the social and cultural development of interaction with the world. Yet along with this one finds abstraction, sometimes on the same cave walls. The abstraction derives from conceptualization, language, symbolism and extrapolation. It is mainly conditioned by conventions, rituals and explanations of causes provided in the context of wisdom that was passed along in an oral tradition. The images left behind on the cave walls testify to both these components as necessary for the totality of human experience and beings. One could find numerous examples scattered throughout the pages of history to show that these two seemingly disparate tendencies have co-existed and it was through their mixture that humanity progressed. Today's world is no different. Although humans today may become increasingly more dependent on the machine and technological world, nevertheless, the human side remains, as it appears in the arts and passions humans exhibit. To fear a replacement by the machine is unwarranted, for the machine performs functions that humans cannot, or only with great difficulty. Thus there is no rivalry between man and machine. "We evolved and survived because we were able to solve problems quickly...Most digital computers would not survive long without care and feeding by humans."[145]25
In order to ensure that humanity does not lose sight of its most distinguishing characteristic, the ability to synthesize analysis with experience and extrapolate from that synthesis a new body knowledge, both types of thinking must be stressed. The rational and the passionate aspects of existence must be nurtured. Emphasizing one over the other will only produce dysfunctionality and conflict. The proposal for an anthropological paradigm attempts to address the totality of the individual, by stressing both these tendencies. Since knowledge was viewed as a synthesis of principles and information, both these components must be included in the formation of a complete individual.
One could argue that the relativistic and politically correct stance often evoked today may be an attempt to equalize the social aspect of human interaction. Perhaps by showing that everybody's point of view is as good or correct as anybody else's one may hope to achieve equality between individuals. But surely this approach does not produce equality in any sense. Moreover, some ideas are better than others, for example the fact that the earth is not flat and can be precisely proved so, certainly presents the theory that the earth is flat to be mistaken. An individual may or may not want to accept the truth, yet that truth is separate from the individual and his whims. In other words, although individual variations in perception of necessity occur, nevertheless, those personal feelings do not change the common aspect of reality. The danger in allowing the individual to choose his reality produces the mistaken idea that "anything goes" which is in itself a faulty interpretation of human freedom and knowledge. For example, an individual may be guaranteed freedom of speech, to express his views, yet that guarantee does not allow him to impose his view on others, say to force others to believe that the earth is flat.
Some concerns with the idea of truth may again bring the conversation back to factual evidence and knowledge. There is a desperate necessity to discover the commonalty of thought that allows people to ascertain the truth. It may be the case that there are different ways of arriving at truth and even different truths, nevertheless, one has to acknowledge the need for a common reality in which humans operate. This view is usually dubbed metaphysical realism. As the philosopher John Searle explains:
If you think there is no reality that words could possibly correspond to, then obviously it will be a waste of time to engage in an 'objective and disinterested search for truth,' because there is no such thing. There are just various forms of discourse engaged in by various groups of people. Philosophers have a name for the view that there exists a reality independent of our representations of it. It is called 'realism' or sometimes 'metaphysical realism' or 'scientific realism.' An immediate difficulty with denials of metaphysical realism is that they remove the rational constraints that are supposed to shape discourse, when that discourse aims at something beyond itself.[146]26
Not only would one deny the rational means of discourse, but again as in the example of Epictetus above, one is faced with presupposing the existence of an independent reality while demanding proof of its actuality.[147]27 Searle explains that the demand for such proof entails "the existence of a public language, a language in which [one] communicates with other people...if we are using words to talk about something...there must be at least the possibility of something those words can be used to talk about."[148]28 One could state this in another way, by pointing to the existence of natural phenomena, say rain and through the sheer fact that one gets wet, realize that the rain is independent of one's point of view. In Searle's words: "...the meaningfulness of our public utterances already presupposes an independently existing reality to which those expressions in those utterances can refer."[149]29
Having metaphysical realism as one's starting point of discourse, one can begin to create explanatory theories about the world one inhabits. These theories may vary, they may rely on scientific data, or on mythological ideas. Nevertheless, these theories will refer to the independent world and to people's relationship with that world. Furthermore, to claim that reality refers to that independent world does not deny variance in the understanding or experiential being-in-the-world that individual humans may ascertain. For a more complete sense of that reality, one may need to investigate a number of different ways of viewing that reality. The proposed paradigm would incorporate the diversity of human interaction with the independent world of reality in order to synthesize different views. If one were to study the scientific explanations of the world, one need not thereby de-value the mythological or religious viewpoints. The rain may be produced by gods or by the physical accumulation of moisture in clouds; nevertheless, the rain itself exists and can result in one becoming wet. It is necessary, therefore, to allow individuals access to differing interpretations, and by providing them with proper tools of evaluation, rational and logical argumentation, to ensure that they are able to decide for themselves which interpretation is useful to them. the usefulness of an idea may depend on context and socio-cultural influences along with the strength of its explanatory power.
The technological paradigm provides some important explanations of the world humans inhabit. After all, whether we like it or not, we inhabit this technological age. This does not by itself deny other types of explanations, or their value from a cultural point of view. In other words, explaining rain as the product of wind, electricity and moisture, does not deny the usefulness of a Native American rain dance ceremony, or even belief in the possibility of overcoming drought by enacting the ritual. The technological machine is a tool for discovery and evaluation which provides objective explanation of the world. It can be useful if one understands that the machine cannot supplant the existential mode of being in which humans operate. If one employs this tool to bridge communication lines and ideas one may arrive at a more complete picture of reality with all its facets of being. Human sensitivity and sensibility must be allowed to co-exist with the technological drive. Thus, education must address both areas in order to allow individual a complete sense of knowledge.
Returning now to the electronic world, one finds that association with a computer is clearly different from association with a human, but both types of associations have many things in common. In both types of activities, communication occurs, but in computer-human communication, there are restrictions not generally present in human-human communication. Some of these restrictions are mechanical. One mechanical restriction is that the human actor generally communicates with the computer through an electronic input device of some kind - a keyboard, a mouse, a writing tablet, or a touch screen, for example - rather than through the more conventional (for humans) channels of the verbal and nonverbal. Still, there is a substantial overlap in channels of computer- human communication and human-human communication. Electronic input can contain verbal material, and systems can be voice-sensitive. That one of the actors is inanimate does constrain the interaction, since the responses of the computer system are determined by the guidelines of software, created in advance by human actors who are no longer situated in the interaction, except through the artifact that they have left behind and their virtual presence.
A stumbling block to this interaction is the problematic response from the user's presumptions of linearity, who may not realize nonsequential cross-references. Thus, if actors don't have a sense of the size of the hypertext, or of a subset of screens on a particular topic, they may be unsure whether they have searched an entire topic or not, even if the screen shows links to additional files or the actor has reached a dead end. The size of the available information is not as obvious as it is with a book. Even a book needs connections and the reader must know how to make them. As nonlinearity increasingly becomes relevant as a component of on-line technologies, the complexity of the demands of an interface upon the human actor will increase. Designers of interfaces and applications software will have less control over the actor's behavior, which is orderly but indexical.
Influences of technology appear to permeate all wakes of human action; however, "...we must not let structural and media issues decide entirely our instructional designs....technological hardware must not take precedence over instructional issues and concerns."[150]30
In conclusion, this section has examined various paradigms of understanding and the technological impact on human interaction and knowledge. The different systems were discussed with the hope that their influence on human learning and thought processes would come to light. It was shown that there is diversity in the available technology and that some adjustments are necessary in order that humans best benefit from these developments. The interactive potential of these systems was stressed, for it allows individuals to overcome the barriers of distance and communicate with ease. It becomes evident that these new technologies offer tremendous benefits and the hope for furthering human knowledge and learning by new connections and facility of access. At the same time, the need for human-centered approaches is also relevant to ensure the totality of human being and understanding.
"The coming times portend new experiences and new duties for the man of culture. We must learn to use the Internet and CD/ROMs...This is the only way to guarantee that the new media will be used in a democratic way and the only way to teach everyone how to choose and evaluate the information they get..." Umberto Eco, "Gazeta Wyborcza," Warsaw, Feb.24-25, 1996
Having offered a discussion focusing on the variety of technological equipment available for use by adult learners and educators, it is time to focus on learning, teaching and selected methodologies in Adult Continuing Education and examine how they might be best served by the available systems. In Chapter 5, therefore, different learning and educational processes will be discussed. These will be sythesized in a triadic manner under the lifelong learning paradigm. This paradigm presents the true purpose of learning as the ability of adults to continue their process of learning, and thus be adaptable in the present changing world. Through the hierarchical ascent to higher levels of understanding which are built up on the basic principles that organize knowledge, human beings can learn to become independent and to control their educational enterprises.
In Plato's Republic, the hierarchical model of arriving at knowledge is explained. Socrates employs the Simile of the Line to show that progress toward knowledge undergoes stages from inagination to the formulation of belief to thought and finally to understanding.[151]1 The path to continuous education is woven from the principles of lifelong learning that stress the individual's autonomy and the hierarchical structure of patterns that knowledge implies. To arrive at the capability for lifelong learning, dialogue will be proposed as an important element of the hierarchy of knowledge acquisition.
Although adults have been learning and continuing their education informally throughout the history of humankind, the field of "Adult Continuing Education" as an academic discipline arose in this century. Of course, even formally adults have been engaged in learning, but that usually it was not an adult education degree they sought until recent times, rather, it was a continuing education in other fields. Today's world requires that adults continually upgrade their knowledge and skills. To this extent, various programs and certifications are available, and many adults must be engaged in the process of education well past the traditional schooling ages. Not only is traditional schooling inadequate to meet the rising demand for specialization, but the continuously expanding body of knowledge necessitates that one keep abreast of as many new developments as possible. Economic changes and new job possibilities also provide adults with new opportunities. These factors combine to produce a large body of non-traditional students, adults who are returning to the educational enterprise to enrich their lives, to further their careers, and even change their careers.
All these developments have led to the evolution of a field of Adult and Continuing Education, an area that explores the learning strategies of adults to provide better learning and teaching methods. The discussion of learning and teaching will be followed, in Chapter 6, by a discussion of strategies and methods of employing the technological possibilities to enhance adult learning and especially autonomous adult learning. Technology in education is to be viewed as a tool, and a modality of delivery that enables more people to participate in education. The discussion of the triadic element will culminate with the proposal that adult education should prepare adults for future changes by providing them with opportunities to grasp the basics of what constitutes knowledge while remaining creative and independent. The adult educational enterprise should address adults as whole persons by providing them with the necessary skills for economic viability, but also by allowing them to further their education and to int elligently employ the new technologies for their purposes. Thus, the end product of education should be a more complete individual, one who is adept at functioning in society and furthering one's learning. This individual thereby will move further into processes of critical thinking and evaluation through the examination of ideas and dialogue. In doing so, these adults will have learned how to learn.
This chapter addresses the issues of learning and education. There are different learning methods that accomplish various tasks, and there are different educational paradigms needed to employ them in order to be successful. The basic questions of what learning and education are will be addressed, for one needs to be clear about the goals in order to marshall all the means necessary to their accomplishment. The proposed goal of education, while endorsing basic skills, nevertheless should center on developing independence and modalities of inquiry by which students can further their own interests. This goal is lifelong learning, and it will serve as the guiding paradigm throughout the whole educational enterprise.
On the neurological level, learning and memory formation are produced by establishing synapses and new connections between neurons, which are determined and influenced by the physico-chemical reactions within the brain. Studies have also clarified the crucial dependence of learning activities within the brain on certain specific proteins which produce long-lasting nerve cell changes as they interact with each other under the mediation of calcium.[152]2 Many studies have shown the close connection between brain phenomena, that is chemical reactions and connections between neurons and synapses, and what is normally considered the mind or the conscious aspect of humans. Some philosophers remain dualists in their considerations of consciousness and mental phenomena. This dualism, although extending back to antiquity, was best expressed by Descartes, who is considered the father of modern philosophy.
In his Meditations on First Philosophy, Descartes states: "on the one hand I have a clear and distinct idea of myself, in so far as I am simply a thinking, non-extended thing; and on the other hand I have a distinct idea of body, in so far as this is simply an extended, non-thinking thing."[153]3 Still the connection to the brain is necessary, even if one were to suppose mentality to be hierarchical and on a higher order from the neurological structures. In other words, without the brain, no mental phenomena have been observed, and no disembodied intelligences have been found. One may not agree to reduce all mental phenomena, or consciousness, to the physico-chemical realm, yet the physico-chemical interactions must be presupposed for any mental activity to exist. Therefore, whatever other interpretations and analyses of brain and mental functions one may employ, one important idea remains: mental functions are closely dependent on connection within the physical brain, and any theory of learning must also appeal to the formation of such connections.
On the larger, more human, scale these types of connection may be interpreted as integration of new ideas and information within the older existing connections in the mind. One analogy that may be used to explain this point is cooking. As the cook takes a variety of ingredients in various quantities and mixes them together, places them in the oven and bakes them, the emergent new product, the cake, comes out very different from the original ingredients taken separately. Nevertheless, the cake emerges as more than the totality of its component parts. One could envision the same type of reasoning to apply to the processes of the brain through which the synapses and neurons in conjunction with proteins, and so forth, produce the emergent qualities called consciousness or thinking.
Thus, one may say that: "Learning is signified by a change in behavior or a movement from one state of behavior to another through the acquisition of new knowledge or skills for personal use."[154]4 Behavior may be broadly defined to include a variety of visible or non-visible activities and thoughts that may produce possible behaviors. In this sense, therefore, to produce a change in behavior may also be to include a change in understanding or thinking patterns that may affect an individual. This is a very broad definition of behavior. It may signify any change an individual may undergo, and this could even encompass everyday changes.
The addition of the idea of knowledge and skills limits the possibility of change to learning material rather than mere sensation or passive, spectator type experience. Perhaps even these phenomena, however, may be endowed with some type of learning. In the cases where an individual may learn from experiences, those experiences become part of a learning process. The key to this distinction lies in participation, which in turn implies active interaction with the material or subject. To participate in a learning experience involves conscious and deliberate thinking, contemplating and creating the material. In other words, the student actively manipulates and thinks about the available information - data, facts - rather than passively observing phenomena.
The development of connections applies to practices as well as synapses. For example, an individual learning a particular sport must practice the various movements required until they almost become automatic. The continuous practice of the movements develops a "memory" within those muscles which allows the individual to perform the movements without consciously thinking about their sequences. Sometimes, one could image oneself performing some repetitive practice, and this can also serve to fix the memory of the practice. The same process can be seen in the learning of crafts or arts. If the piano player had to consciously think about every note to play, the rhythm of a piece may suffer and result in separate notes. No doubt this is the process one undergoes as one commits the piece to memory, yet as one practices the music it becomes almost unconscious. As one is learning, one employs the codes of musical notation to translate the marks on the page into notes on the piano which can be strung together in a continuous pattern. One thus discovers their continuity and their rhythm and begins to commit these processes to memory by connecting them to previous knowledge of notes, music, and musical codes.
In order for one to participate in one's own learning, or to be able to become interactive in the process of learning, the student must learn what types of questions to ask concerning the subject, why and how to ask those questions and where and how to search for possible answers. One would first require an overview of the subject, akin to a diagram perhaps, which would allow the student to perceive where the various pieces fit. By learning principles and reasoning processes, the student begins to formulate relevant questions about the material. The active aspect of learning relies on basic reasoning skills through which the available information is to be structured and which distinguish learning from rote memorization or play. Some studies have attempted to break down the process of learning in order to discover the component influences and aspects conducive to successful learning:
The conditions of learning consist of eight factors: peer work (working in teams), organization (logical and organized course work), goal setting (setting one's own objective), competition (wanting a comparison with others), instructor (having a good rapport with the instructor), detail (wanting specific information on assignments and requirements), independence (wishing to work alone and independently), and authority (desiring classroom discipline and maintenance of order).[155]5
As the list above shows, a myriad of influences that include social as well as academic aspects are necessary for a successful learning process. Yet the above list is by no means to be considered linear or even perhaps all necessary for learning to occur. Nevertheless, one may include the idea of "dialogue" in the learning process. Dialogue refers to a communicative process that a student may undergo with peers or instructors.
But one could enlarge the idea of dialogue to include inanimate objects. Consider, for example, learning how to paint. One may employ a book, copy the old masters or take a class, in order to understand the process involved in creating a work, the application of paint to the surface, the modeling of form and so on. Once one masters the techniques involved, one may proceed to create one's own paintings, but even in those cases the artist is engaged in a dialogue with materials and forms. The experimental nature of creativity is also a process of discovery and of problem-solving. Thus dialogue may not necessarily require words or vocalization, for it may be an internal dialogue the artist undergoes with the creation.
Another example of learning comes from the crafts in particular as they are practiced in more traditional settings, rather than in formal schools, as for example in Japan. Traditionally, crafts in Japan are taught through the apprenticeship method, where an individual becomes an apprentice early as a child:
Apprenticeship typically began with years of menial chores: babysitting, cleaning, and making deliveries. In a practical sense, the master was getting his money's worth from an apprentice who could not produce anything worth selling, but the withholding of formal training also helped drive home the idea that merely handling the tools was a privilege, and this instilled a natural urge to learn. By degrees, the apprentice was allowed to take on tasks of increasing difficulty, perhaps beginning wwith sharpening tools. Masters did not teach by explanation. Only the finished product mattered; substandard work was rejected and the apprentice was left to puzzle out his mistakes on his own. Essentially, the apprentice acquired his skills through imitation, or as the Japanese expression has it, 'by watching and stealing.' Again, like a language, the craft was presented not as a vocabulary shaped by rules of grammar but as a complete, finished expression.[156]6
The lengthy passage shows a process of learning that emphasizes discovery and independence, in that the student produces a work but is left to figure out alone why the work is not successful. By continuous practice, the student begins to understand the materials and their characteristics. This process of teaching was also practiced in the West, from antiquity until the rise of formal academies of art. In Europe also, from the ancient Greeks on, a student was apprenticed to a master and learned mainly by copying that master until successful enough to produce his own work and have his own shop. One should note, however, that not all subjects would benefit from this approach. For instance, mathematics and science would require some type of demostration or at least acquaintance with the basic principles prior to individual experimentation and trial and error learning.
There are many modalities of learning, which depend not only on the subject studied, but also on the student. Some individuals rely more on their visual memory rather than on their auditory memory. Once students realize their best modality of learning, and this in itself may be arrived at through trial and error, they can better organize their learing experiences. Thus, if one knows that the visual aspect is most conducive to one's learning, then diagrams, images, and other forms of visual organization will be best employed for that person to achieve successful learning.
Another way to look at the process of learning is to consider the end product of a learning experience, which should be that the individual knows the subject that was learned. The question arises in this instance of what it means to know something, and again one may appeal to the Platonic dialogues, where, in the Theaetetus, Socrates explains that "...if one cannot give and receive an account of a thing, one has no knowledge of that thing."[157]7 In other words, if one cannot explain what one knows, then one cannot say that one knows that subject. One may object to this concept by showing that some areas of knowledge may not be subject to explanation, such as intuitive or emotive aspects of experience, and perhaps also the creative and imaginative aspects involved in, say, the creation of art. Yet it may be that to give an account may not necessarily mean to verbalize one's knowing or even to use language. A painting may be worth a thousand words, by virtue of its totality, and looking at an image may be included in the accounting for what the artist knows about the subject depicted. Also, in the areas of practical matters, for example, the changing of a tire, talk and verbal explanations are relati vely useless without the actual practice, and until a person performs the task no amount of descriptive explanation will suffice to ensure that knowledge about the task has been achieved.
Yet, much of the learning that people pursue happens outside the realm of schooling and structuralized guidance. Even if one enrolls in a program at a school or college, one may be pursuing the study without pursuing a specified degree. It is in the realm of personal growth and interest that much of the technologically based instruction can show its effectiveness. Michael Moore's (1973) theory of independent study is widely considered to be one of the better-developed paradigms related to the field of distance education. "Because teachers and learners are separate during instruction," says Moore, "learners must be emotionally independent, self-motivated, and capable of coping with learning problems on their own - in a word, autonomous."[158]8 In emphasizing learner autonomy, Moore takes the same position as have a long line of respected educators, including Knowles, Bruner, Rogers, and many others. The Handbook of Adult Continuing Education is an excellent source for a brief overview of some of these theories, including self-directed learning, autonomy, etc. But the important aspect of such autonomy is the inner interest and motivation that the student already displays, for if the student does not want to learn more energy will be spent on disgruntled rejection of the material than on the subject itself. To a certain degree, all learning requires the willingness and desire to learn on the part of the student, for the teacher cannot force learning to occur.
Technology may facillitate learning for those motivated to learn, but it also requires more preparation and organization from all the participants. The organizational element stems from the necessity to make the technology inobtrusive. Distance education provides many new challenges to instructors, and a need for more extensive support systems, than regular delivery systems. First and foremost, timely delivery of materials to all sites as well as extremely organized delivery of instruction, is necessary, due to the time constraints of the system.[159]9 There is also a need for instructor and students to be familiar with the technology they are using, not only in terms of manipulating it but also in using it efficiently, and to be "camera aware." They will not only talk to the group they are facing, but also to those with whom they are linked at the remote sites.[160]10
Along with these considerations, more planning and structure is needed to keep distance courses flowing smoothly. The most important adjustment must be in the process of interaction, for the instructor must constantly keep in mind that the persons at the remote locations must be kept involved, so as to make them feel connected and part of the course. One could argue that this is also a concern for regular classrooms, yet the technology provides the extra need due to its impersonality. It is also important to keep the technology as little intrusive as possible. This is to make the media invisible but useful, so that no one is intimidated by it. It is also necessary to keep in mind that the television screen restricts the space available, so that the instructor needs to use clear materials, large print and small amounts of material per frame, while focusing on ways of increasing participation from all the students at all sites.[161]11
One could argue that all the above considerations are simply modalities of instruction, rather than processes of learning. However, the way these types of technologically initiated problems are solved may affect the quality of learning that takes place. Therefore, these necessities must be addressed in order to ensure that learning occurs smoothly. Smoothly refers to lack of distractions or bad transmissions or any other type of intrusiveness that is not related to the material at hand. One can surely claim that some learning may require the student to perceive a difficulty or problem that nedds solving. But the failure of equipment could prevent any learning form occuring, and this is the reason for ensuring smooth transmissions.
The increasing reliance on the scientific paradigm has resulted in at least some professions to require certain standards and minimums for operation. Thus, for example, in the medical profession keeping abreast with new developments and equipment requires frequent re-certification for health professionals. This re-certification is legitimized by certain structures, such as the board of physicians or certified schools. Without such verification, or stamp of approval it is not clear that one could trust, for example, a surgeon to be knowledgeable and adept enough to perform an operation. Without the assurance that this doctor went to school, passed the required exams, and so on, thus is familiar with at least the basics of the profession, a patient has no way of distinguishing a real doctor from a quack.
The other necessary component of education that an origination site or institution provides is the underlying structure or ordering of materials and sequences of study. In other words, a systematic approach to a subject which divulges not only the complexity, but also provides various means of interpretation would be required to ensure the material has been thoroughly covered. Some such structures would proceed from simple phenomena to the more complex, others might arrange the material chronologically and so on. One could claim that the system or structure provides guidelines to the ordering of and pursuit of knowledge.
In the growing field of distance education, some research has focused on the relationship between the student and teacher, as well as on the learning styles of the students that prove to be best suited for this type of learning. The personal and environmental factors appear to be of importance, especially in the area of self-direction and independent learning. The personal factors include student characteristics such as educational background, motivation, demographics and learning styles, while environmental factors refer to the contact between student and teacher, that is the tutorial method employed.[162]12
Environmental factors have been included in other research involving adult learners, but in the case of technologically based education, they become more relevant. This is important, since the success of a program will depend greatly on the level of comfort the students feel toward the equipment and their ability and desire to use the equipment to its full potential. Fear of computers would greatly restrict an individual's options for searching data bases, for example, which in turn would force the individual to spend more time and effort in doing research, and perhaps even miss some important information. Thus it is necessary that the student be comfortable and be interested in using all available resources.
Another important aspect of distance education is the role of the teacher. Hugh Petrie studied the idea of mediation and how this is related to learner autonomy. His theory of learning includes the notion of integration of knowledge for which the basic condition is that "knowledge is a personal construct."[163]13 It is the student who needs to integrate new knowledge, and the teacher's role in this case would be to guide and mediate between the learner's previous knowledge and the new material which needs to be integrated into the conceptual scheme. The role of technology in this mediation process is one of facilitating communication and allowing interaction to endow the student with more independence and self-direction.
Concerning students [technology is] opening of educational opportunity to new target populations, previously deprived either through geographical isolation, lack of academic requirements, or employment conditions; the identification of particular target groups and their key characteristics (needs, age, distribution, time available for study, local facilities, etc.) to enable appropriate courses, learning methods and delivery systems to be designed on a systematic basis.[164]14
Thus the concentration of an educative enterprise must focus on the student and the student's possibilities to exercise freedom and choice. Perhaps, educators may provide direction and help, yet the primary responsibility for learning -- as always -- rests with the student.
There are different major reasons for adults to pursue continuing education: the principal reason may be mandatory training for their jobs, it may be an economical necessity, it may be caused by the technological changes prevalent in the modern world, or it may be just for self-enlightenment.
The dynamic, ever-changing nature of society, with its social, technical, and scientific changes and advancements has a great impact on the process of education. Adults must keep abreast of changes, advancements, and modifications in existing social systems to function satisfactorily in society; it appears quite clear that society demands continued education for adults...Perhaps the main purpose of adult and distance education is to help to improve the quality of life for individual adults.[166] 16
The last statement in the above quote implies the value of education in relation to choices and improvements in peoples' lives. In addition, "The economic and technological changes of the 1970s and 1980s focused attention on the basic sciences, mathematics, and technology,"[167]17 which were found to be lacking or declining in terms of persons' educational competencies. The addition of such areas as major subjects for study, supports the idea that the exercise of freedom and choices within the "brave new world" is increasingly bound to the level of knowledge one manages to achieve. Nonetheless, the economic viability of the graduating student, especially with only a high school diploma, remains of major concern, for without the means to sustain a living, the individual cannot have the leisure to pursue other interests and studies. It appears that increasingly the level of competency achieved in the high schools is far below the basic requirements to ensure a lucrative skill.
Perhaps one could critique the idea of freedom and choice for the student, by claiming the artificiality of the modern world, which demands technical skills above and beyond other types of knowledge. And yet the reality of modern life demands the ability to adjust to new tasks. No matter how much freedom and individual choice may be desirable for the student's development of autonomy, still the student must be able to acquire some job and become financially self-sufficient. Thus, the majority of returning students are pressured by the ever-changing complexity of the technological world that demands maximum attention to with the latest developments in technology, especially as they are related to one's professional workplace.
Adult, or lifelong, education can occur in many different places and can involve a variety of emphases in terms of programs. It can be sponsored by and housed in numerous organizations and institutions, both private and public. It can offer learning experiences to the highly educated adult and those who may be perceived as functionally illiterate. It can be designed for those who are economically disadvantaged and for those who may be quite affluent. It is designed basically to meet the needs of an organization and society in general.[168]18
This broad definition appears to encompass just about the whole range of the adult population, and it may be the case that under further scrutiny one may encounter learning -- and therefore educational experiences -- as a defining mode of adult life. Yet society demands some form of verification, a type of checks and balances, and in this respect the definition of the field of adult education may be narrowed to: "...the teaching of adults according to any organized formal or informal plan of education."[169]19 The key terms in this definition center on organization and planning. In other words, any individual already considered an adult who is pursuing and organized plan of education, which may involve a degree or simply one course. But the term "organized" refers to the present system of education which necessitates the involvement of some organization or institution of learning that is considered legitimate by the authorities that decide on the adequacy of knowledge. For example, to become a doctor one needs to pass certain examinations and become certified by the board of the American Medical Association. This is important to ensure consistency and uniformity as well as to provide verification and evaluation of the student's progress. An individual can certainly pursue learning on his own, without external instruction, but then there is no method by which people can ascertain that the individuals have mastered a subject. Criticisms of the prevailing system certainly abound, and it may be that the verification processes are not completely adequate, yet at least some of these processes appear necessary at least as a "reality check" or verification that one is moving toward the goal of greater understanding.
The efficiency of technologically based instruction depends in large part on the media and the organization of the instrumentations of the media used, whereas in a traditional lecture format classroom the instructor may simply have a few notes at hand and rely on the spontaneity of discussion. For the teleconferencing type of teaching more preparation is required. The limitation of time and physical separation force the educator to have a clearer program, since the organization of the class itself would need to be more structured. Along with this, in order to keep the class focused on the material, rather than on the technology, the educator must ensure that the equipment is not intrusive. If the method of teaching requires group discussion more control needs to be exercised by the teacher to ensure fair usage of the screen time, and other students are not overlooked. In a regular classroom the educator also needs to ensure that the conversation remains focused on the subject, but through the technological media it may be easier for students to maintain passivity.
The difference here would stem from the fact that the physical space occupied by student and teacher is different and the teacher has less chance to make eye contact with each individual student as well as rely on other forms of non-verbal communication. When all students are in the same room all the above non-verbal means of communication are easier to monitor, whereas on the TV screen details become obscured, facial features blurred. At the same time, the teacher would have a harder time observing the students and receive feedback from them. In some cases, depending on the technology employed, it is the student who would initiate contact by logging on in which case it is harder for the teacher to ensure that full attention is being paid to the instruction.
Use of visual graphics is also of importance, and the teacher must be continuously aware of what the different sites are seeing. For example, if the instruction requires problem-solving and the instructor is using a monitor, the instructor must make sure that all sites have the image and that the images are interesting and engaging. Perhaps the best way to ensure sustained interest in the material would be to place the teacher alone in a room for then the instructor would not be distracted by other students and therefore the chances of neglecting some students would diminish. In a regular classroom, normally these types of problems would not appear, for all share the same space-time coordinates. At the same time, the instructor must encourage the students to be active and ask questions more often than in a regular classroom, because it would be harder for the instructor to monitor the students' learning. It appears, then, that distance learning requires a more conscious effort on the part of the student as well as the educator, at least an effort to minimize the apprehension and impersonality of the technological media. It is important to recognize that distance education requires more planning and organization, not only for the technical aspect, but administratively as well, especially when an overseas exchange is pursued. In this case, technology can be used to promote a "transcultural, global wide initiative to increase human understanding, promote wisdom, virtue and love,"[170]20 and perhaps even peace.
Turning from the learner to the educator and to the education process itself, one must analyze the process of teaching and the methdologies employed. Garrison explains:
Teaching is the integration and balancing of content and process issues. In this way teacher and student are interdependent and, in the best sense of education, are a collaborative relationship. Education is a special kind of learning concerned with the integration of differing seemingly opposing views and ideas; not the fragmentation of learning that leads to narrow ideological and dogmatic views of life and living. Discussion and interaction, exchange of ideas and opinions allows for better grasp of the material and better rememberance of the new information. The nature and consequence of the communication process from a traditional perspective lacks one important element. That is the effect of the message on both the sender and the receiver.[171]21
The relevant process is integration of knowledge, that is, the necessary addition and synthesis of new information and learning into the pre-existing structure of knowledge. The role played by communication in this process is of paramount importance. "Communication allows room for the 'negotiation of meaning' and the prospect of mutual learning through dialogue and discussion."[172]22 Rowntree further elaborates on the necessity of communication:
educational transaction: in educational terms, this role-alternation would imply that students act not simply as receivers and processors of teacher-messages but also as generators and senders of messages (about themselves, their ideas, their perceptions, their experiences) which the teacher values and allows to change his personal perspective on the student, the subject under discussion, his own feelings, or some other feature of the situation.[173] 23
While the teacher should be concerned with all aspects of the educational transaction, the role best performed by the teacher is monitoring and guiding the internal or cognitive aspects of the educational experience. It is the challenging of perspectives and the presentation of alternative viewpoints that the student is not likely to perform adequately independently without some form of communication. In all of this, however, it must be remembered that it is the communication process that facilitates such interactions and that presents a special challenge to the distance educator.[174]24 One of the main functions of a teacher is to evoke discussion and participation, in other words, to enable for active learning by the interchange of perspectives during dialogue and interactive sessions. In this fashion, then,
distance education is an excellent vehicle for interdisciplinarity. If the departmentalized structure of higher education contributes to our inability to respond to the educational needs of a technological society, then interdisciplinarity is, potentially, a key to finding new coherence in teaching. However, interdisciplinary -or even multi-disciplinary--teaching has become so difficult in the current, compartmentalized system that mainstream curricula have few opportunities for innovation in this area.[175]25
One could envision using the broader accessability for more cross-referencing, which in turn would lead to greater integration and synthesis of knowledge. Using an old cliche, one could look at education as the imagining of the forest first. Only after the big picture is envisioned would one focus on the individual trees and look for the details. But the scheme, or structure that supports, and is in turn supported by, the individual details must to be viewed first, in order to ensure that the perspective is accurate and indeed corresponds to "reality."
For the Russian psychologist L.S. Vygotsky, the most important aspect of learning is the communicative aspect which incorporates the social nature of the cognitive development and change.[176]26 If one were to apply Vygotsky's ideas, one would formulate the vision of a teacher as an "active communicative participant in learning, not someone who provides rich learning environments for children's own discoveries (Piaget), or reinforces appropriate behavior if and when it occurs (behaviorist)."[177]27 It appears that the teacher needs to be involved in the discovery process and interchange of ideas. The teacher becomes at the same time a learner, not just an individual who distributes knowledge. Thus, if the learning process is continuous, then one subscribes to the idea (following Gordon Wells) that knowledge is a state of understanding and constructing that is basically social and cultural in nature.[178]28 It certainly appears that meaning and interpretation of the various fields of knowledge provide continuous fine-tuning and better synthesis of all relevant material. To this extent, not only new information becomes relevant, but so do new paradigms and means of structuring the information as well as the social and cultural valuation of data. Since much of what is considered knowledge relies on theoretical interpretation of phenomena, as the theories evolve, so does the meaning given to the phenomena themselves.
It is also important to recognize the social aspect of humanity and the necessity for communication as a means of interchange of ideas which allows for discussion and better understanding. The social aspect of learning brings the purpose of educational programs under scrutiny, for if it turns out that the outcome of one's learning is dependent on social interaction, then provisions for such interaction will have to be included in the curriculum. However, one needs to remember that not all learning may be dependent on this social interaction. For example, one may pursue a particular hobby, which would require that an individual learn facts and data and a system of organizing the information, but one may be able to pursue all this independently of classrooms, or even through interaction with others. Ideally, however, some type of communication or dialogue is desirable in order to help the learner scrutinize the already present knowledge base, that is the accumulated experience and ideas the student has, and check for mistakes or omissions in that knowledge base itself.
Another important aspect of adult learning was the reintroduction of the concept of androgogy in American adult education in 1970 by Malcolm Knowles. He defined androgogy as "the art and science of helping adults learn."[179]29 Knowles analyzed the distinction between adults and children and arrived at four basic assumptions about adult learning: (1.) as people mature their self-concept moves from dependency toward self-direction (2.) the accumulated experiences of adults may be used in learning (3.) the readiness of adults to learn is closely related to developmental tasks or social roles (4.) learning becomes more problem-oriented and less subject-oriented in adulthood.
Although all of these assumptions have been challenged, in the sense that they may also apply to some children, for example, points 1 and 2 have become increasingly crucial in the success of adult learning experience. Children may desire to be independent; however, due to their limited knowledge and experience, they may require more guidance in their quests for meaningful activities. Also, adults, for the most part, can employ their accumulated experiences to build upon as they are engaged in new learning activities. The need to be able to create and pursue one's own curricula and interests is closely linked to one's previous experience. Thus, the more experience one has in learning, the more self-sufficient one becomes. Self-sufficiency should be viewed as akin to autonomy and freedom, in the sense of one's ability to make one's own choices concerning the material and the plan of study. Self-sufficiency refers to the ability to ask relevant questions pertaining to the material learned, autonomy implies the ability to pursue those questions and organize activities that will produce the desired answers.
The concepts of self-direction and self-sufficiency are more dependent on the maturity level of the individual than the strict chronological age. In today's world which is plagued with wars and famine, one could argue that many children growing up in war zones or extreme poverty may develop in a different manner from children benefitting from a more "normal" environment. As a result their maturity levels are going to be different from other children. The term "freedom" also implies responsibility for one's actions and their consequences. In order to become responsible for oneself, an individual must realize that they are in control of their choices, even in cases where they are not in control of their immediate environment. Part of the definition of maturity should include some aspect of freedom and responsibility for oneself. This responsbility is reinforced by one's environment and the perceived values of that environment. Thus, if one lives in an area where respect for others is not reinforced, one will be prone to follow the perceived attitudes one encounters.
In the U.S. today, there is much talk about loss of values and basic forms of respect between individuals. Perhaps this situation requires some scrutiny. In major part, the loss of values and even religion is closely tied in to the effects the media have induced on the population. Presenting bizzare scenarios on the TV, such as the multiplicity of talk shows that address all types of strange and abberant behavior, gives rise to the mistaken beliefs that such behavioral patterns are acceptable. In a sense one could argue that the media, meaning the journalists and reporters as well as the other personel that appear on the TV screen, in their quest for ratings have forgotten their primary responsibilities to the public. At the same time, the theories of relativism that originated in science and which were intended to explain phenomena on the macroscale, were appropriated for use on the level of human behavior. This has produced the effect of "all is relative," better known as "anything goes" attitude. However, this attitude is mistaken, for it results from a misappropriation of physical regularities that are not present on the level of human action. If events on the cosmic scale may depend on the spatio-temporal position of the observer, this in itself does not mean that on the human scale the same principle applies. For example, although there is great diversity within the human sphere in laws and moral values, no society has ever been able to sustain its existence without some basic values that appear to cross international borders. Any ethical system devised by man has been based on at least two fundamental principles, the conservation of the individual and the conservation of the community. Thus, any human society has produced laws according to these two important pre-requisites. It is true that within different communities, these principles have been interpreted in various ways; nevertheless, without conserving the society and the people within, the community is destroyed. Such regularities may appear very different depending on the spacio-temporal location, naturally being heavily influenced by the geography, culture and religion of their unique locations. Yet the fundamental biological imperative of the perpetuation of the species, and on a personal level, of the individual's genetic make-up requires that the basic principles of order within a given societal structure take these imperatives into consideration. Comparative studies across cultures and religions provide the commonalities of human existence, which in turn bind all humans together as a species (homo sapiens sapiens). As such, these commonalities must be incorporated in the learning process, to ensure the student's comprehension of unity within the diversity of the world.
However, one should keep in mind that the pursuit of a learning process requires a planned strategy of organizing the material, as well as the discipline to accomplish the set goal. Discipline and method are tools that previous education and learning style can help to provide. Moreover, one's environment and life-experience may contribute not only to one's choice of subject for study, but also to the manner of its pursuit. "Adults have accumulated many experiences that are a great resource for learning."[180]30 One's past experience provides new opportunity to deepen and amplify one's knowledge and should therefore be incorporated in the learning process. Building upon one's previous knowledge allows for more connections with present material and the usage of familiar concepts to elaborate new materials. Naturally all humans build upon their previous experiences and knowledge, but in a more systematic pursuit of education this becomes even more obvious. In a sense one could say that adults are continuously re-fashioning themselves and their knowledge.
Along with incorporating one's previous experience into the learning process, that is, drawing on one's past knowledge to learn and integrate new material by showing connections to familiar thought processes, adults also need to discover the relevancy of new knowledge. This relevancy pertains not only to the material under consideration but should also make sense within the previously known scheme of organized knowledge the person already has. Thus, when new material dramatically conflicts with other accumulated knowledge, it generates confusion and threatens the educational enterprise. In the cases of such conflict, the student needs to re-evaluate the body of knowledge that leads to the conflict. Perhaps, previous beliefs are proven faulty, or the newly acquired beliefs need to be integrated in a new manner with the old knowledge scheme.
The necessity of dialogue presents itself most readily in times of such confusion, for by discussing the material with others, hopefully knowledgeable individuals, the inquirer can re-formulate the conflicting thoughts. As Knowles explains in his revised, 1980 version of adult education practice: "Having adults know why they are studying a given area should encourage them to participate more in the learning experience."[181]31 Knowles refers not only to reasoning of new material but perhaps to making that material relevant to the student personally. In other words, knowing the necessity of studying the material also implies bringing that material to life within the student's own current life experience. For example, an instructor may require a student to study history by showing how the events of the past may have produced the structure of present society, but also by showing how those same events have in part influenced the personal life of the student today and by showing how knowledge of such events may help the student in the present situation. In this fashion the material becomes alive and relevant for the student, and knowledge is transformed from the accumulation of "dead" information, to material of "live" and personal choice.
The above principles that guide some adult educational philosophies focus mainly on the adult person emphasizing personal needs and interests. A recent scholar, Philip Candy, explains the value of self-direction within the educational enterprise:
Self-direction is at once a social and a psychological construct, a philosophical ideal, and a literal impossibility; an external manifestation and an internal tendency; both the beginning and the end of lifelong learning; the foundation stone and the keystone of the learning sociaty; a supplement to and a substitute for the formal education system; a vehicle for the mastery of established knowledge and for the transformation of personal understandings; simultaneously a process and a product, a precondition and a purpose.[182]32
However, adults require initial guiding before they can successfully embark on their own educational adventures. Self-direction can be understood in terms of a goal but also in terms of a method for enhancing learning activities, and as such, the educators' role is one of assistance for individuals to accomplish their own learning programmes.[183]33 Yet the principles of self-directed learning appear to provide guidelines for the technologically enhanced learning of today. One can certainly argue that the opportunities derived from computer links and databases can provide added support for the autonomous learner by easing connections with other learners and information. The learner must remain in control of the chosen activities and direction in pursuit of individual goals for the learning process.
Issues relating to the application of principles usually associated with self-directed learning, in the field of distance learning, must be further addressed, "[B]efore adopting these technologies we must be reminded that communications technology only provides the means for transmitting information; the important education issue is what the learner does with the information and instruction after it has been presented."[184]34 The importance of dialogue in the learning process stems from the primacy of language as explained in the beginning of this study. Through dialogue, individuals can develop better argumentation and discover faulty thought patterns. Throughout the learning enterprise, commonalities and comparative ideas must be sought, in order to formulate patterns of recognition. As shown above, the mind and memory functions are based on patterning, and as such this becomes the primary means of learning. It should also be mentioned that the process of learning is enhanced by the search for symbols that culminates in the student's discovery of the relevant symbolic connotations of the learned material. In recent times scholars have proposed that the principles of lifelong learning and self-directed learning should be viewed as arising in many cases from specific problems the learner faces and seeks to resolve, and in most cases the learing takes effect within larger societal settings or groupings.[185]35 In other words, the autonomous learner is seldom truly autonomous, rather it must be seen in the larger societal context within which it occurs and is greatly dependent on social interdependence among individuals.
In conclusion, this chapter has attempted to lay out the necessity for the development of skills about learning -- and how to continue learning -- on one's own. In the modern world, self-sufficiency and inventiveness are greatly admired, and the educational systems must pay attention to these types of preparation. "The reason that self-direction continues to attract such attention from scholars and practitioners alike is that it embodies two of education's most noble aims and most enduring mandates: individual fulfillment and societal transformation."[186]36 Consequently, the educational enterprise should foster the desire to learn along with the skills necessary to continuously cultivate that desire and be able to explore one's interests. At the same time, educators need to become more aware of their roles in assisting with the more autonomous projects of learners. In the next section, the usage of technology to foster autonomy will be explored along with some ideas about the purpose and function of education in today's world.
Many publications have shown concern for differentiating traditional teaching from distance learning, as well as the concern for the methods and equipment used. It is important to investigate whether there are true differences between the two modes of teaching and learning, or whether technology is simply another tool, albeit a more complex and powerful one, in the delivery of education. Whereas print media are less expensive than audio-visual media, they require a high literacy skill and they rely on written texts that convey information and facts.[187]1 In the traditional classroom print media are most often used in conjunction with the lectures and discussions between instructor and students. The emphasis in this situation is placed on the face-to-face interaction between students and teacher, although sometimes, if the lecture format is used, this interaction is minimized, with the student remaining passive and listening to instruction. Some educators have shown that this method may not be the most desirable for the instruction of adults, who perhaps need more autonomy and responsibility in their learning.[188]2
Studies have been conducted to find the effectiveness of computer and technologically based learning versus traditional instruction. The methodology of distance education appears to achieve the same results when employed for the teaching of adults.[189]3 As such then, the wider use of these new methods depends on practicing professionals and their willingness to learn the new techniques and to apply them. At the same time, the learner's preconceptions about the media, as well as what one can get out of it, will influence the outcomes.
Research has shown that learners perceive TV as an easy medium requiring little mental effort, but they are apt to pay more attention to educational programs. The learner's previous experience with videos may also influence the effort the learner perceives would be needed to learn in this fashion.[190]4 These studies have shown that complexity of material ought to be reduced to usage of simple syntax, that the correspondence between audio and visual material needs to be closer, and that pauses after complex elements need to be incorporated for higher efficiency of video usage in education.[191]5 Distance educators must be constantly vigilant of the need for active participation and support between teacher and learner. Yet this type of communication needs to be more accentuated. Although it is similar to the traditional classroom, in order to make the technology invisible, it must become less intrusive. To this end
distance education, even in its most basic forms, can stimulate new levels of interaction between the individual student and the material to be learned.... A student-centered approach to education must ensure that all levels of interaction are self-consciously developed; when this happens, interaction can be seen not just as an end in itself, but as a tool to achieve other goals of curriculum reform.[192]6
Of course, one could argue that all the above-mentioned emphases could apply as easily to the traditional classrooms as well. Furthermore, one may investigate the concept of distance itself, for of necessity any communication happens at some distance. It may be the case that the geographical distance in the technology applications is the only difference between the two methods of instruction. Spanning the greater geographical distances has many advantages, but since one can do just about everything via cable that one can do in a regular classroom, this could be the only advantage of the new methods. The emphasis here is to keep the concept of distance learning as a tool, for the technology itself will not create or enforce the learning, rather it simply provides another means for activating the learning process.
But what about larger groups of interactions? Can everybody still be assured of the possibility of participating? Distance education can be seen in terms of location: students are separated not only from their professors, but also often from each other. One example is the Open University in UK whose programs have been analyazed and
it seems clear that any rigid approach where learners follow step-by-step guidance and carry out activities that do not relate to their own goals will not be successful. Learners are active in their learning, and enterprising in using their knowledge and information they have on hand (and interpreting it the best they can). They are also impatient to get their hands on the system. The needs of novices and learners with more relevant experience are also likely to be different, and novices often welcome a guided step-by-step approach.... students with rather more experience have different needs. They need to be able to relate the new information to what they already know.[193]7
Conferencing enables dialogue between professors and students (as well as between students) to develop in an open manner, since the status of contributors is not displayed as part of the message: everyone is able to participate equally. It is the individual who makes the choice to participate or simply remain as a spectator. Yet the manner of interaction has changed, in that the individual communicates first with the computer through some type of input device, whether mouse or keyboard, which provides an additional channel and thus differs from the more conventional type of verbal or non-verbal communication. The audio-visual media present new challenges, but also remedy this non-interactive environment. Slides, videos, TV and computers are employed, thus forcing the student to respond by either typing or communicating via video. In this case more attention is needed for the student who requires familiarity with the equipment. Another important area of research concerning distance education methods concerns the attrition rate. Studies have shown that students discontinue their participation mainly for domestic or financial reasons, but also because of the nature of the courses and teaching methods available.[194]8
Due to the fact that the adult's lifeworld is full of responsibilities, the time available for educational activities is limited, and therefore it is necessary that programs make full use of this limited time. The adult will demand that that the instructional time be spent wisely and that it relate to his life and work. The learner must be made to feel that the educational activity is relevant and worthy of the time and money expenditures. Instructional methods must take these demands into consideration in order to keep the attrition rate low. In order to succeed, the methodology involved in teaching adults, especially at a distance, must provide the relevant level of interaction and dialogue to keep the student's interest level at a maximum. (These concerns are not limited to technological instruction, rather regard for relevancy and interaction permeate all aspects of education.)
At the same time, there are institutional factors such as ease of access to equipment, convenient scheduling and the availability of tutorial assistance and advising for the high-risk students.[195]9 Since much of distance education relies on the voluntary nature of adult students, their input and reactions need to be studied and incorporated into the design of programs. It is important to examine all the factors that pertain to an individual's decision to continue a program. These include personal attributes and actions and the institutional interventions for a complete understanding of the reasons some programs are successful, whereas others are not.
It appears that the regular classroom when compared to the distance classroom is very compatible since these two modalities are similar. The bridging of great distances may be their only truly distinguishing factor. One can lecture, show images or videos, or even perform demonstrations just as easily on the TV screen as in person in front of a class. The biggest problems within the distance classroom outside of technical malfunctions appear to be similar to the regular classrooms as well. Problems pertaining to the size of the student body, to the need of involving students to commit to their own learning, to motivate them and peak their desire to learn. All these types of problems are the same. It is important to remember that technology only provides another modality for the delivery of educational practices, while the actual learning is still left up to the participants. By no means should one consider technology as a cure for the failures of the educational system to produce knowledgeable and participating citizens. It appears, however, that people have extensive faith in the power of technology to fix social problems.
A recent and most evident example of such faith was provided by President Clinton's visit to California on March 9, 1996, to innaugurate "his goal of connecting [to the Internet] every school in the nation by the turn of the century."[196]10 The President was quoted as saying: "We are putting the future at the fingertips of our children...We must not send our children into the 21st century unprepared for the world they will inhabit and the jobs they will have to fill."[197]11 The article continues with a brief evaluation of the connections themselves stating that: "proponents say the effort will give students access to an incredible array of research and learning tools, but critics say the flood of new technology could promote a hodge-podge teaching and learning style, instead of a disciplined curriculum."[198]12 One could envision the role of technology in the educational enterprise as one of connecting diverse individuals and thus present further means for the integration of seemingly separate aspects of the learning process. The technology itself, however, will not produce or re-formulate the concept of knowledge but only show another path to its attainment. Perhaps it is too soon to tell the consequences, but perhaps technology itself needs to be scrutinized more fully. The next section will look at technology in the educational practice more closely.
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of media and technology in education is the unlimited capacity one has to integrate audio-visual material and thus produce complex interdisciplinary curricula. Since people today are used to a variety of video materials, the so-called MTV generation, the use of such innovations can revitalize the field of education. At the same time, experience can be amplified via computer simulations and interactive video-disc programs. All of these possibilities facilitate changing and reinvigorating the whole learning process.[199]13 The possibility of combining information from different disciplines allows for more holistic learning and exposes the student to more points of view, thus enlarging the student's horizons to a greater capacity than do traditional instructional methods.
The principal drawback to this aspect of technological innovation is the fact that more design and study are required to produce quality materials that synthesize different media. Thus at the beginning of the development of a program, more effort must be made in producing the instructional supplements, but the compensation is that more persons can be reached. Developing materials for use in distance education also provides opportunity for diverse people, such as technicians, computer programmers, designers and so on to collaborate together. This type of variety enhances the exchange of ideas and promotes further research.
There are some common characteristics of distance learners that can provide important clues concerning the possible effectiveness of the media. The individuals in the category of adult learners -- however broadly defined -- share some common characteristics, such as the need for flexible and convenient courses, which allow for personal input and challenges and which stir the individual into a more independent learning process. Self-directed learning appears to suit adults better since they have different time constraints and demands and may not be able to follow the format of a conventional school. At the same time, the courses offered must have relevance for the individuals and their life. Therefore, the learning must be tailored to the individual. Yet, with the emphasis placed on specialization and technology today, people are finding they need more technical education in order to cope with the complexity of today's demands. Thus the emphasis on technology and science becomes increasingly more important sometimes to the detriment of other subjects, in particular the humanities. It is important for an educational programme to include a variety of areas of knowledge, at least to introduce students to other paradigms.
In the technological age of information there is greater need for specialization where the emphasis is on technical knowledge and especially familiarity with computers, operation and usage as well as programming and service. To accomplish this, study and course work must be of a practical nature and relevant to future employment. The theories and methods of instruction that are employed in the traditional learning settings can also be of use in technological instructional settings. For example, the behaviorist model, which emphasizes stimuli and response may be used in drill and problem-solving practice. However, a constructivist approach is more flexible through allowing for assimilation of schemata of new knowledge. The student's own construction of this knowledge, and accommodating changes, render the student an active participant.[200]14 Both behaviorism and constructivism have been criticized in virtue of the very individualistic concept of learning they provide. They do not allow enough of an account of the social quality of the learning process.
One of the most important distinguishing elements characterizing adult learners is their more direct and active participation in their learning experiences. This can also be associated with their voluntary status, since in most cases their return to school or enrollment in some classes is a voluntary choice either for personal or professional improvement. There are cases when their re-certification may be mandatory, but those cases usually only require a course or two, rather than a whole curriculum. The whole concept of curriculum, however, refers back to the ideas of organization, a set of courses following some systematic progression of development designed to elaborate a specified area or subject. The need for such organization also stems from the idea that the student who is being initiated into the educational experience does not have the knowledge to pursue all the relevant aspects of the chosen subject. If one is interested, for example, in biology but only in certain animal species, one may not realize that basic biology and cellular structure, as well as anatomy, may be necessary steps toward understanding the subject. Even in the areas of humanities or the arts, one may need to learn the history of the arts, mythology, color theory, in order to become an artist. Thus, the proposed curriculum ensures a wholeness of learning as well as other relevant material that a student may otherwise overlook.
Technologically based education (meaning computers, videos, satellites, not the abacus of antiquity) is still relatively young and continuously changing as newer equipment is developed. Research concerning use of alternative methods of instruction provides many possibilities not only for improvement of programs but also for innovation. To date most research has focused on the means of delivery, the styles of learning and teaching, and the attitudes of teachers and students toward means of instruction. Since there are numerous instructional delivery systems, from the older correspondence and radio methods to the latest virtual reality simulations, it is difficult to encompass all these different types of technologies in one cluster of educational practices. T herefore, most research has focused on a few methods only.
The philosophical foundations and implications of the different methods, however, appear to have a number of characteristics in common. The binding terminology is "distance," which presumably means physical, and perhaps even time-based separation between students and instructors. The new alternative methodologies are based on the voluntary nature of adult learning as well as on the autonomy of the learner. Although the instructor remains an important personality in the learning process, the role of the educator in the distance education environment is one of guidance and facilitation. By using examples and various media the instructor may act as motivating agent and provide help and suggestions, whereas it remains the responsibility of the student to use the available resources to their greatest extent. It is hoped that these new technologies will bridge the inequities in education by allowing more educational opportunities for a greater array of people, and, at the same time, promote more collaboration of a cultural and interdisciplinary manner. By bringing the opportunities for learning to the learner, rather than the other way around, more opportunities for more people can be created. Since the field of distance education is still in its infancy, more research is required in order to ensure the development of better programs and more interaction.
A study of the various ideas and existing programs can identify and clarify the reasons why adults participate in distance learning. This type of study may provide means for reaching the educationally disadvantaged individuals. Business and industry have been using teleconferencing and other telecourses with great success, and the hope is that these new methods will become more commonly available in the future. "...[D]istance education methodology appears to achieve cognitive outcomes equal to those achieved by the more traditional means of education delivery for adults."[201]15
Pedagogical and social challenges to the acceptance of distance education systems stem mostly from the reluctance people may have in dealing with technological media. But these can be overcome through familiarity and politics. As was mentioned above, the inclusion of connections to the Internet for schools is viewed as the means to propel students into the 21st century. The first question to be asked concerns the outcome of such an enterprise. What will such connections accomplish in terms of education? One important potential of this alternative method is the greater equality and removal of discrimination in educational possibilities. As Nigel Paine explains, the open systems of learning provide open access, open entry and final dates, and flexibility,[202]16 versus the restricted access, pre-established pace and fixed curriculum of the traditional classroom. But one should keep in mind that the computer and other technological media are only tools, albeit mega-tools, which provide opportunities if appropriate instructional material is developed and the lessons are effective, efficient and acceptable to the learner.[203]17
The responsibility for learning, however, remains as always with the learner. "While the capabilities of current technology are minimal and technological limitations will always exist, there are also philosophical constraints and restrictions imposed by human nature."[204]18 Interaction means participation. To discuss human nature one needs to understand the process of learning which requires the active participation of the learner, not the robotic repository of information. The learner can become an active manipulator of information by producing new connections ideas and syntheses. These new interpretations, in turn, would enhance the discovery process which lies at the foundation of intellectual life. The discourse on knowledge, the changes in the ways of knowing and the continuous appraisal of the available body of knowledge are an integral part of learning. It is the emphasis of knowledge that provides the impetus for learning and consequently for education. Therefore, the discussion about the codes that constitue knowledge needs to be re-introduced and studied. The hope for the future is that continuous learning will permeate all walks of life and be an engaging enterprise for every person. Life-long learning is a goal within the reach of humanity, and especially with today's technology is capable of producing a global learning community.
Following the investigation of the possible uses of technology in the educational enterprise, it is appropriate to return to the questions of purpose and function in education. A re-evaluation of the basic premises of education ought to be undertaken. If one considers education as a process of preparing students for life, in the sense that the latter's skills become favorable for students' employment, then those skills that will produce job compatibility must be stressed. Certainly, much of the continuing education programs center on imporving such viable skills. Nevertheless, the social and cultural aspects of human interaction, as well as the political consciousness of participation in the democratic process, should not be overshadowed by the technological skills. Thus education should be concerned with the whole individual on many levels of understanding of the self and the world. In addition, the means and ways of attaining knowledge, that is the process of synthesizing information, methodologies and principles must be addressed. To this end, the semiotic approach can provide guidance to adult educators and students alike, by presenting a theory of the communicative process and thus enrich the learning experience.
The proposed process of education emphasizes the dialogue format, better known as the Socratic method of questioning and examination. This method allows the incorporation of discussion on topics of vital importance, such as freedom and responsibility, which each individual needs to address. The Socratic method is based on the honesty of the interlocutors in seriously searching for answers, and at the same time, it requires of the participants that they scrutinize their own beliefs in search of truth. If proven to hold mistaken beliefs, the participants vow to change their ideas accordingly (so that their belief systems maintain coherence). One can apply this dialogue method in bringing to fruition one's integrated knowledge accumulation. It is necessary for human beings to discuss their ideas, not only to better understand the ideas themselves, but also in order to exchange the connections and patterns thus discovered. Since language is a unique attribute of human beings (as discussed earlier in this investigation), language also presents the best tool with which individuals can make sense of themselves and the world they inhabit. Language is also the primary vehicle of communication which allows symbols to be applied and knowledge to be gained.
The closely entwined humanities foster basic familiarity with the past in examples of art, literature and history which prepare the student to understand the current situation of the world and be able to ascertain desirable changes. Adult educators' first and foremost goal should be to focus on the development of thought and on systematic approaches (to be reached via the dialogue or Socratic method) to weighing available information and to derive rational conclusions. There is also a need for the evaluation of the body of knowledge itself, which is continuously changing. The underlying structures and components of knowledge can be studied through the investigation of symbols. Adult educators need to become more aware of the symbolic representations of the world that learners bring to their educational experience. These symbols derive from the socio-economic and cultural milieu and can be effectively incorporated in the learning process. The process of learning is also closely entwined with concepts of knowledge and the means of acquiring the known. These are crucial elements of the learning/educational enterprise, and as such greater attention needs to be devoted to their elaboration.
The triadic approach of this investigation proposes that the codes of communication between student and teacher rely on a balanced synthesis of information that is integrated into the basic principles that govern human activity. These basic principles are in part discovered through scientific research which provides the underlying structures and laws of the natural world. But they must be combined with principles derived from human communication and social structures. The social and cultural aspects of human development through the ages are the subjects of humanistic and human science studies. These are necessary -- along with physical and social sciences -- for investigations into the totality of human consciousness.
The Socratic method of investigation, which proceeds in a question and answer fashion, provides the tools of valuation and discovery within the social sphere in which humans operate. Philosopher John Searle has investigated the necessary conditions of a well-educated person and has arrived at a primary list of these as follows:
First, the student should have enough knowledge of his or her cultural tradition to know how it got to be the way it is...Second, you need to know enough of the natural sciences so that you are not a stranger in the world... Third, you need to know enough about how society works so that you understand... the subject matter that used to be called political economy... Fourth, you need to know at least one foreign language well enough so that you can reaad the best literature that language has produced in the original...[because] You can never understand one language until you understand at least two...Fifth, you need to know enough philosophy so that the methods of logical analysis are available to you to be used as a tool...Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you need to acquire the skills of writing and speaking that make for candor, rigor, and clarity. You cannot think clearly if you cannot speak and write clearly...if the manner of instruction is adequate, the student should be able to acquire this much knowledge in a way that combines intellectual openness, critical scrutiny, and logical clarity. If so, learning will not stop when the student leaves the university.[205]19
The above passage encompasses most of the main necessities that should provide adult educators with an idea of their educational product. That product should be a well-rounded individual who has acquired enough of the above-mentioned skills and knowledge to function self-sufficiently in society. The goal of adult education, therefore, should be that type of synthesis which allows individuals to participate knowledgeably in the world around them.
This study has attempted to open the discussion and provide a deeper analysis of the technological opportunities available to modern students and to assess further their impact on the educational enterprise. In Part I, certain theories and methods associated with the study of signs and symbols, namely semiology and semiotics, were delienated. The semiotic method informed the analysis of such concepts as information and knowledge toward the goal of better understanding the most relevant differences between these terms. Knowledge was presented as a synthesis of various codes of communiction, as well as a process of interpretation, understanding and interconnecting of information and methodologies that attempt to integrate facts about the world with the consciousness of the individual. These ideas are crucial, for learning and education rely heavily on the distinctions between mere data, information and knowledge. Knowledge emerged as the integration of data with concepts and ideas. The process of education addr esses the synthesis of information with basic principles enabling individuals to distinguish between relevant and true information and unreliable sources.
Part II focused on the available technologies of communication and teaching which have evolved during the modern era. Looking at various modalities of interaction at a distance via sattelite or microwave connections allows one to conceive, create and facilitate the use of new strategies for learning and for education. A number of these strategies have been discussed with the intention of unraveling the best and most successful methods. The impact of integrating technology into the learning process is viewed as enhancing and mediating this process, not as replacing or producing a technology- dependent education. The educational enterprise can greatly gain by employing technologies, but attention should be given to ensuring that the technology does not overtake the more traditional approaches.
Part III explored various conceptual frameworks of teaching adults, as well as a number of programs intent on helping adults "learn how to learn." The value of continuous dialogue and interaction was stressed as an intergral part of any learning experience. The significance of continuous education is viewed as paramaount in today's constantly changing world. As knowledge bases increase, adults are forced to re-evaluate their conceptions of schooling, training, learning, education and of knowledge. To this the technological paradigm can add new means and tools for better knowledge and understanding. Adult learners and adult educators realize that they need continuously to better their knowledge and understanding. Therefore, it is imperative to become engaged persistently in learning, not only to survive economically, but also to comprehend ever more richly the contemporary lifeworld of persons.
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1 Steven G. Jones, Cybersociety: Computer-mediated
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2 Borje Holmberg, Distance Educaton: a Survey and Bibliography,
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[8] 3 Ibid.
[9] 4 Lila Gleitman & Elissa Newport, "The Invention of
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5 Plato, "Phaedrus," 274e-275b, tr. R. Hackforth, in Edith
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13 Marshall McLuhan & Wilfred Watson, From Clich_ to
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[22] 17 Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics,
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[23] 18 Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics,
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19 Ferdinand de Saussure, Course in General Linguistics, p. 120
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25 Justus Buchler (ed.), Philosophical Writings of Peirce,
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26 Justus Buchler (ed.), Philosophical Writings of Peirce, p.75
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[33] 28 Justus Buchler (ed.), Philosophical Writings of Peirce,
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30 Umberto Eco, A Theory of Semiotics,p.48
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31 Umberto Eco, A Theory of Semiotics, p.49
[37] 32 Christian Metz, Film Language: A Semiotics of the
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33 Arthur Zajonc, Catching the Light, p.58-60
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34 Pontus Hulten, Natalia Dumitresco & Alexandre Istrati,
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35 Umberto Eco, A Theory of Semiotics, p.3
[41] 36 Herman Parret, The Aesthetics of Communication
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[42] 37 R. Lapsey & M. Westlake, Film Theory: An Introduction,
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38 Marshall McLuhan & Wilfred Watson, From Cliche to Archetype,
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[44] 39 Herman Parret, The Aesthetics of Communication
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[45]
40 Michael Coe, Breaking the Maya Code, p.274
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[51] 6 Jacques Ellul, The Technological System, p.25
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[53] 8 Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital, p.12
[54] 9 Nicholas Negroponte, Being Digital, p.14
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[58]
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[59]
14 Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, p.152
[60] 15 Stephen Hawking, A Brief History of Time, p.20
[61]
16 Mircea Eliade, Myths, Dreams and Mysteries, pp.47-49
[62]
17 Diane Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses, p.165
[63] 18 L. Andrew Coward, Pattern Thinking, pp.21-23
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19 Michael Heim, Metaphysics of Virtual Reality, p.90
[65] 20 Susanne Langer, Philosophy in a New Key, p.21
[66]
21 Garrison, Understanding Distance Education, p.16
[67]
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27 Susanne Langer, Philosophy in a New Key, p.99
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[75]
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[76] 31 Marshall & Eric McLuhan, Laws of Media: the New
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33 Sackman, Mass Information Utilities, p.63
[79]
34 Sackman, Mass Information Utilities, p.194
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1 Marshall McLuhan, Medium is the Message, p.26
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7 J.M. Nyce and P. Kahn, (eds.), From Memex to Hypertext:
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[93] 14 D.R. Garrison, Understanding Distance Education: A
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15 D.R. Garrison, Understanding Distance Education: A Framework
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[99] 20 Verduin & Clark, Distance Education, p. 21
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[101]
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23 A.W. Bates, The role of technology in distance education,
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24 D.R. Garrison, Understanding Distance Education: A Framework
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25 D.R. Garrison, Understanding Distance Education: A Framework
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[108] 29 Gaior,
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[111] 32 W.K.C. Guthrie, A History of Greek Philosophy, vol.
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[112]
33 John R. Verduin Jr. & Thomas A. Clark, Distance Education,
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[113] 34 Anthony Kaye & Greville Rumble (eds.), Distance
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[114] 35 Ibid.
[115]
36 Malcolm Knowles, The Modern Practice of Adult Education:
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37 E.C. Thach & K.L. Murphy, "Competencies for Distance
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1 Bertrand Russell, Sceptical Essays, p.63
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3 Susanne Langer, Philosophy in a new key, p.99
[124] 4 Ethel Albert, Theodore Denise & Sheldon Peterfreund,
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5 L. Andrew Coward, Pattern Thinking, p.3
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Posted - Sun Oct 19 14:56:33 CST 1997
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