Technology in Education—Where Do We Go From Here?

Abstract

The decreasing cost and rapid growth of technological advances has dramatically impacted the way students are taught and learn in college. Faculty augment their lectures with computer-generated slides, videos and Digital Video Disks (DVD). Computer programs are available to help organize lecture material, provide students with computer assisted learning, provide “real” life cases and simulations, and test the students’ knowledge with computer based exams. New ideas can be accessed and transmitted instantly anywhere in the world with a click of a mouse through the World Wide Web. Guest speakers can be “brought into the classroom” through telephone or video conferencing. Students can obtain degrees, or professionals can get continuing education courses at any time from any place through distance learning. All of these exciting changes have changed the face of what education is like as we proceed into the new millennium. Despite these advances, tests of intelligence have not improved to a significant degree. Nevertheless, most students continue to prefer human-to-human interaction to a technology driven environment. Further training and development of technology in pharmacy education is needed and will continue to be explored.