STUDENTS STAYING HOME - QUESTIONING THE WISDOM OF A DIGITAL FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES

The understanding of the role of global digital technologies in the fu ture of Australian universities mirrors the international debate as ex emplified by some of the articles in this special issue of Futures. Ho wever, this debate between cautious optimists on the one hand and supr eme optimists on the other is misleading, because the future for unive rsities lies neither in a grudging acceptance of technology's inevitab ility nor a mindless embrace of it. The complex evolution to a true 'k nowledge supernetwork' requires an understanding of the socially const ructed nature of technologies including the social technology known as learning. Moreover, it requires us to reinstate a perspective missing from both the articles in this issue and from the debate in Australia , namely that of students. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights r eserved.