G. Hearn et D. Scott, STUDENTS STAYING HOME - QUESTIONING THE WISDOM OF A DIGITAL FUTURE FOR AUSTRALIAN UNIVERSITIES, Futures, 30(7), 1998, pp. 731-737
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.