‘Internet teaching and the administration of knowledge’, is by Tara Brabazon 2001
http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/rt/printerFriendly/867/776
In this article Brabazon laments the 'bullet point' culture of learning which changes to the educational system seem to be leading to. Writing in Australia during a conservative led premiership, higher education was promoted as a commodity and a cure to all the countries economic and political woes where the emphasis is placed on productivity and competition. Universities were to be changed under commericialized auspices with the student as their customers.
This lead to Brabazon's first issue. This commodification of education is problematic in that it means students are treated as customers- yet customer satisfaction is not in the remit of academic discipline which requires hard work and dedication (hmmmm not sure I agree with this- here she is camparing student to consumers of cars, a more suitable analogy would be to compare with students with Karate students, etc).
Another change in corrolary to this is a shift towards student centred education. Yet as Brabazon states the tutor and the student are an unequal partnership and has diminished the role of the tutor. A dictomy occurs- tutors expect students to help themselves in there study and on the other hand student (as customers) blame their tutors if they fail their courses.
'I would be far more open to student–centred learning if there was an acknowledgment that teachers — at the very least — are rapporteurs, rather than facilitators. Ironically at the moment when student–centred learning has become the cliche of the age, students are (overtly) evaluating teacher’s abilities [16]. While staff may state that students must be responsible for their own learning, students are blaming staff for their results.'
Brabazon states 'technology is framed as a cheaper, more efficient replacement for university teachers.' She points to the fact that technology has led to an increased workload for tutors, who have increased management administration to undertake. However I can think of numerous cases whereby learning can benefit. Why should a lecturer repeat over and over the same story when he can just do it once and record it for future students?
A final point Brabazon considers is that technology has made students intellectually lazy and well as curtailing the opportunities for individually inspiration by tutors. Any 'Radical ideas and expansive research are crushed into modules, criteria and bullet points, being rendered consistent and predictable'. Students only have to remember the key points and do not have to critical think about her lecture (eg the Powerpoint presentation). This shift has meant tutors only job is to administer marking criteria, rather than promote life long learning.
