The war on learning gaining ground in the digital university

• Main Author: Losh, Elizabeth M Elizabeth Mathews (Author)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, Mass The MIT Press 2014
• Subjects: Education, Higher > Effect of technological innovations on; Education, Higher > Computer network resources; Teacher-student relationships; Internet in education > Computer network resources; University extension > Computer networks; Universities and colleges > Computer networks; Educational technology; Computer-assisted instruction
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 Behind the lectern stands the professor, deploying course management systems, online quizzes, wireless clickers, PowerPoint slides, podcasts, and plagiarism-detection software. In the seats are the students, armed with smartphones, laptops, tablets, music players, and social networking. Although these two forces seem poised to do battle with each other, they are really both taking part in a war on learning itself. In this book, Elizabeth Losh examines current efforts to "reform" higher education by applying technological solutions to problems in teaching and learning. She finds that many of these initiatives fail because they treat education as a product rather than a process. Highly touted schemes--video games for the classroom, for example, or the distribution of iPads--let students down because they promote consumption rather than intellectual development.