Technology and Diversity in Higher Education: New Challenges (review)

"Higher education in general and faculty members in particular must be the leaders in the integration of technology in diverse learning environments" (p. xiv). In postsecondary education the potential of technology is limitless, yet the reality of current use is stunted. In Technology and Diversity in Higher Education: New Challenges, Inoue explores the role that technology is playing and should be playing in teaching an increasingly diverse postsecondary population. Both through case studies and reviews of research, she shows technology's potential to bridge the digital divide for diverse postsecondary students—a potential that is still not widely fulfilled.

Because the book's audience is postsecondary educators and administrators, it is heavily weighted toward pedagogical practices that embrace technology both as a means of content delivery and also as a means of researching and preparing class work. While the overall theme of the book tends toward the use of technology as a successful means of teaching diverse student populations, Inoue also includes cautionary tales of unexpected consequences that emerge with the proliferation of technology on campus.

Inoue begins by acknowledging technology as a vast, untapped resource in delivering relevant content for higher education learners. Yet at the same time higher education is lagging behind in the integration of technology into pedagogy, the need for the flexibility and contextual learning provided by electronic tools is increasing. Inoue discusses the shift in the populations of postsecondary students from a majority of male students in the 1960s to a majority of female students today; the emergence of an older, nontraditional population of students; and the fact that universities are enjoying a larger number and broader spectrum of minority students than at any time in history. Inoue recognizes that the increasing diversity in our universities constitutes an opportunity to embrace computer-based learning environments as a means of reaching diverse learners with different languages, histories, ages, and learning styles.

Inoue uses a review of recent research and case studies to explore the themes of using technology in context to reach populations who are traditionally victims of the digital divide. Many of the case studies take place in the Western Pacific region, a developing area characterized by multicultural populations and uncertain access to technology. Other case studies explore approaches taken to teach specific populations of learners, including the elderly and physicians. The individual authors provide recommendations for integrating technology into pedagogy based upon the context of the case studies.

Several general themes emerge. The case studies and research selected for the book explore the implications for student learning resulting from the continuing integration of technology into postsecondary education and resulting areas of concern. While touting the value of increased access to higher education for the traditionally underserved and the richer educational experience provided with such electronic educational tools as e-portfolios, the examples also provide insights into negative outcomes for students from the immersion of technology in higher education. These negative outcomes include a steep decline in literary reading, feelings of social isolation, an increased focus on memorization instead of transformative learning, and even Internet addiction.

The studies also explore the implications of technological use for higher education faculty. The emerging positive outcomes are balanced against the stress faculty face in trying to develop online learning environments for students with widely different backgrounds and readiness levels and also their continuing reluctance to use technology to enrich their classroom teaching.

While all of the research and case studies explore the general themes of using technology in higher education to promote learning with diverse student populations, a small number of the studies addressed specific concerns. One case study conducted by Michelle LeBrunda and Jose Cortes, both of the Cabrini Medical Center, details the increasing difficulty of keeping up with new medical technologies in the field of physician education. LeBrunda and Cortes provide a balanced discussion of the advances that are being recognized with ever more sophisticated medical technology and the dangers posed by this...