Online Education and the Politics of Technology

Abstract

Toward the turn of this century, online education¹—put simply the integration of networked digital media and information technology into education—became the subject of great contention in universities. This contention was not simply a hidebound institution’s reaction to innovations that had already permeated other areas of society; rather, it was a response to the role that new technologies were perceived to play at a difficult crossroads in the university’s history. In the context of shrinking budgets and state support, rising costs, questions of accountability, competition from non-traditional providers, bloated classrooms, and calls for greater integration into an emerging knowledge economy, online education appeared as more than a new set of tools. Those with an eye to reform were calling on it to address key challenges facing higher education. As such, online education was expected to transform the university in ways that would leave no corner untouched.