Page 311 - Crisis in Higher Education

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Creating High-Technology

Learning Materials

For thousands of years, the primary vehicle for disseminating knowledge
was the spoken word. Small groups of students gathered around schol-
ars who discussed their thoughts and ideas. Over many years, two fac-
tors changed this. New means of transport and expanding trade enabled
interaction among communities and countries that were previously iso-
lated. Second, economic growth depended on communicating informa-
tion and disseminating knowledge to more people. These changes shifted
higher education from dependency on spoken words to reliance on writ-
ten words. Although there were many advances in printing, the creation
of the printing press with replaceable type by Johannes Gutenberg in the
middle of the fifteenth century made printing easier and cheaper. Books,
1,2
periodicals, and other documents became readily available and have been
the learning platform for education.
Higher education and education more generally is ever so slowing moving
away from printed books and periodicals because these are expensive and
bulky. Technology allows printed works to be easily and inexpensively digi-
tized and therefore more portable and accessible and less expensive. It is an
opportunity that cannot be ignored. The new technology has been used for
decades to digitize and replicate physical objects in three dimensions (3D) so
they can be examined, manipulated, and designed to meet specific require-
ments. These applications are known as computer-aided design (CAD), com-
puter-aided engineering (CAE), and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM).

1. CAD: Computer software used by engineers, architects, artists, and
others to create precise 2D and 3D drawings, technical illustrations,
and models. 3

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