And the third way is to continue building the expensive infrastructure of cables and wiring, help desks, servers, support staff, and trainers to provide a learning environment, he said. Penn State has upgraded its resources to include an online library catalog and online advising and course scheduling, among many other things. And with the increasing popularity of Penn State's World Campus, which offers courses via the Internet to almost anyone almost anywhere, the capabilities of using computers and the Internet as teaching tools are growing rapidly. More than 1,000 students are enrolled in World Campus courses as the program marks two years of existence in January 2000. But computers and Internet access don't guarantee a greater education.
People often confuse delivery mechanism with learning.
The technology explosion could result in an equaling of education or in a greater class division, Santoro said. Yet the greatest negative impact of technology on education is the assumption that computers must continuously be made simpler to accommodate users who are unable or unwilling to learn how to use them, Santoro said. Instead, technology skills need to be taught alongside language, math and library skills as important foundations for lifelong learning. The U.S. Department of Education also stresses the importance of lifelong learning. The Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology encourages lifelong learning as part of its national goals.