We must change from heavy reliance on written and spoken words and value the vast array of materials from which students construct knowledge. No two students will use the same materials in identical ways. IT expands options for gathering, understanding, developing, using, and expressing ideas. We must move from learning as an individual act done in isolation to learner interconnection to examine meaning in the context of other's ideas. IT fosters communication and collaboration.
Groups interact with text, pictures, sound, and moving images.
Participants need not be in the same place at the same time. For IT to bring about a revolution in higher education, its introduction must be accompanied by improvements in our understanding of learning and teaching, and by changes in the organizational structure of our colleges and universities. If the next revolution becomes a true revolution, at the very least it must be characterized by a move away from the lecture-discussion method as the predominant way of doing business to one of interactive exploration of a wide variety of resources. Criteria for student success will be different. Each institution, department, and faculty member must find the right balance in forming combinations of traditional practices and materials with new ones.