The information society requires knowledge of information technology. Teachers must keep up to date, in technology itself and also in its value and applications to learning. The rapid pace of technological change affects schools and libraries and necessitates evaluation and preparation for change. The value of information in the information society requires that intermediaries be able to restructure the information to increase its intellectual and physical accessibility. Graduates of this program will have the interdisciplinary preparation in education and in library and information science to assess and forecast information needs and to use educational and media tools to meet those needs.
Research is needed on the value and applications of educational and media technology to learning.
The prevalence of technology in education today needs support from researchers who can investigate the relative impact on learning of technological variables like setting, structure, and attributes. There is a demand in southeastern Wisconsin and elsewhere for such specialists. The demand is fed in part by a trend of multiple careers during the lifetimes of today's workforce. Thus, staff development and retraining are vital elements of the workplace. Consequently, there is a need for consultants, managers and instructors who can design, implement and evaluate technology-based models and application packages to support such educational activities.