Computer-based technologies are radically transforming higher education. Personal computers readily retrieve and configure vast amounts of electronically stored information. In this information environments, instructors do not control access to information as they once did. Instead, the students directly receive and interact with data of all kinds. They can transform information from one medium to another, and they create new knowledge as a result of their interactions with instructors and other students.
Students learn along with the instructor and by interacting with one another.
Students are bound to learn much that the instructor does not know. Computer technologies offer instructors opportunities to enhance the teaching and learning experiences for their students and themselves. For example, they can assist instructors in designing learner-centered activities. Instructional technologies expand opportunities for active learning. Computer simulations help students develop and practice research skills in simulated lab settings.