It can illuminate, yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it's nothing but wires and lights in a box. The first edition of New Connections started with this quote from broadcasting pioneer Edward R. Murrow, and it seems fitting to keep it for the second edition. It is important for educators to continue to sift through these promises in order to find those tools, and those uses, which will make a real difference in the lives of students.
Technology can transport people to places they have never visited.
It can overcome time and distance, and illustrate ideas in ways beyond what is possible on the printed page or the spoken word. And yet, technology itself is inert. The potential for using radio and television as a teaching vehicle was apparent at the outset of the broadcasting era. Over the years, pioneering colleges have used radio, television and film to reach students located far away from the central campus. Over the past decade, the use of distance education to reach new students, or to serve existing students in new ways has grown from beyond a handful of pioneers and has entered the mainstream of higher education planning and development.