**2. Technology critics' perspective**

The initiative of designing a curriculum that is responsive to technology which is ubiquitous is being threatened by some of the negative effects of enabling Internet technology to blossom in the education sector. In a way, the Internet has degraded students' desire to acquire knowledge through conventional ways of deeply engaging with text. Students' reading culture has subsequently become low because of the readily available answers on Internet. Figes [8] asserts that students in this twenty-first century hardly read textbooks, either in digital form or hardcopy. They prefer getting quick information by using the index to find relevant points, reading articles and looking for information up on Wikipedia. Instead of consulting various books and other original and credible resources to answer past examination questions, twenty-first century students do it the easy way by simply getting answers on Wikipedia and google.com without necessarily reading books.

expectations of students in this digital era. A need for reviewing the curriculum to make it suitable for this digital era has led Williamson [1] to ask: what might be the future of the cur-

It is imperative in the twenty-first century for a higher education curriculum to have technology embedded throughout. Technological advancements have made it possible for students in institutions of higher learning across the globe to blur boundaries by collaborating as if they are on different campuses of the same university in one district. In other words, university students are living in a global village where they learn and collaborate easily using technology. In this contemporary digital age, educational technology is playing an increasingly important role. It has become so ubiquitous and fundamental in the teaching and learning of higher education [2]. Higher education sector is forced to use educational technology to keep up with needs of a twenty-first century student [3]. Placing computers in lecture rooms is not adequate enough for students to be competitive in the new millennium [4]. There is a need for curricu-

lum design and pedagogy to be responsive to the use of technology in learning [5].

Curriculum is the main drive that can be used to perpetrate technology use in institutions of higher learning [3]. Gregory and Lodge [6] argue that a good curriculum is one that is not just responsive to the needs of students, but also what is happening in the environment at the time. A use of digital strategies is what is happening in the higher education environment today, hence, the need for curriculum design and pedagogy to enhance this initiative. The use of technology to reinforce the curriculum has proven not to be an obvious fit as there are

Academics in institutions of higher learning do not unanimously agree that technology has tremendous influence in education. They have different views. This led Selwyn [7] to conclude that the confluence of technology and education is marred by a multiplicity of complications and contradictions, and it can be messy sometimes. The integration of technology into this twenty-first century curriculum has been conceptualised from different perspectives by various academics and authors. Three dominant perspectives about integrating technology into the higher education curriculum are presented in this chapter. These are technology critics' perspective, technology enthusiasts' perspective and technology from an intellectual perspective.

The initiative of designing a curriculum that is responsive to technology which is ubiquitous is being threatened by some of the negative effects of enabling Internet technology to blossom in the education sector. In a way, the Internet has degraded students' desire to acquire knowledge through conventional ways of deeply engaging with text. Students' reading culture has subsequently become low because of the readily available answers on Internet. Figes [8] asserts that students in this twenty-first century hardly read textbooks, either in digital form or hardcopy. They prefer getting quick information by using the index to find relevant points, reading articles and looking for information up on Wikipedia. Instead of consulting various books and other original and credible resources to answer past examination questions,

riculum in the digital age?

196 Globalization

diverging and sceptical views about effect.

**2. Technology critics' perspective**

Students can easily get answers to sophisticated questions by simply clicking keys on the computer or smart phone. This can be viewed as an advantage as it provides easy access to information. But, some of the sources (for example Wikipedia and google.com) which novice researchers and undergraduate students use are questionable and not ideal to use in an atmosphere where quality teaching and learning are at stake. Wikipedia and google.com are the first places that millions of people, including students turn to whenever they want to access some educational information [7].

It is unfortunate to note that some sources like Wikipedia and google.com which students over rely on sometimes consist of misleading information. Wikipedia and google.com are not credible sources to cite when compiling an academic piece of work. This is simply because some of the information which they consist of would not have been peer reviewed by experts in the field. Orlando Figes, a professor of history at Birkbeck, University of London, checked Wikipedia for information about the Russian Revolution—his area of expertise—and found 'an alarming number of mistakes, misapprehensions and misleading statements that would never have appeared in a textbook written by an expert in the field' [8]. When students rely on such sources to write their assignments and all educational tasks, information would be so limited and result in the compromise of quality education. Wikipedia and google.com are essential websites to use especially when one wants to get quick readily available answers to questions. But, complete and credible educational information needs to be obtained from peer reviewed published sources.

This makes the use of textbooks, journals and other peer reviewed materials indispensable in any educational setting. The way in which students nowadays hardly engage with published peer reviewed resources such as books can be conceptualised as an educational consumption of slow poison. Such poison does not have imminent effects, but long-term detrimental consequences. Students will eventually bury a culture of reading textbooks in preference of quick short answers which may not be accurate because it was written by a student like them. **Figure 1** is a graphical illustration of how technology is burying traditional books.

The notable downside of technology is that students who are supposed to make rigorous search of information and deeply engage with text from authentic sources tend to bury books in favour of readily available quick and short answers on Internet. As shown in **Figure 1**, cell phones, iphone and a remote control are carrying a book to a grave which was dug by headphones using a shovel. The graphic illustrates that students are disregarding traditional books, not because they prefer reading digital books which are very ubiquitous in this century, but they dislike reading at all. The illustration corresponds with a prediction made by Thomas Edison a century ago about books being superseded by technology: 'Books will soon be obsolete in schools. Scholars will soon be instructed through the eye. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in ten years' (Thomas Edison, 1913, as quoted in [9], p. 100).

Marjorie Sykes emphasised that 'books have played only a minor part in the nurture of the young' [10] (xxv). This argument should not be taken in a wrong context. Sykes' point is not to mean

Technology critics simply conclude that technology is doing more harm than good in education. Its abundance is hindering students to engage with theory, think for themselves and learn different ways of doing things. Herald [12] postulates that although the advent of Internet and technology have transformed the way students undertake research, the downside of technology has been its effect in creating intellectual zombies who rarely go out of their way to understand complex theories. Technology has made students have a surface approach to learning where they can easily get answers without necessarily having to apply their minds and deeply engage with abstract educational matters. They hardly read books because of technology. If they have to construct an argument or engage with a scholarly controversy, they riffle through

Higher Education Curriculum in a Global Village http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84849 199

Knight [14] concurs that technology has led students to be impulsive as they want immediate access to information and an unconcerned approach to appraising, synthesising and critiquing information. Similarly, Pinar summarised key elements of a great Canadian public intellectual, George Grant, who critique technology and modernity. Pinar [15] states that 'Technology for Grant is a form of idolatry, substituting materiality for spirituality, distracting us from dialogical encounter—subjective presence through face- to- face communication—and diverting us into screens where we are forced to comply with programmes created by commercial entities with profit, not freedom, in mind.' Such programmes and the general provision of robust Internet connectivity are not cheap. This makes it a barrier to teaching using technology as gadgets such as smart phones and computers may be expensive for students and some

According to Williamson [1], twenty-first century students of today have intelligible understanding of technology, and they are sophisticated cultural producers of digital media, actively creating, remixing and circulating content online in complex ways that far outstrip anything demanded of them by the traditional subject curriculum. Thus, a curriculum that is supposed to be filled with future aspirations about what is happening in the environment should heavily draw on technology. From a perspective of technology enthusiasts, leaving out technology in this era would be a great setback in education as the local has become

This is because digital technology is now a prominent instrument of education provision and practice in many countries and contexts [17]. It is at the heart of various ways in which education is being provided today [7]. This is regardless of the subject or course as each has its unique ways of integrating technology. Teaching and learning can be enhanced by making use of technology as it makes the whole process easy, accessible and more effective. Technology enthusiasts are so obsessed to maximising technology usage despite limitations

Enthusiasts acknowledge technology critics' plea for students not to abandon the reading culture. They (technology enthusiasts) fully concur with the view that a reading culture should

subsumed in the global, and the global has become technological [15].

the index of a book, read introductions and conclusion and skim reading [8].

learning institutions [16].

echoed by technological critics.

**3. Technology enthusiasts' perspective**

**Figure 1.** Graphic illustration of how technology is burying traditional books [12].

that books are worthless, but to say there are also significant factors that play important roles in students' learning. Thapan [11] concurred by echoing that textbooks are not always sacrosanct to students, but they are the only one aspect (among others) where students gain knowledge. Other aspects where students can gain knowledge other than from a text book include the instructor and conversation that they have among students themselves. The argument of reading a book (either hard copy or softcopy) still stands even though scholars differ on ranking its importance as a source of knowledge. Students are expected to read books not to have a situation where they reach graduation without having read detailed information from a textbook.

Figes [8] argues that some students these days finish their university education without reading a book to its entirety. This is resulting in a majority of students graduating without a deeper understanding or appreciation of specific books or any author who have contributed extensively to the body of knowledge in their areas of specialisation [12]. This is all because of the situation of not inculcating a reading culture because of the presence of Internet, which allows students to obtain readily available short and quick answers.

Obtaining quick short answers from sources like Wikipedia and google.com is gradually becoming a norm in institutions of higher learning. Such unintended consequence of technology in this digital era make critics conclude that technology is making education go wild, not wide. This has resulted in some university lecturers becoming sceptical about the value that technology adds to learning [13].

Some lecturers still float in the nineteenth century teaching where the use of technology was minimal. Others understand that teaching using technology means using data projectors only. Ng [13] postulates that many academics have not moved beyond 'basic' pedagogical uses of technology such as PowerPoint presentations, YouTube videos, word processing and Internet search. Although using such basic technological devices adds value to the technology driven teaching, there are many more ways that can be used to promote deep learning that is interactive. A great question that arises is how can educators enhance the initiative of optimising technology use in their teaching?

Technology critics simply conclude that technology is doing more harm than good in education. Its abundance is hindering students to engage with theory, think for themselves and learn different ways of doing things. Herald [12] postulates that although the advent of Internet and technology have transformed the way students undertake research, the downside of technology has been its effect in creating intellectual zombies who rarely go out of their way to understand complex theories. Technology has made students have a surface approach to learning where they can easily get answers without necessarily having to apply their minds and deeply engage with abstract educational matters. They hardly read books because of technology. If they have to construct an argument or engage with a scholarly controversy, they riffle through the index of a book, read introductions and conclusion and skim reading [8].

Knight [14] concurs that technology has led students to be impulsive as they want immediate access to information and an unconcerned approach to appraising, synthesising and critiquing information. Similarly, Pinar summarised key elements of a great Canadian public intellectual, George Grant, who critique technology and modernity. Pinar [15] states that 'Technology for Grant is a form of idolatry, substituting materiality for spirituality, distracting us from dialogical encounter—subjective presence through face- to- face communication—and diverting us into screens where we are forced to comply with programmes created by commercial entities with profit, not freedom, in mind.' Such programmes and the general provision of robust Internet connectivity are not cheap. This makes it a barrier to teaching using technology as gadgets such as smart phones and computers may be expensive for students and some learning institutions [16].
