**3. Technology enthusiasts' perspective**

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

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

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

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 optimis-

reach graduation without having read detailed information from a textbook.

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

allows students to obtain readily available short and quick answers.

technology adds to learning [13].

198 Globalization

ing technology use in their teaching?

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

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 echoed by technological critics.

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 be revitalised and perpetually sustained. However, they argue that technology should be used as an instrument of attaining that transformation. It is a fundamental instrument that makes it easy for students to access learning materials anywhere, anytime and cost effectively [18, 19]. To a twenty-first century student, learning does not need to be restricted to a classroom—with their mobile devices and the advent of cloud computing, they are able to learn anywhere, everywhere and from anyone [20].

In a sector like banking, technology has made it amazingly convenient for people to bank. They can do banking anywhere, anytime and they do not have to go physically to the bank. Such convenience has been through the innovations advanced by technology. Similarly, in the entertainment sector, musicians may record quality music which entertains people without having to master how to play any musical instrument. Every sound of a musical instrument can be computer-generated and replicated. Such advanced and fast moving strides of technology in other sectors are what technology enthusiasts would advocate to happen in education. In other words, from a technology enthusiasts' perspective, anything goes as long as it is done using technology. This is a remarkable point that differentiates enthusiasts from those who view tech-

Higher Education Curriculum in a Global Village http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84849 201

Intellectuals do not resist technology in as much as critics do, neither do they appraise it unreservedly like enthusiasts. Intellectuals are more meticulous and inquisitive. They operate from the view point that digital technology has become an integral part of education today [7], hence academics in their spaces are challenged to find ways in which they can use it to

Undoubtedly, in this digital era, students are often seen chatting using different emerging technologies, sharing ideas using digital platforms and showing enthusiasm of learning using technological gadgets [25]. That surely cannot be ignored simply because technology usage possesses some risks. Intellectuals want the use of technology to be implemented but with due caution and should not be done simply because there is new technology in the market. They want technology to be adopted and utilised as it adds value to teaching by promoting engagement on students' learning. Research into the world of digitally oriented learning environments has shown that simply moving to a more digitised platform has not necessarily

Imagining education enabling technology to take over all its roots and fundamental principles as fast as it has done in the banking sector would be a huge paradigm shift which could bring the sector (education) into disrepute if it is not done meticulously. Technology enthusiasts simply want the latest technology to be used and immediately replace the old one. From an intellectual perspective, rationalisation of wanting to use every new technology would take precedence. If the new technology enhances teaching and learning better than the old technology, then replacement needs to be supported. For example, clickers are a new technology, which a university has to buy for students to use. Clickers are now being replaced by a new application which can be loaded into smart phones so that students can use their cell phones as clickers. The point is that education can allow new technology to replace the old one as long

Replacement of old technology with new technology in education for the sake of wanting to move with time results in confusion and misuse of gadgets in teaching and learning. New technology needs to be used, but it is not ideal to quickly dismiss it and adopt another new type which hits the market without verifying it as that can give rise to previously unknown

nology from an intellectual perspective.

enhance the quality of teaching and learning.

**4. Technology from an intellectual perspective**

shown strong educational or motivational outcomes [26].

as it adds more value compared to what existed.

The increased access to technology by students, starting at a very young (pre-school) age, suggests two points: (1) it is no longer a novelty to use technology in educational institutions and (2) students come into the classroom with some degree of digital literacy and a set of skills that are largely associated with Internet search, social networking and possibly non-educational gaming [13]. Majority of students in universities today are digital natives. According to Prensky [21], digital natives are people born on or after the advent of the digital revolution, while those born before the era of computers, who had to adopt and adapt to the new information communication technology are called digital immigrants.

Digital natives are very enthusiastic about learning using technology. The fact that they (digital natives) are exposed to technology at a younger age, their learning needs and expectations differ from their lecturers who are mostly digital immigrants [22]. It will be a wasted opportunity if academics do not review the curriculum and pedagogy to incorporate technology in order to get students in their comfort zones of using technology. Teaching using technology is simply inevitable and uncontainable in this present day. Academics ought to find ways of ensuring that every student gets an opportunity to maximise his/her technological skills and development in order to achieve the learning outcomes.

On the one hand, digital natives expect technology including their mobile phones to be used to facilitate their learning. On the other hand, academics may not be having comprehensive knowledge of using technological devices needed by students. According to Koh [20], academics in charge of educating students in this digital era have had a challenging time playing catch up with the slew of new technologies and 'apps' (applications) such as those in Web 2.0. Thus, there is a paradoxical situation where students are technologically inclined and they need technology to be the cornerstone of their learning, whereas lecturers grapple with application of technological devices in their teaching.

It is important for people not to presume that all digital natives are good with technology, while all digital immigrants are digitally challenged. There are some digital natives who went to poor rural schools where there was no electricity and no technological exposure. On the other hand, some academics are very passionate about technology and they can use it way better than students [20]. In order to bridge a gap that exists on the lack of technological knowledge, Koh [20] suggests promoting technology enhanced learning by upgrading the digital immigrants and stretching the natives. Upgrading of digital immigrants can be done through in-service trainings and capacity development workshops aimed at continuously educating academics on how to employ technology in their teaching. Academics and students who are not so adept in the use of technology should be given opportunities to upgrade their computer skills so that they do not end up feeling further alienated in a techno-enriched environment [23].

Technology enthusiasts would hope that the sweeping technological changes experienced in the worlds of business and entertainment must also take place in the education sector [24]. In a sector like banking, technology has made it amazingly convenient for people to bank. They can do banking anywhere, anytime and they do not have to go physically to the bank. Such convenience has been through the innovations advanced by technology. Similarly, in the entertainment sector, musicians may record quality music which entertains people without having to master how to play any musical instrument. Every sound of a musical instrument can be computer-generated and replicated. Such advanced and fast moving strides of technology in other sectors are what technology enthusiasts would advocate to happen in education. In other words, from a technology enthusiasts' perspective, anything goes as long as it is done using technology. This is a remarkable point that differentiates enthusiasts from those who view technology from an intellectual perspective.
