Preparing for the 21^stCentury

Research to Practice: Are Information Technologies Creating a Case of Maximum Feasible Misunderstanding Between Educators and the Publics They Serve?

“…The use of information technologies involving the World Wide Web represents the largest paradigm shift to occur in education since the mid-1400s with the invention of the printing press and movable type (Simerly 1997;Stuckey 1998). As is the case with any major paradigm shift, innovation and change are often accompanied by higher levels of conflict regarding exactly what needs to be done, who will do it, and how this innovation will be financed in a time when most educational institutions are being pressed to be more efficient with their limited resources (Evans and Wurster 1997;Keely 1997;Rossman 1992).…”

Exploring Perceptions of Middle Class Urban Indian Women Regarding Socio-Cultural Deterrents Influencing Participation in Adult and Continuing Educational Programs

“…Robert Simerly (1997) further characterized adult and continuing education as a pre-requisite to face challenges of the largest paradigm shifts in human history;…”

“…Societies were endorsing the evolution of both short term and long term adult and continuing educational programs, in an effort to conform to the rapidly changing world. In addition, Simerly (1997) suggested some solutions for potential deterrents that could come in the way of continued learning, such as: increasing levels of ambiguity among learners, managing conflict for productive results, effective use of information technologies, efficient use of power, and finding common ground among learners to find practical solutions to problems (Eith, 2002;Simerly, 1997).…”