In Search of the Virtual Class

the long version

In a challenging yet enlightening exploration of the demands of a new era, In Search of the Virtual Class presents a vision of what education and training could become as information technology develops. As industrial societies transform to become information societies, our educational structures are threatened; today's classroom--designed to prepare students for life in the industrial world of old--must adjust to prepare them for life in tomorrow's society. Around the world there is a growing crisis in education. There has to be a better way of learning. Authors John Tiffin and Lalita Rajasingham examine the nature of the classroom as a remarkably powerful communication system, irreplaceable even today by alternative communication technology, such as educational television or computer-assisted instruction. Yet they point to a future possibility, contingent on the further development of information superhighways, which could offer a serious alternative to the classroom. The authors predict a union of technologies, ranging from virtual reality and artificial intelligence to fiber optics, resulting in a genuine technological revolution and the emergence of a serious alternative and/or complement to the conventional classroom--what the authors call a "virtual class." Not merely a theoretical project, In Search of the Virtual Class compiles action research which seeks to implement a class by the year 2001. This controversial work brings light to a pressing subject which concerns us all and will prove an immense contribution to our understanding of the era to come. --Publisher.