Technological Determinism theory in Virtual Education

I would first like to start off with explaining the theory of technological determinism to help give a background on how this theory plays into virtual education. The technological determinism theory states that technology drives social change. Marshall McLuhan argued, “new communication technologies determine cultural and that is the form of media rather than their content that matters” (Straubhaar, LaRose, Davenport, 2014, p.51). This theory is very prominent in cases like the iPhone. With the iPhone people have changed the way they go about their daily life. They are constantly texting, checking Facebook and Instagram, writing emails, and planning their life all on their iPhone. The iPhone has changed people’s social interaction with one another. For one, most people have their iPhone on them the majority of the time. At social gatherings, it is common for everyone to be on their iPhone taking pictures and posting them on Instagram or Facebook. At most family dinners, it’s become acceptable to text while at the table. The iPhone has made people more engrossed in social media and wanting to constantly communicate with friends and family. Technological determinism has shown how new technology with phones has driven society, but it also shows how virtual education is driving society.

Virtual education has become a prominent way of learning in today’s society. Many universities use tools such as Blackboard, Moodle and Sakai to provide online education support. In my experience, I have taken five online classes at Florida State. Even my classes that are not online utilize Blackboard. This increase in virtual education has changed the cultural for the students. For one, it has caused students to be more independent. Teachers expect students to look on Blackboard for when assignments are due or any new announcements. Further, many classes have projects or online quizzes due on Blackboard. This causes students to make sure they turn these assignments in on time, rather than being reminded to turn them in during class. This has lead to many students having to make sure they are always on top of things. This is one benefit of virtual education. The technological determinism theory is prominent in how virtual education is changing the way students learn and engage in their classes and with their teachers. There are pros and cons to virtual education, which I will discuss further in my next posts. However, it is something people need to learn to adopt and utilize to their benefit because “approximately 5.5 million students who were enrolled in traditional classes took at least one online course” (Maddoz, 2014, p.2).

Maddox, M. (2014, August 5). Learning Lessons: Net Neutrality and the Future of Online Education. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2358039/learning-lessons-net-neutrality-and-the-future-of-online-education

Straubhaar, J., LaRose, R., & Davenport. (2014). Media now: Understanding media culture and technology (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.