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Technology Education and Geography in Australian Higher Education. Geography Monograph Series No. 1.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Technology Education and Geography in Australian Higher Education. Geography Monograph Series No. 1.
Language: English
Authors: Gerber, Rod, Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, Inc. Brisbane (Australia).
Availability: Royal Geographical Society of Queensland, Inc., 112 Brookes Street, Fortitude Valley, Queensland 4006, Australia.
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 43
Publication Date: 1992
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Educational Research, Educational Technology, Foreign Countries, Geography, Geography Instruction, Higher Education, Teacher Education, Technological Advancement, Technological Literacy, Technology
Geographic Terms: Australia
ISSN: 1037-7158
Abstract: Technology is having a major impact on living in industrialized countries like Australia. Academics such as geographers in Australian institutions of higher education should have a thorough understanding of the concept of technology and be effective users of it if they are to be educational leaders. As one of the first of its kind in Australia, a study was conducted among the institutions of higher education in Australia to find our the impact of technology amongst geographers. The study was based on the belief that the impact of technology can be determined by investigating the following aspects: the geographers' understanding of the concept of technology; their attitudes toward technology; the competencies that they claim in technology; the uses to which they put technology in their professional activities of teaching, research and consultancy; and the perceived impact that technology has had on them as geographers. Some 88 geographers from universities around Australia responded to a postal survey. Analyses of their responses revealed that these geographers had a conception of technology that is dominated by hard technologies, some of which may be termed new technologies. They expressed limited understanding of soft technologies. Overall, their attitudes towards technologies may be termed as ambivalent. This was due to a number of factors including a narrow understanding of technology, frustration with selected technologies and mixed access to items of hard technology. The implications of this study are that geographers in Australian institutions of higher education need exposure to a broader concept of technology so that they can understand both hard and soft technologies and be able to use them in their teaching, research, and consultancy. This exposure can be achieved through a carefully-planned in-service program involving all members of geography departments in Australian universities. (Author)
Entry Date: 1992
Accession Number: ED345992
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Technology is having a major impact on living in industrialized countries like Australia. Academics such as geographers in Australian institutions of higher education should have a thorough understanding of the concept of technology and be effective users of it if they are to be educational leaders. As one of the first of its kind in Australia, a study was conducted among the institutions of higher education in Australia to find our the impact of technology amongst geographers. The study was based on the belief that the impact of technology can be determined by investigating the following aspects: the geographers' understanding of the concept of technology; their attitudes toward technology; the competencies that they claim in technology; the uses to which they put technology in their professional activities of teaching, research and consultancy; and the perceived impact that technology has had on them as geographers. Some 88 geographers from universities around Australia responded to a postal survey. Analyses of their responses revealed that these geographers had a conception of technology that is dominated by hard technologies, some of which may be termed new technologies. They expressed limited understanding of soft technologies. Overall, their attitudes towards technologies may be termed as ambivalent. This was due to a number of factors including a narrow understanding of technology, frustration with selected technologies and mixed access to items of hard technology. The implications of this study are that geographers in Australian institutions of higher education need exposure to a broader concept of technology so that they can understand both hard and soft technologies and be able to use them in their teaching, research, and consultancy. This exposure can be achieved through a carefully-planned in-service program involving all members of geography departments in Australian universities. (Author)
ISSN:1037-7158