It is interesting to read a prominent IR professor's reflection on how ivory tower will be transformed by IT.
In fact, I experience cultural shock when I come back to NTU for my masters program after completing my basic degree more than a decade ago. Everything is highly networked and IT connected. The entire campus is covered by WiMax (I supposed this is the technology adopted in campus, and not the more common Wi-Fi). We are required to download lecture notes of first and second week lessons from Blackboard Learning, which was not even born back in 1999, the year I finished my basic degree. Everything is done through online, including matter as petty as booking of and paying for monthly season parking.
The most shocking experience is in fact digitization of all journals. During the orientation, we are taught how to use library resources. I don't remember any such specific orientation back at my engineering days. It is indeed amazing because through the online journal collections, we are able to read something published during, as far back as, interwar years.
I used to work as a librarian assistant earning some pocket money. The main working place is main library which is located at North Spine. Back then, main library was filled with books and magazines and therefore studying desks were limited. Two weeks ago, I happened to bring a Malaysian friend to tour around NTU. To our surprise, or at least to my surprise, most of the book shelves are gone. The space where used to be book shelves are now filled with computer terminals. It shouldn't be that shocking in the sense that when everything is available online, book shelve is the first thing gone. We observed a group of students having discussion in a little corner in the library. Their microsoft word was projected on the screen. The students could highlight the text on the screen with some kind of pen. They were so used to that kind of discussion and equipment. It's like throwing "this is how we study from the very beginning of our life" at my face.
Every lecture theatre is equipped with computers, audio visual equipment and centralized control of lightings, audio and etc. Back in the old days, we were simply using overhead projector. We had to write or print on transparent films that were then projected through OHP onto the screen.
I would really like to see how lectures will be carried out 10, 15 and 20 years later.
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