Open Eye: Making sense of the wired world

Dr Nick Heap, senior lecturer in telematics, explores an OU course which studies the changing relationships between society and the information and communications technologies

It's almost impossible some days to pick up a magazine or newspaper without coming across an article on the Internet and its real - or imaginary - impact.

There's no question that information and communication technologies have taken on a pervasive role in today's economy. But while the media may focus on the development of the Internet and World Wide Web, recent statistics suggest that the change is more fundamental.

More than 60% of those employed are engaged in information creation or processing activities of some form. Electronic mail and document exchange, together with just-in-time order processing, have changed the face of business communications.

The fears that computerisation would carry high unemployment costs have proven unfounded. Start-up companies flourish and the demand for skilled professionals continues unabated.

Why then are executives and managers around the world expressing concern? Investments in ICT equipment and infrastructure, especially staff development and training, do not appear to be showing a return.

Systems don't meet business needs and applications are frequently delivered too late and over budget. The life cycle of products is ever shortening and there is considerable pressure to upgrade and replace.

Where then do the real problems lie? The IT and Society course (THD204) was developed by an inter-faculty team at the OU, to address such questions.

Intended for a wide audience, the course requires no special prerequisite knowledge other than the basic operation of a personal computer and the study skills of a Level 2 course.

The course explores the social and technological issues surround ICT, using the technology itself to provide a rich and interactive learning experience.

It also recognises the importance of transferable skills, often practical, which are developed through the various course assignments.

IT and Society was the university's first large scale resource-based learning development using new technologies. Multiple CD-ROMs provide each student with a personal library of fully indexed journal articles, newspaper extracts, and audio-visual material.

Almost 400 articles were scanned and prepared for the course, including 80 publications derived from the first eight year's research of the ESRC (Economic and Social Science Research Council) Programme in Information and Communication Technologies. The CD-ROMs also contain software demonstrations, interactive learning materials, and video interviews.

Computer mediated communication (e-mail and computer conferencing) facilitates collaborative activities, such as group discussions and assignments and on-line tutorial support. It also offers invaluable support for disabled students.

Many students on the course who are experiencing the electronic learning environment for the first time comment on the sense of 'belonging' to a learning community.

Students are introduced to the Internet and the World Wide Web, the latter facilitating the distribution of updated learning materials through the course's own home page www.open.ac.uk/StudentWeb/thd204. More importantly, they are encourage to assess the quality of the accessible material.

Individual blocks allow the course to focus on a few topics in detail.

The first block addresses the radically different approaches adopted by social scientists and technologists to the analysis of the impact of ICT on a modern industrialised society.

It leaves many technologists questioning their ideas of "technological determinism" in favour of alternative theories such as "social shaping".

The second block explores the role of ICT in the workplace and highlights the influence of management strategy on the successful implementation of such systems.

Some UK managers have been criticised for viewing ICTs as a means of extending control over people and processes, whereas our overseas competitors have exploited the opportunity to develop greater flexibility and responsiveness.

Local area networks and intranets are seen as the means to flatten hierarchical communication structures through the growing use of groupware. Practical activities and the assignment develop students' skills in information retrieval.

IT and Learning provides the focus of the third block, embracing both institutional and commercial learning environments.

The institutional issues are exemplified through recent developments in secondary education. Corporate case studies provide the basis for assessing the cost effectiveness of technology-based training programmes and the growing use of computer supported collaborative working systems such as electronic whiteboards, Internet chat and audio and video conferencing. The assignment includes a group activity intended to promote interpersonal communication and team working via computer networks.

The fourth block looks at the growing market for ICT in the home and the creation of a 'superhighway' delivering video-on-demand and home-based shopping. However, the very existence of high-bandwidth communications raises issues of privacy, security and data protection.

The final block takes a speculative look at five development areas, namely, teleworking, virtual reality, rehabilitation technology, telecoms and the limitations of IT. While interesting in their own right, the real importance of these topics becomes apparent through the group project.

Some 200-300 groups of between three and six students face the challenge of assessing, in collaboration, a particular technological development. Groups can use any of the learning resources available on CD-ROM or accessed via the Internet.

They must also plan their strategy to meet deadlines and manage the entire activity, which culminates in the electronic submission of the assignment. No easy task given family commitments, work demands and summer holidays.

IT and Society does achieve its major aims. Students completing the course comment on the greater understanding they have gained of the social impact of ICT, of having learned to use the library resources to support and develop their own arguments - and of the skills they have developed through the use of new technologies.