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enrollments. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to
believe that academia did not reap the benefits of
technology and mass-produced books. Loomis
and Cigler (1986) and later on Birnbaum (1988)
noted that the politics within an institution, and
especially those manifest in the informal relation-
ships that lurk behind the formal organizational
structures can influence institutional behaviors
and help shape the environment. This is nothing
new to professional educators.
Over time, technology changed, as did educa-
tion. Technology impacted virtually every aspect
of the way we conceive of education, just as it did
to every other aspect of our daily lives (Rosenberg,
1997). New issues emerged as various 'distance
learning' opportunities arose, including the emer-
gence of 'correspondence courses' and the use of
film to deliver instruction of one sort or another
(Jeffries, 2001). In the early 1960s, demographic
shifts in population, evidenced by a new and grow-
ing segment of educational consumers presented
new challenges, opportunities and issues. Larger
universities, and later, smaller community col-
leges sought to accommodate their new students,
and the problems presented by increased demand
at that time are similar to those we face today.
Some large institutions managed their population
boom by establishing smaller autonomous units
with their own faculty (Baskin, 1965). Mayhew
(1965) indicated that the rapid growth experienced
by the California state educational system may
have driven the adoption of 'new media'-based
automated instructional methods, primarily as a
means to enrich the learning environments, but
also as a way to reign in spiraling infrastructure
costs and yet retain some economy of scale.
The research conducted by institutions in the
1960s on the use of new media such as television,
video taped course archives and other audio-visual
technology marked the beginning of many chang-
es, both technological and pedagogical. Some of
the media-based and computer mediated technol-
ogy still in use today was pioneered over 40 years
ago, including programs such as the asynchronous
PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teach-
ing Operation) system (Carpenter & Greenhill,
1965). Brabazon (2002) pointed out that courses
dealing with more abstract intellectual constructs
are not as well suited to online delivery as those in
the sciences, and consequently, most of the early
PLATO courses were in the sciences. Testing of
students was also done via television, capitalizing
on simultaneous visual and auditory stimuli and
duplex communications channels (Carpenter &
Greenhill, 1965). This in no way precludes the
softer fields from participation.
New media presents many possibilities as
students may regulate their learning progress and
demonstrate mastery before advancing to the next
level however, the use of new distance-mediated
instructional media is a dual-edged sword, and
might “…reduce all higher education to a com-
mon level of mediocrity or will be used to enrich
learning for all…” (Goldberg & Kurland, 1965,
p. 124). Olcott & Schmidt (2000) noted that the
answer to the paradox above depends on the
attitude of faculty and the speed and degree to
which they implement such devices, and how
much choice is allowed in using new media. It is
fairly obvious that whenever new technology is
implemented that there is a need for some balance
between voluntarily experimentation by interested
and experienced faculty, and institutional busi-
ness needs that are driven by senior institutional
management (Duruz, 2006).
Carpenter & Greenhill (1965) and Parnell
(1990) pointed out that there are difficulties in
selecting the right combination of 'user-friendly'
media and traditional instructional models, even
though technology enhances both learning op-
portunities for students and delivery and cost
containment concerns for the institution. By ex-
tension, Parnell (1990) not only foresaw the rise
of the large, online education providers, but also
the issues of governance and politics that stem
from the implementation of new technologies and
pedagogies. Faculty and staff at Sinclair Com-
munity College (1999) suggested that a synergy
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