Many of Maureen Simmons's [20 Aug 95] ideas ring true. Yes, we do need to look forward. Yes, we do need to reapply some earlier psychology to the new technologies. Yes, we do need to address the power of the WWW and its influence on learners.
But the issue of "quality" emerges in relation to the WWW. While I find the potential for web technologies exciting educationally, as it provides an accessible interactive development environment independent of proprietary tools, I find the quality of content less than ideal for learners. The traditional media of print and AV had resolved most of the issues of information ownership, and a learner (and teacher) could explore and construct knowledge with a critical eye to its source. This process is less clear on WWW as the copyright/ownership dilemma is yet unresolved, and anything really useful is withheld. The teacher and learner are then left to construct with b-grade materials. An even worse scenario is looming with the commercialization of web services (a la Microsoft) and the greater levels of censorship and control implied by a information-marketing enterprise. Someone else will determine the scope (and ownership) of the information from which you then construct your knowledge. It's the eternal question of empowerment. With all its potential to meet the individual needs of learners, the WWW stands as the most powerful medium yet to control who knows what and when.
This is not a conspiracy theory!. I realize all preceding media have met this criticism in their turn, but the convergence of our desire (and need) to communicate globally with the ability to control that communication may prove too tempting politically. How then do we develop and encourage critical use of the WWW? How do we remove the potential for disinformation, and attract the necessary quality, so that it may realize Maureen's goal?