Emerging Technologies, Established Communities, & Evolving Universities
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Post-secondary institutions in Canada and around the world are in a constant state of flux due to changing population demographics and newer technologies. With multifarious demands for corollary revenues and bottom lines, universities are being stretched beyond their limits. Increasingly, the ivory towers have lost their gleam and are under constant pressure to respond to a Net generation demanding employable credentials (Cote & Allahar, 2007). Many of these issues are not recent as we see scholars having raised the alarm bells even in the sixties (Coombs, 1985; Dore, 1997). The emerging technologies have begun to challenge our notion of relevant education in relation to pursuit of knowledge. The influence of technology in the way we learn and interact is undeniable. In the meantime, universities have become isolated islands distanced from their immediate communities. With the seeming disconnect that has plagued higher institutions of learning, traditional universities have begun to revisit the notion of production of knowledge for its own sake. This is especially true in Canada. // This paper explores selected studies within a given theoretical framework involving projects and initiatives at the institutional level. It highlights some of the challenges faced by such emerging technologies along with cultural, political, and economic realities that impinge upon community development.