Technology: The New Liberal Arts?

In the late 80’s while visiting colleges, I was told that a liberal arts education is valuable because it teaches us how to preserve and learn from the past, promote prosperity in the present, and prepare for the future. 

In the 21^st century, it is impossible to think about preserving the past, prospering in the present and preparing for the future without the use of technology.

 For approximately 50 years, computer science/information technology was a discipline of its own.  Only those schooled in the field were able to understand, program, design and repair computers and networks. The public knew little about how computers worked and what they were capable of doing. 

Suddenly, in the late 80s/early 90s, the veil was lifted when personal computers became widely available and the internet was introduced to the public. The mystery of the computer began to unravel and this unraveling empowered people (with an interest in technology) to incorporate technology related solutions into their disciplines, careers and work processes. 

Filled with an entrepreneurial spirit, groups of informally, technologically skilled people emerged. These people found innovative ways to use technology within their disciplines as a teaching, learning and process development tool.

Today, these uses have permeated every field of study. The undeniable truth is technology can no longer be classified as a separate skill set…it is a vital and unique component of every discipline.  

The New Liberal Arts

 In trying to clarify my thoughts….I did some research and found an interesting article entitled The New Liberal Arts.  Ironically, this article appeared in the June 24, 2008 issue of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and was written by Ted Roberts, IBM service delivery/senior location executive for Pittsburgh.

In this article, Roberts discusses technology and the global society. He talks about the work IBM is doing with Carnegie Mellon University to cultivate student technology skills and he uses the term hybrid-technology jobs. I find this term interesting because I believe that the groups of informally technologically skilled people, I mentioned above, are the founders of the hybrid-technology jobs that are emerging today.  However, what interests me most about the article is what Roberts says about IT and the liberal arts:

Excerpt from: The New Liberal Arts -Roberts.

……However, due to the larger trends of globalization, it is clear that the nature of technology jobs is changing. New "hybrid technology" jobs -- which are rooted in fields such as biology, engineering, health care, finance or mechanics but require technical proficiency -- are gaining mainstream popularity.

Meteorologists, biologists, accountants, physicians or even psychologists who understand how computer systems work and know how to make sense of the data are shooting to the top of their professions. In three to five years, these hybrid jobs will be at the epicenter of innovation and business. Increasingly, our young people will earn their paychecks as environmental engineers, urban architects and information analysts using technology to make a real difference in the world in which they live.

If success in the 21st century is being defined by collaborative training that combines computer science/engineering skills with social sciences, languages, psychology and other disciplines, then IT is emerging as the "new" liberal arts.

Just as traditional liberal arts education includes the study of theology, art, literature, languages, philosophy, history, mathematics and science, the new world view of Information Technology is evolving to include interdisciplinary skill sets.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08176/892059-28.stm#ixzz0YNJokoSW

 Information Technology requires us to think in new ways, to ask questions, to find answers, to create, collaborate and share in the same ways that the liberal arts core does. Information Technology binds our intellectual efforts together, aids in the creation and delivery of new thought, and enables immediate action (real world implementation and change).

I am not suggesting that we abolish the traditional liberal arts but I do believe that we should consider blending innovative and purposeful technology courses into the core. 

I believe we must abandon the idea of technology as a separate discipline, a means to an end, or just another tool and begin to think of it as a vital skill set rooted in every discipline and essential to a student’s success in the 21^st Century.