The times they are A-changin'.

Abstract

Higher education changed relatively little between the middle ages and the end of the 20th century. Medieval professors stood in front of groups of students and lectured while students listened and took notes . . . and for much of my career, I stood in front of students and lectured while they listened and took notes. However, all of this is changing because of technology, and higher education will never be the same. In short, we have had a long history of bringing students to knowledge (in classrooms, libraries, and lecture halls). Increasingly, however, we will be expected to bring knowledge to students. This knowledge, packaged in palatable, engaging, and easily digestible modules, will be consumed in students’ homes, in parks and cafes, and on beaches, and our students will master the material at their own pace. If they need a mentor, they will likely turn to online resources rather than come to us. Despite its long history, the “sage on a stage” model of higher education has never been an especially effective way to train either undergraduate or graduate students. Clinical skills are better taught by “a guide by the side,” and psychologists appreciate the power of modeling more than most professionals. However, this guide does not have to be a professor, and he or she does not need to be in the same room – or even the same country – as the student. Few of us fully appreciate the profound changes that are occurring throughout the world. For example, in 2002 there was a seismic shift in knowledge and a tipping point was reached. In that year, for the first time, “the worldwide digital storage capacity overtook total analog capacity” (University of Southern California, 2011). The ready and ubiquitous availability of digital information on iPhones, iPads, and laptop computers is changing every aspect of our lives – including education. I have been affected personally by this remarkable revolution in information technology. In 2005, I became editor of PsycCRITIQUES, the online continuation of the paper journal Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books. Bob Sternberg was the last editor of the paper journal, and the lineage of editors included Gardner Lindzey and Janet Taylor Spence and stretched back to E. G. Boring (who founded the journal in 1956). Initially I was disappointed that the paper journal was being discontinued. Like others of my generation, there was a certain comfort in holding information, and I wanted to have the journal in my briefcase, if not in my hands. A web page seemed like a pallid and inadequate substitute. My disappointment dissipated as soon as I realized that readers could hyperlink from references to primary sources, jumping in seconds to resources that would have taken them hours or days to CONTENTS