Judging the Constructive Impacts of Communication Technologies: A Business Education Study

Through an IBM partnership, Acadia University has the benefit of an infrastructure that places a laptop computer in the hands of some 4000 faculty and students on campus. Coupled with anytime–anyplace campus access to the computer network, the setting offers unique opportunities to study the pedagogical impacts of the use of computers in classroom instruction.University business administration courses have routinely employed case study approaches in the delivery of some course content. The research described follows the use of an elaborate case study communications networking system being used in a business course on competitive intelligence. Though the technology collage allows for certain opportunities to promote quality instruction, not all aspects of technology use were found to be productive. This paper provides an analysis of the appropriateness of technology usage in the context of a single business education course.