ICTs and the Education of Design Professionals

New information and communication technologies (ICTs) have dramatically altered the landscape of education at all levels. The present article explores how such technologies are integrated into the classroom environment and also their influences, especially on post-secondary faculty development. This paper makes a case for the full implementation of ICT in university programs for the education of professionals, typically architects and civil engineers -- those who are learning to design in the marketplace of the future. The evidence that the potential influence of these technologies is more positive than negative is overwhelming if instructional strategies and techniques are adapted to the new technologies rather than the new technologies merely being grafted onto old methods. Discussion of the cultural and theoretical dimensions of using ICTs for professional education with a brief consideration of the effects of ICTs on faculty collegiality will be explored. The author concludes that whatever their limitations and difficulties, ICTs should be implemented integrally and extensively in the future education of design professionals.