Different Learning Tasks
Beliefs about learning processes influence how we approach teaching and learning. There is a specific relationship between learning goals (what you want to achieve) and learning strategies (how you go about achieving it). We make these choices depending on experience and knowledge about what works best, as well as on our perspective on learning.

Rather than attempt to match new learning technologies with the scope of learning goals and strategies, we present some examples that illustrate general principles for exploring the possibilities and drawbacks of new technology.

Learning is never just one discrete activity or process; like any other aspect of human activity it is multifaceted and complex. However, for the sake of discussion, we identify three common elements of learning: finding information, integrating knowledge and developing skills. Using these elements, we can examine how they are supported by learning technologies, old or new, and how that compares with other approaches such as face to face interaction.

Finding Information
In formal education, lectures, presentations or readings provide information and concepts. Libraries provide systematically organized information resources, and learners can also gather information from knowledgeable people in the community. In nonformal education, learners often work cooperatively to gather and share information and apply it to a particular context.

One of the oldest educational technologies, print, is a very good medium for presenting information because it is stable, provides a structure that allows for reference and review, and allows users to process information at their own pace.

These attributes can be used as a benchmark to examine other learning technologies. Audio or videotape allows users to review segments, but not as readily as print does. The more ephemeral technologies, such as radio, video, audioconferencing and videoconferencing, do not allow for reference and review, or permit learners to process input at their own pace.

Computer conferencing allows users to capture, download and print information and use it as they would other print materials. This medium can also be used to share responses to the material, and thus contribute to the further development of information with learners as active participants rather than passive recipients.

The capability of computer conferencing for shared learner contributions is an advantage over print, especially in distance education situations. Achieving the same goals through print would require developing and sharing print materials-easy enough in a classroom setting but requiring the use of mail or fax distribution systems to accomplish at a distance at the loss of the immediacy of response.

On the other hand, transmitting large quantities of information via computer mail requires considerable time to download and print, making it much simpler to provide the material in print in the first place.

The World Wide Web may provide learners with an opportunity to explore a much broader range of information than would be possible to provide in printed textbooks, but it may not necessarily provide the depth of information that can be presented in a large and coherent printed work. Unless there is a framework for selecting information and judging its relevance and accuracy, learners could feel bombarded with information when exploring the Web and be too distracted to focus on the important elements they want to know.