Computer-assisted teaching and learning in accounting: pedagogy or product?

Abstract The availability of cost-effective computer technologies is a dynamic that has the potential to dramatically change university accounting education. There are various motivations for university accounting departments to adopt computers and computer-assisted learning technologies, and a range of applications are available. The application of computer technologies has implications for student performance, efficiency and effectiveness within accounting departments, and course content—all of which should be considered. The possibilities for generating broad accounting education reform with computers are also significant. Computer technology should not be seen as a passive addition to the classroom. If driven by the desire to economise on the inputs to the educational process, or to expand the conventional content of accounting courses, such technology may have dysfunctional consequences. This paper examines the role of computer technologies in accounting education, the motivation for their introduction and use, and the impact they may have on the contemporary education of accounting students.

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