Technology does not drive change per se. Instead, it merely creates new options and opportunities for change. It is our collective response to technologies that drives change.

Peter Carino (1998), in "Computers in the Writing Center: A Cautionary History," poses a twofold challenge to writing center staff: (a) to develop pedagogy to respond to the changes that technology generates, and (b) to take an active stance as computing technologies emerge and take stronger and stronger roles in shaping our institutions. Two of the changes that computer technology has pushed to the forefront are, first, our understanding of how text has evolved (and is evolving from traditional paper texts to media-rich hypertexts), and, second, our understanding of how research and writing are complicated by the texts that exist within new electronic realms. Students are now expected not only to research online, but also to publish hypertext. Writing center theory and practice must likewise evolve so we can situate ourselves as crucial stakeholders, working toward a more complex and critical use of computing technologies and computer-related literacies.