Emerging Tech Challenges

  • 11/01/08

What keeps higher ed technology leaders up at night?

At Campus Technology's 2008 Executive Summit held in Boston this past summer (sponsored by CDW-G), moderator John Camp used audience polling from Turning Technologies to survey 50 IT leaders from diverse institutions and gauge the impact of emerging technologies on their campuses and on their evolving roles.

Who's Pushing New Technologies?. Response to the question "Who do you think is primarily pushing new technologies in higher education?" revealed students as the drivers (44%), but additional polling showed that IT leaders focus on wider institutional priorities even as they react to student expectation and demand.

Trendspotter

Challenges What are the challenges surrounding the deployment of emerging technologies? Participants suggested their own categories, and as a group ranked the following, among other criteria (right): • Impact of technology on learning (30%) • Helping people (faculty, etc.) change (23%) • Keeping up with change (15%) • Changing criteria for evaluating scholarly teaching and learning (5%)

Trendspotter

Additional Challenges In a ranking of "additional" challenges, participants singled out planning for innovation (48%) as the most significant challenge.

BOTTOM LINE: What were participants' "top challenges" overall? The following were worth heading into afternoon workgroup sessions for, according to the polls:

  • Driving IT toward institutional goals
  • Mass customization of learning
  • Planning for innovation
  • Impact of technology on learning

Trendspotter

Featured

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • digital network with glowing blue and red lines, featuring multiple red arrows shifting in different directions

    Report: Attackers Change Tactics as Ransomware Payoffs Decline

    Attackers are changing tactics as they collect less money from ransomware payoffs, according to a new report from Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm.

  • SXSW EDU

    Explore the Future of AI in Higher Ed at SXSW EDU 2025

    This March 3-6 in Austin, TX, the SXSW EDU Conference & Festival celebrates its 15th year of exploring education's most critical issues and providing a forum for creativity, innovation, and expression.

  • business leader standing confidently amid interconnected gears

    Leading Through Complexity: How Online Leaders Can Drive Digital Institutional Transformation

    Leaders charged with developing and expanding online programs at their institutions are finding themselves in increasingly complex roles, but there are a few core steps institutional leaders can take to ensure success.