Discussions of technology strategy and planning for new media at colleges and universities are informed by many factors of higher education culture and the way its core constituents--faculty and students--work and learn. One rapidly evolving area is online assessment, whether for fully online programs or for blended learning environments. Here, learning designer Judith Boettcher examines online assessment strategies beyond the traditional end-of-term paper.
Information technology has two faces: control and freedom. Egypt showed us the power of free exchange of communication (the IT face of freedom). How can higher education, dedicated to the free exchange of ideas, not fully embrace this most extraordinary medium?
The decade we have just closed out seemed to be a decade of continuous definition and redefinition of the distance between where we are and where we need to be in our education system... Throughout this exhaustive (and exhausting) period, our ability to accept the change we have clearly identified as critical for our future has not transitioned to adequate action...
As the electronic portfolio becomes a more critical element in teaching and learning at higher education institutions as well as a key tool in an era of digital knowledge generation, a new field of scholarship is emerging around the study of ePortfolio practice--complete with its first scholarly journal, IJeP.
eProcurement systems are designed to streamline purchasing processes, eliminate paperwork, and make it easy for end users to get the best values through spending on-contract. Yet the relative success of eProcurement at any institution often depends on how the procurement department works not only with the technology, but also with the end users in academic departments, in research programs, or elsewhere in the university or system.
An overly simplistic view of teaching and learning as classroom-centric, "delivered" education may have resulted, in the past, in an overly simplistic view of eLearning as well. But now, there is a shift from classroom-centric thinking to a more holistic, multi-dimensional viewpoint and a greater emphasis on experiential learning.
The game has changed in higher education network security--the proliferation of embedded devices from gaming consoles to kiosks, the skyrocketing adoption of social media, as well as a slew of other evolving technologies are forcing higher education institutions to 'step it up' when it comes to safeguarding the network. In 2011 we'll see even more threats, and in new environments.
Blackboard's product strategy has moved from that of a course management platform to a suite of integrated, enterprise systems that span a range of institution-wide services from communications to e-commerce. And Blackboard leadership--including Blackboard Learn President Ray Henderson--has placed a new emphasis on client support and openness. Trent Batson spoke with Henderson about the company's new direction.
A look around any college campus is all the evidence you need to predict the future of learning.
What does it mean to be literate in the digital realm? Susan Metros, University of Southern California CIO, reminds us that literacy isn't just about reading and writing anymore: "Now, it's much broader. It's about understanding information and technology, being able to communicate digitally and visually, and having the critical thinking skills to make valid, credible, and ethical choices and decisions."
