Campus Technology Insider Podcast
The Campus Technology Insider podcast explores current trends and issues impacting technology leaders in higher education. Listen in as Editor in Chief Rhea Kelly chats with ed tech experts and practitioners about their work, ideas and experiences.
Listen below or find us on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify or Stitcher.
It's one thing to talk about innovation, but another thing to actually make it happen. Driving actual change is all about timing — having the right idea at the right moment, according to Phil Komarny, chief innovation officer at an institution known for innovation: Maryville University. And that moment is now: Komarny sees COVID as a catalyst for utilizing data to revolutionize higher education and the student experience. Here, we talk about the potential of verifiable credentials, why graduation should not be the end of a student's learning journey, helping students make the most of their own data, and more.
Resource links:
Music: Mixkit
Duration: 34 minutes
Transcript
What would a learning management system centered on culture and community look like? The United Negro College Fund hopes to answer that question with HBCUv, a new learning platform that aims to reshape the future of online education for historically Black colleges and universities. The organization has partnered with consultancy Deloitte Digital on the project, with the goal of providing best-in-class remote learning, community engagement and career pathways to students seeking an HBCU education. We spoke with Ed Smith-Lewis, VP of strategic partnerships and institutional programs at UNCF, and Nathan Young, head of strategy for Ethos at Deloitte Digital, about bringing the HBCU experience to an online environment, the defining characteristics of HBCUv and the equity-centered design process behind their work.
Resource links:
Music: Mixkit
Duration: 37 minutes
Transcript
Southern New Hampshire University is well known for innovation in online learning, so it may surprise you to learn that prior to the pandemic, the institution had less than 100 employees working remotely, and had only just begun building out its remote work policies. Employee culture was largely reliant on working in a face-to-face environment. But in March 2020, the abrupt shift to fully remote work required a new approach to employee engagement. We spoke with Jennifer LaFountain, director of employee experience at SNHU, about how the institution is developing a culture that allows employees to feel connected no matter where they are located.
Resource links:
Music: Mixkit
Duration: 34 minutes
Transcript
Northampton Community College in Pennsylvania recently won an Instructional Technology Council award for excellence in e-learning, recognizing its Smart Apartment Learning Lab: a combination escape room and technology sandbox in which students can learn about the tech we take for granted in our everyday lives. Picture a homey space in which the walls literally have eyes — or rather cameras and other sensors, integrated into seemingly innocuous objects like picture frames, the refrigerator or even a robotic cat. We spoke with Beth Ritter-Guth, associate dean of online learning and educational technology at the college, to find out how the Learning Lab is engaging students, building digital literacy and providing valuable training in the job skills of the future.
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Music: Mixkit
Duration: 30 minutes
Transcript
One of the takeaways from this year's Educause Horizon Report is that there's likely no such thing as a return to normal: Many of the changes that higher education has undergone over the past couple of years are here to stay. At the same time, the trends, technologies and practices impacting teaching and learning have developed more depth, more nuance. For example, while hybrid learning was addressed broadly in last year's report, this year the report drilled down into important facets such as hybrid learning spaces and professional development for hybrid teaching. To delve into the details of what's on the horizon for higher ed in 2022, we spoke with Kathe Pelletier, director of Educause's Teaching and Learning Program and co-author of the report.
Resource links:
Music: Mixkit
Duration: 39 minutes
Transcript
These days, we hear a lot about the "new normal" in higher education. Remote and hybrid learning is here to stay, offering students more flexibility in their learning journeys. But what if the new normal is not enough? It's time to go beyond the new normal and consider the "new possible" — how to put together the best of face-to-face, online and hybrid to create powerful learning experiences based on a deep understanding of the whole student. We spoke to Mark Milliron, senior vice president of Western Governors University and executive dean of the Teachers College, and Kim Round, academic programs director and associate dean of the Teachers College, about their vision for reimagining education and why learning experience design is essential to student success.
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Music: Mixkit
Duration: 36 minutes
Transcript
Digital transformation is not just about implementing new technologies — it's also about people and the ability to embrace change. In fact, you might say that's the hardest part: Culture is often cited as one of the biggest barriers to digital transformation in higher ed. In February, our Campus Technology Leadership Summit tackled that very topic with a wonderful panel discussion on building innovation into the culture of a university. We spoke with Christine Whitney Sanchez, chief culture officer for the University Technology Office at Arizona State University, and Chris Dellarocas, associate provost of Digital Learning & Innovation at Boston University, about how they are working to transform institutional culture, incubate new ideas, support collaboration and experimentation, and more. Here's that conversation.
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Music: Mixkit
Duration: 44 minutes
Transcript
At Ohio State University, students developed a list of 10 ways that instructors can use the learning management system more effectively — common-sense guidelines that aim to make courses more consistent, predictable, easier to navigate and generally more student-friendly. We spoke with Sam Craighead, associate director of professional learning in Ohio State's Office of Technology and Digital Innovation, about understanding the student perspective, supporting faculty with research-based practices, and the impact of instructional design on student success.
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Music: Mixkit
Duration: 31 minutes
Transcript
The pandemic has been a testament to the progress that has been made in the use of technology to support online learning, but it has also revealed how poorly traditional course design translates to a digital experience. And that's an opportunity for institutions to become more sophisticated in leveraging digital learning environments to go beyond what's possible in a brick-and-mortar classroom. That's according to Luyen Chou, chief learning officer at 2U. Here, we talk about transforming online pedagogy, the potential of emerging technologies, the beauty of simple data, essential human skills and more.
Resource links:
Music: Mixkit
Duration: 34 minutes
Transcript
Back in November, Campus Technology hosted a virtual summit about innovation in IT: all of the ways higher education technology leaders have embraced agility and flexibility in challenging times. A highlight of the event was a panel discussion on digital transformation, and how the pandemic has accelerated digital efforts on campus. Our panelists were: Marina Aminy, dean of Online Education and Learning Resources at Saddleback College; Michael Berman, chief information officer at California State University; Shawna Dark, chief academic technology officer and executive director for Research, Teaching, and Learning at the University of California, Berkeley; and Jessica Phillips, interim director of Learning Programs and Digital Flagship at The Ohio State University. They talked about their digital transformation priorities, the need for a student-centric approach, issues of equity and access, pedagogical challenges, and more. Here's that conversation.
Resource links:
Music: Mixkit
Duration: 45 minutes
Transcript
