Technology in Higher Education
Allen
Mooneyhan
Kamala Anandam. (1998). Integrating
Technology on Campus: Human
Sensibilities and Technical Possibilities. Jossey-bass Publishers.
Number 101. Spring.
The main focus in this book is the promotion of the use of
technology in higher education. The
specific chapters detail specific concerns in dealing with technology and the
people who will be using that technology. Chapter
one discusses the use of technology to reinvent the institution and deals with
enhancing access to course offerings and supporting faculty development of
technology. Chapter two discusses
reengineering higher education so that it can facilitate new innovative course
offerings that cannot fit into the traditional academic/administrative
structure. Chapter three discusses
a model for integrating technology on campuses.
Chapter four discusses strategies for investment in specific classes
which will yield the most results. Chapter
five discusses the humanizing of the integration of technology through faculty
support and ownership. Chapter six
discusses implementing a technology incrementally due to a lack of funding that
would provide revenue for an entire program.
Chapter seven discusses project SYNERGY which is a collaboration of
colleges dealing with the use of technology to help underprepared students.
Chapter eight discusses faculty
compensation and obligations in a new work world which includes technology.
Chapter nine discusses the implications of the educational efforts of
large corporations on the success of higher educational institutions.
Chapter ten is a call for action that will yield both technology and the
support and expertise of faculty to effectively use that technology.
Chapter eleven discusses means of identifying and implementing
technologies so that they are available in higher education.
Following is an outline of each of these eleven chapters.
Chapter 1 -- Technology
as a Catalyst for Reinventing an Institution
This chapter
discusses Sinclair Community College and its transformation from a one-room,
"lecture" evening school to a thriving, innovative community college.
Sinclair has responded
creatively by using technology to enhance access to its course offerings:
TV
Sinclair- Study program that offers
students an alternative to traditional classroom learning through videocassette,
audiocassette, and printed materials.
Electronic
College- Students use computers and
modems to interact with instructors.
LEARNing
Works- Lifelong Education And
Resource Network (Partnership of Sinclair Community College, Wright State
University, and Greater Dayton Public television).
The Center for
Interactive Learning (CIL)
Mission is to
build on programs for nontraditional course delivery already in place at
Sinclair through the use of technology.
Pilot projects
are funded with an internal fund of $200,000 per year for innovative pilot
projects.
Faculty Development
Sinclair has
summer workshops and tutoring and consulting throughout the year regarding
opportunity for faculty training in technology.
Phases the faculty
members progress through in transforming to student-centered learning:
Phase 1-
Personal Productivity
Phase 2-
Lecture Enhancement
Phase 3-
Interactivity (Students are actively engaged; teachers are facilitators)
Phase 4-
Student-Centered learning (Customer-driven; designed to meet the needs of
the student rather than those of the institution)
Examples of
Administrative Barriers:
Case 1-
Interdisciplinary teaching lead to questions of faculty compensation and
reporting of student enrollments.
Case 2-
Students often expect lecture
Case 3-
How do you charge the student and give credit for passing a portion of a
course (and mandatory attendance for financial aid)?
Case 4-
Will faculty be required to acquire skills and given the support needed?
Chapter 2 - Navigating
the Organizational Maze: Reengineering
to Advance the Technology Agenda
American Higher
education institutions are organized in traditional units established to achieve
specific goals.
· Academic affairs
· Student affairs
· Administrative affairs
With the advent
of technology integration the demarcation between units is no longer possible.
Traditional Information
Technology (IT) Structures
Computing
networking
Television
production
Distance
learning
Graphics
Printing
Portions of the
library
Electric
classrooms
Technology integration
in community colleges over 3 decades
The 1970s-
Filmstrips, 35-mm slides, overhead projectors
The 1980s-
Online library services, PC were beginning to be used by faculty.
The 1990s-
Information revolution on campus.
Students expect equipment, software and distance learning
The impact of Technology
on Institutions
Perception that
administrative areas receive more funds
Long-term
employees may not have necessary skills
loss of academic
freedom
Do we need
standardization
Each side puts
efforts on disproving the others credibility in managing technology.
Assessing Your
Institution's IT Organizational Structure:
Step 1: Assess
Institutional Readiness for Technology
Step 2:
Identify Technology Presence Within the College
Step 3:
Identify Technology Leadership
Step 4:
Articulate the College's Mission and Technology Goals
Step 5:
Evaluate Current Organizational Structure
Step 6:
Review the Source of Weakness
Step 7:
Determine Opportunities and Options for Change
Step 8:
Establish the Process for Change Within the College
Step 9:
Recommend a Plan of Action
Step 10:
Evaluate
The main point!
Technology
acquisition is easy; cultural and organizational shifts to make it successful
may not be as smooth.
Chapter 3 - Using
Technology to Transform the College
This chapter
presents a conceptual model for integrating technology, both high and low, in a
way that supports a transformation of teaching and learning.
The Technology Tower
The
Basement- Well-established
technologies and the infrastructure for their use
The First
Floor- Technology support for four
dimensions of learning:
Directed
instruction
Learning
by doing
Time-delayed
exchange
The
Second Floor- Enhancements to
teaching and learning practices
Adding
content
Creating
services and structures
Implementing
the Seven Principles of Good Practice
The Third
Floor- Large-scale structures of
education (campus-bound to campus-based)
Supporting the
Rebuilding of the Technology Tower
Staff and
Program Development
Coordination and
Collaboration
Better
Information for Decision-making
Five Questions:
Should the institution make it a general rule to invest only in
technologies that are likely to be stable over long periods of time as opposed
to newer technologies?
Should the institution invest in a large range of technologies or
specialize in certain ones?
Should the institution invest in technology to transform a few courses of
study?
Should the institution redirect some of its resources to improve
organizational structure and operational procedures to maintain the coherence of
academic programs?
Should the institution contribute its fair share to the networked
commons?
Chapter 4 -
Learner-centered Strategy for Investments in Technology in Community Colleges
Nearly 50% of
community college students enroll in only the top twenty-five courses.
An important
strategy is to use technology to make the 25 courses more accessible.
It is predicted
that higher education will follow the path already taken by health care, with a
major restructuring caused by escalating costs.
Commonly Used Technology
Investment Strategies
Build it and they will come
Reward the heart seekers
Let external funds drive our projects
What do we bring to the party
Everybody needs to be converted
Focus on the Geographically challenged student
The computer is the object
Go for the gold
Serve the Noble cause
Dont worry, I am in charge
Invest in the narrow and deep or the shallow and wide
Looking for the Biggest
Bang for the Buck
A Proliferation
of Courses
A Concentration
of Enrollments
Todays crisis
in higher education:
Access
Cost
Lack of
Flexibility
Innovations addressing
the problem of retention:
Design of a
learning plan for students to enable them to navigate through their curriculum
to attain their educational goals with greater access to the information they
need to succeed
Creation of more
flexible scheduling in services that enables these students of the information
age to break away from the scheduling of the agricultural age
Chapter 5 - Humanizing
the Integration of Technology
Technology
can improve learning by improving communication and individualization and by
enabling us, as teachers and learners, to hear more voices and reach new
listeners.
Our culture is
text-based and linear; the technology culture is icon-based and intuitive.
(It is really
hyperlink-based)
Flaws to the business
as usual approach:
There can never
be enough programmers and technicians to go around.
Faculty speak a
different language than programmers and technicians do.
When the tasks
of faculty and programmer are too differentiated, the finished product is often
not what the faculty member had in mind.
Faculty Involvement
Faculty
ownership and involvement is a way to humanize the integration of technology.
Instructional
Computing Services staffed with translators
Instructional
Technology Teaching/Learning Initiative
Instructional
Technology Advisory Committee
Faculty
Mentoring
Looking Toward the
Future
Academic and
advising interventions are being designed that can be delivered electronically
to improve outcomes for our most isolated learners.
The most
significant technological progress is made when faculty are empowered t use
technology themselves to drive initiatives and take the responsibility for
exemplary practices.
Chapter 6 - Planning
Comprehensively and Implementing Incrementally in an Age of Tightening Budgets
This chapter
discusses the adoption of technology in order to offer students, faculty, and
community greater access to education.
Savings on
Equipment
Savings on
Technical Support
The Future and Its
Demands
Short-term plans
Long-term plans
A multimedia
setup in the classroom on an occasional basis will be inadequate as more faculty
need such equipment daily.
Chapter 7 - Project
SYNERGY: An Enduring Collaboration
for a Common Cause
Collaborative
project
The right
players are the faculty.
The right reason
is the problem of underprepared college students.
Project Synergy
occurred at the right time based on its successful record.
Faculty Development
Software
Review
Faculty
drew up comprehensive list of objectives.
Existing
software identified and reviewed.
Question
Writing- Faculty wrote test
questions to match objectives.
Software
Implementation Model- Systemic, 5-step structure for technology integration:
Awareness
Analysis
Accommodation
Assimilation
Adoption
Human Encounters with
Technology Stages:
Perceived
Intrusion (No Thanks!)
Reluctant
Co-existence (Oh well, as long as no interference)
Sporadic
Excitement (When I find time, I like it)
Enlightened
Engagement (Ah, This is Great!)
Conscious
Commitment (I dont know how I can live without it)
Chapter 8 - Faculty
Compensation and Obligation: The
Necessity of a New Approach Triggered by Technology Integration
Faculty Compensation
Direct Methods
Stipends
Assigned time
Indirect Methods
Awards and
recognition
Staff
development
Awards should NOT be
used for compensation
Faculty Obligations
Two Sources:
What the
institution expects of faculty
What the
faculty expect from themselves
How expectations are
communicated:
Job
description or announcement
Administrative
communications
Evaluations
Faculty
contract or handbook
Institutional
Culture
Faculty should assume
the following obligations:
Subject
matter expert
Courseware
designer
Instructional
resource manager
Learning
systems manager
Staff
systems manager
Staff
developer
Teacher
New Approaches to
Faculty Assignments and Compensation
Questions to be
answered:
What is
the number of instructional units in a full-time assignment?
What
other duties are part of the base assignment?
Is
greater load credit warranted if the subject matter is particularly challenging?
How
should extra effort of the group leader be recognized?
How
should the number of sites be treated?
How
should email and chat time be considered?
Institutional
Obligations
Tools and
maintenance
Support
personnel and related resources
Training
and retraining
Assigned
time and stipends
Clear
expectations
Trust
Chapter 9 - What Are
Community Colleges to Do When Disney and Microsoft Enter the Higher Education
and Training Market?
Someone will
find ways to deliver the needed education and training in more effective,
efficient, and student-centered ways.
Higher Education
cannot compete (technologically) with Microsoft.
Institutional Scenarios
Research
Universities
Liberal Arts
Colleges
Regional and
Nonselective Colleges and Universities
Community
Colleges
The community
college niche is the community college as the learning college.
Chapter 10 - A Call for
Action
Take
sufficient time and involve faculty, staff, and students to create a vision for
the future
Conceptualize
the bigger picture and seize every opportunity to paint a piece of it.
Focus on
the top twenty-five enrollment courses.
Provide
ongoing faculty and staff development.
Facilitate
institutionwide plan to review and enhance curriculum programs with technology
Contribute
your institutions fair share to the common bank of intellectual resources.
Chapter 11 - Sources and
Information: Identifying and
Implementing Technologies for Higher Education
Planning for
Implementation: Considering
Organizational Culture
Reacting to
technological change
Maintaining
mission
Constructing the
campus
Changing
organizational structures: creating the learning college
Planning
strategically
Implementing Technology
Introducing
the Internet
Managing
resources
Assessing
effectiveness
Developing
personnel
Orienting
students to computers
computerizing
administrative systems and services
Measuring
the quality of technological support services