5 Higher Education Technology Trends To Watch in 2011

Three higher ed tech experts discuss technology trends for the year ahead, citing increased mobile and wireless access and cloud computing among them. But are campuses also in for a little bit of a return to the "basics" in the coming year?

Technology that was unimaginable a decade or so ago is common place on today's campuses. In 2010 American colleges and universities responded to the ever-advancing IT requirements of their students and faculty with mobile pilot programs, investments in online learning, massive network overhauls, and initiatives designed to offset some of the increases in energy use brought on by all these new technologies, among other novel programs.

What will 2011 bring? We've compiled their top 5 responses here.


1. The Cloud Computing Movement Will Continue.

Investing in purchase-and-install software is falling by the wayside as institutions catch onto the value of using "cloud" applications that are housed (and accessed) online. Not only are these options more affordable and easier to implement, but they also include vast storage capacity that can be used for, say, portfolio assessments. "Using cloud computing, schools can create large collections of loosely-sorted data (such as school records, written documents and even video recordings)," said Bob Spielvogel, CTO at EDC, a Newton, MA-based nonprofit that creates programs to address educational challenges, "and then utilize that information to track project activity and conduct portfolio assessments across the student's entire college career." With these and other uses gaining ground in the higher education space, expect cloud computing's popularity to grow in 2011.

2. More Work Will Be Done Without Wires.

Being tethered to an outlet or Ethernet connection is so passé for college students, teachers, and administrators. With more and more of these individuals using mobile devices to connect to the Internet, the wireless wave is sure to grow in 2011.

"We're seeing a continued migration towards tablets and other mobile computers beyond just the Ipad," said Spielvogel. "As more technology vendors introduce lower-cost devices, and as these types of computers become more economically feasible, we'll see even more WiFi introduced to support their use."

3. Mobile Technologies Will Continue to Proliferate in the Classroom.

There's no doubt that students have become more mobile in terms of the technology they're using, and colleges seem determined to keep up with that trend. David Stoloff, a professor in Eastern Connecticut State University's education department, said the Willimantic, CT school has embraced the notion of "laptops and mobile devices in class" to the point where it's implemented interactive portfolio assessment technology to help maximize the trend.

"We're not quite at the point of every student using a laptop in class, but we're definitely getting there," said Stoloff, who added he expects the mobile trend to take an even stronger hold on higher education in 2011. "It provides a great way to supplement classroom instruction in a productive manner."

4. Online Education will even Further Displace Seat Time.

Stoloff, who attended the most recent Sloan-C Conference on Online Learning, said 2011 will find more colleges integrating online learning into their curriculums as core offerings, and not just adjuncts to classroom learning.

"New high school graduates have less and less patience for sitting and listening to long lectures in college," Stoloff said. "They want to be more active, and that means getting their hands on computers."

Looking out even further, Stoloff painted a future picture where colleges are less focused on "seat time" and more on validating learning regardless of where it takes place (be it overseas, in the community, or in a traditional classroom). "Engagement will become the central issue for education in the future," said Stoloff, "and learning won't necessarily be defined by how much 'seat time' a student has put in."

5. A Retreat from Technology Overload is Imminent.

As the Master of Arts in Teaching and Technology program director for the Marlboro College Graduate School in Marlboro, VT, Caleb Clark uses blended learning, e-portfolios, WordPress, and other Web media tools in the classroom. And while he doesn't dispute the value of these and the multitude of other technology innovations being used in higher education right now, he does expect a slight pullback on the technology hype in 2011 as people get back to basic communications and human interactions (outside of Facebook and Twitter).

"We're in an over-adoption stage right now," said Clark. "To get through it, we're going to need to get students to close their laptops and get back in touch with the other side of their desks--the one that doesn't face their computers."

Online Education: The impact of Budgets and Leadership Changes

The vast majority of online program managers claimed in a recent survey that faculty resistance is a significant hindrance to the expansion of their online education programs.

Forty-four percent of colleges and universities in the United States have restructured their online education programs in the last two years. And, according to new research, 59 percent will restructure them in the coming two years.

What's more, the research found that of organizations that have already restructured, 30 percent expect to do so again within the next two years.

The findings were part of a report on higher ed distance learning, called "Managing Online Education Programs: The 2010 WCET-Campus Computing Project Survey, conducted by the Campus Computing Project and the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET). If the report will be released in its full form in December. Findings from the research are being presented Friday at the 2010 WCET Conference in La Jolla, CA.

For the report, researchers interviewed representatives from 183 institutions, including 68 public community colleges and 37 universities, among others. Those surveyed were senior campus leaders responsible for managing online programs.


Leadership and Budgets: Factors for Restructuring
So what's driving so much restructuring? Participants cited several factors, though changes in leadership at various levels seemed to be the dominant theme.

Thirty-five percent cited changes in institutional leadership; 29 percent cited changes in senior program managers; and 27 percent cited centralizing management of online education.

But these weren't the only factors driving change.

Most (59 percent) cited budget issues, while 38 percent also cited coordination of instructional resources as factors.

And just who is currently leading operations for online programs? According to the researchers:

• CIOs: 42 percent
• Provosts: 19 percent
• Vice presidents and deans or continuing education: 18 percent
• Associate and assistant vice presidents: 15 percent
• Other institutional officers: 4 percent
• Presidents: 1 percent

Profitability, Growth, and Faculty Resistance
These leaders said for the most part that their online programs are profitable (44 percent) or operating at a break-even level (9 percent).

But the vast majority of survey participants (73 percent) said the believe strongly that faculty resistance to teaching online is hindering further expansion of online education programs.

It should be noted, however, that a full 45 percent did not know whether their programs were profitable or not. And only 1 percent said their programs were operating at a loss. And despite purported resistance, 91 percent said enrollments in their online programs has increased over the last three years, with more than half (52 percent) saying those enrollments have increased by at least 16 percent. And 96 percent said they expect continued growth over the next three years.

For those faculty members who do teach online, according to the survey, 51 percent of institutions require training, with the average training taking 22 hours.

"The survey data highlight a key difference between on-campus and online courses," says Kenneth C. Green, founding director of the Campus Computing Project, in a statement released to coincide with the report. "In contrast to their peers in traditional classrooms, both part-time and full-time faculty who teach online courses often must complete significant, specialized training."

"Mandatory training for faculty who teach online courses reflects an institutional awareness that the online environment is different," says Ellen Wagner, executive director of WCET, also in a prepared statement. "The all-too-common--and unfortunate--practice of hiring part-timers and handing them a syllabus, textbook, campus map, and parking pass will not suffice for faculty who teach online courses."

Some other significant findings from the report included:

• Many (17 percent) reported "no institutional policy or procedure for ADA compliance" for their online programs, while 34 percent said responsibility for ADA compliance resides with individual faculty members and 24 percent with academic departments;
• Of those who said they expect growth in the next few years, 30 percent said they expect that growth to to be in the 16 percent to 20 percent range, while 13 percent said they expect growth greater than 20 percent;
• 16 percent of campuses reported they provide tech support to students enrolled in online programs during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.); 20 percent provide extended evening tech support; 32 percent provide it during both evenings and weekends; and 33 percent offer tech support all day every day.

Edvance Software System (ESS) launches version 3.0

Montreal, Quebec, Canada. - The latest version of the Edvance School Management System features a new design, integrated gradebook and course planner modules, interactive seating plan, streamlined admissions, editing on the spot, and enhanced search capabilities. These new features help teachers save time and allow them to efficiently share information with administrators, students, and parents contributing to a more connected environment.

"With 3.0 we deliver a robust, relevant and easy to use software that allows teachers to focus primarily on their roles as mentors." said Michael Bush, Edvance President. "V3.0 is a noteworthy step forward for Edvance because not only does it bridge the gap between educators and technology, it also firmly supports our mission to advance the art of education."


Key enhancements of Edvance 3.0 include the following:

Integrated Functionality: Previously separated modules and their functionalities have been merged into centralized views thereby increasing the overall efficiency of the system and enhancing the user experience.

Editing on the Spot: Authorized users can update records by clicking on any editable area of their choice. A 'save' or 'cancel' icon will appear, as needed, in that location.

Improved Search: Users can find the profile of any student in the school by entering a part or all of the student's first or last name. Users can also search by class, level, or teacher.

Seating Plan: This new module allows teachers to see their students before the first day of classes. They can start outlining a seating plan by dragging and dropping student pictures into a virtual classroom.

Bar Code Technology: Administrators have the option of scanning a student's ID bar code to record lates and absences. Personalized 'admit-to-class' notes can also be printed automatically.

Real-time Updates: When entering marks, a teacher can view how a change to a particular grade will affect the entire class set thereby allowing for more efficient interactions and fewer clicks.

Modern Site Design: An entirely new look with a simple and beautiful layout allows users to quickly find content and view more information per page. Schools can continue to use their own logos, colors, fonts, and styles.

Edvance Investing in Cutting Edge Technologies

With the changing dynamics of information technology, creating adaptive learning communities through online interactions is now possible. Edvance's launch of School Management System 3.0 reflects an important commitment to invest in modern technologies to help advance the art of education. 'We believe the education sector can benefit immensely from advances in technology' said Michael Bush, Edvance President. 'The future of educational software should remain in the hands of educators, and we're going to keep working on new and innovative ways to give them this opportunity.'

About the Edvance Software System

Designed by educators for educators, Edvance builds web-based management software for schools. Administrators, teachers, students, and parents exchange information securely online. Users oversee the admissions process, build profiles, create workloads and schedules, plan courses, generate reports, and evaluate student competencies across various curriculums. Through Family Homepages, parents are informed about events via a message center and they can schedule parent-teacher interviews. Edvance offers a unique Developer License that enables schools to build custom solutions to meet their individual needs. For more information, visit www.edvancesoftware.com.

Contact Information:
Carolina Hernández
Marketing and Sales
chernandez@edvancesoftware.com
4500 Grand Boulevard, Suite 9
Montreal, Quebec, H4B 2X9
514-807-7583

The Landscape of Information Technology in Higher Education in Brazil and Latin America

Perhaps unfamiliar with South American geography, history, and culture, may find it strange that this article title makes a distinction between Brazil and other countries on this continent of the Southern Hemisphere. But the fact is that Brazilians, whose national territory covers almost half of the continent and whose population of 180 million inhabitants represents about half of the regions population, do not consider themselves to be Latin Americans. Not only does the Portuguese language separate Brazil from its Spanish-speaking neighbors (and from those few countries where French, Dutch, and English are the principal languages), but so also do the Amazon Forest and the Andes Mountains. More important, during the last five hundred years, Brazil has turned its back to its neighbors and has looked to Europe for most of its cultural, scientific, economic, and legal models, only more recently following influences from North America as well in these areas. 

It would be a mistake, however, to assume that Brazil is in any way a carbon copy of Europe or North America. In the use of information technology, for example, the country sets its own standards. Ninety-eight percent of income tax declarations in Brazil are filed through the Internet, and two-thirds of the population in this still-developing country possess prepaid cellular telephones. The exchange of information among Brazilian and other Latin American institutions of higher learning is, in general, highly sporadic, with the results rarely disseminated widely.

In 2003, investigators at the School of the Future, an interdisciplinary research laboratory of the University of So Paulo (USP), Brazils largest public research-oriented university, became aware of the Campus Computing Project, an annual survey of how colleges and universities in the United States use information technology. Begun in 1990 and directed by Kenneth C. Green, visiting scholar at the Claremont Graduate University, the Campus Computing Project (http://www.campuscomputing.net/) offers an important view of hardware, software, and policy choices and plans made by those responsible for information technology in the institutions responding to the annual questionnaire.

Green kindly permitted the USP team to model its own questionnaire after his and to use his data for comparative purposes. Assuming that those in charge of information technology would be able to respond to questions through the Web, and as a measure of reducing mailing and digitizing costs, the USP team used online communication in 2004 and 2005, the first two years of the study, both to deliver the invitation-to-participate to institutions and to receive the responses on the study site.¹ In 2004, the scope was limited to Brazil. Thanks to sponsorship by SunGard Higher Education, Adobe, Macromedia, Intel, and Microsoft, in 2005 it was enlarged to include other countries of the region: all countries from Mexico to the southernmost tip of South America (the Caribbean region was left for inclusion in a forthcoming iteration).

The following data is based on a selection of the responses to the more than sixty questions asked in the 2005 pilot project. With only a limited number of respondents (although we have great expectations for the future), the data presentation below avoids a comparison based on numerical values and instead uses qualitative categories that indicate tendencies. These categories range from Very Negative (0-20%), Negative (21-40%), and Medium (41-60%) to Positive (61-80%) and Very Positive (81-100%) in the three academic communities studied (Br = Brazil; LA = Latin America; USA = United States). The U.S. data is extracted from Campus Computing Report 2005.²

Policy

1. What is the degree of importance that your institution gives to concerns, for the next two to three years, regarding network security?

Br: Very Positive; LA: Very Positive; USA: Very Positive

2. Does your institution have in place a strategic plan for network security?

Br: Medium; LA: Positive; USA: Positive

3. Is your institution preparing a strategic plan for network security?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Negative

4. Does your institution already have in place a strategic plan for IT disaster recovery?

Br: Medium; LA: Medium; USA: Medium

5. Is your institution preparing a strategic plan for IT disaster recovery?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Negative

6. Are academic and administrative information technology managed together in the same unit?

Br: Negative; LA: Very Negative; USA: Positive

7. Has there been a reorganization of IT management on your campus in the last two years?

Br: Medium; LA: Positive; USA: Negative

8. Does your institution have a CIO or CTO?

Br: Negative; LA: Medium; USA: Very Positive

9. Does your institution have a formal policy for distance learning?

Br: Negative; LA: Very Positive; USA: Negative

10. Does your institution recommend or support the use of Linux?

Br: Positive; LA: Medium; USA: Positive

11. Does your institution recommend the use of PDAs or portable computers in specific courses or academic programs?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Very Negative

12. Does your institution have a formal program to evaluate the impact of information technology on the results of teaching and learning?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Negative

13. Does your institution charge students for access to digital online content?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Very Negative; USA: Very Negative

14. Does your institution have a strategic plan for electronic commerce?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Very Negative; USA: Negative

15. Has your institution established a single product standard for desktop/notebook operating systems?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Negative

16. Does your institution have a policy for dealing with electronic garbage?

Br: Very Positive; LA: Very Positive; USA: Very Positive

17. Do you believe that open-source software represents an important and viable alternative for ERP applications on your campus?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Negative

18. Do you believe that open-source software will have an increasingly important role in the IT strategy of your campus?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Medium

Infrastructure

1. Does your campus offer dial-up online services to students and faculty?

Br: Without a fee: for students—Very Negative; for faculty—Very Negative

For a fee: for students—Very Negative; for faculty—Very Negative

LA: Without a fee: for students—Negative; for faculty—Medium

For a fee: for students—Very Negative; for faculty: Very Negative

USA: Without a fee: for students—Negative; for faculty—Medium

For a fee: for students—Very Negative; for faculty—Very Negative

2. Does your institution offer wireless support to faculty and students in local areas on the campus?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Very Positive

3. Does your institution offer wireless support to faculty and students on the entire campus?

Br: Negative; LA: Negative; USA: Negative

4. Are there fiber-optic connections between the buildings on your campus?

Br: Medium; LA: Positive; USA: Information not available

5. Are there copper-wire connections within the buildings on your campus?

Br: Medium; LA: Medium; USA: Information not available

Portals

1. Does your campus portal contain a catalog of courses offered by your institution?

Br: Very Positive; LA: Positive; USA: Very Positive

2. Does your campus portal allow the use of a campus-based credit card?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Very Negative; USA: Negative

3. Does your campus portal include the possibility of student evaluation of courses?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Very Negative; USA: Positive

4. Does your campus portal permit enrollment for the institutional entrance exam?

Br: Positive; LA: Medium; USA: Very Positive

Investments

1. Were there reductions in the IT budget in your institution in 2005?

Br: Very Negative; LA: Very Negative; USA: Very Negative

2. Is your institution using information technology in an attempt to reduce costs?

Br: Negative; LA: Medium; USA: Medium

3. Does your institution recycle older IT equipment to other institutional units?

Br: Medium; LA: Negative; USA: Positive

4. What is the average time a new computer is used before recycling?

Br: 3.8 years for students, 3.7 years for faculty; LA: 3.4 years for all; USA: 3.0 years for students; 4 years for faculty; 4 years for administration

Similarities and Differences

As this data presentation shows, in the policy area, a principal concern of higher education institutions in Brazil, elsewhere in Latin America, and the United States is definitely network security, now and for the coming years (questions #1, #2). Regarding open source, all institutions strong recommendation that students use open-source programs, especially for research, stands in contrast to the institutions hesitancy about the use of open source for administrative purposes or for the key ERP applications on campuses (questions #10, 17, 18). Half of the Brazilian institutions of higher education reorganized their administrative computing units in the last two years, revealing a strong tendency in the region (question #7). However, only one-third of Brazilian institutions reported having a CIO or CTO, in contrast with the U.S. scenario and its consolidated, unified structure of academic and administrative computing (questions #6, #8).

With regard to infrastructure, Brazil reveals an imbalance in relation to the rest of Latin America and to the United States, with a reduced furnishing of off-campus network access to both students and faculty (question #1). One of the greatest differences between Brazil/Latin America and the United States is that of minimum prevalence of wireless services on campus, although institutions reported that plans for such implementation increased from 9 percent in 2004 to 43 percent in 2005—plans that will be verified in the next edition of this survey.

More than half of the Brazilian and other Latin American campus portals are homegrown, offering fewer services to users than U.S. portals, which are more varied in offerings, most probably as a result of a longer tradition of service. Certainly another important distinction is the great number of U.S. campus portals that offer tutorials and training in information technology, as well as resources supporting information technology for users, a rare characteristic in Brazilian and other Latin American campus portals (as shown in answers to questions included in the larger study). There is also little use of the campus portal in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America for online student evaluation of courses and programs, a common use of U.S. portals (question #3).

In the area of investments, the United States, Brazil, and the rest of Latin America all reported no significant reductions in spending for information technology in 2005 (question #1). Nor did they make any exceptional efforts to use information technology to reduce costs (question #2). These responses may indicate that the central institutional administration considers information technology to be of continuing overall strategic importance.

Considering the socioeconomic distinctions between the countries of the United States and those of Latin America, it is possible to conclude that although there are measurable qualitative and quantitative differences in the institutional use of information technology in Brazil and elsewhere in Latin America, such differences do not appear to restrict these colleges and universities from successfully carrying out their missions of capacity-building, knowledge discovery, and community service. Furthermore, the essential similarity of their technological platforms permits collaborative efforts among their students, faculty, administrators, and the institutions themselves. Two notable examples of inter-institutional collaboration come to mind: Cederj and CVA-RICESU. Cederj, the Center for Distance Learning of the State of Rio de Janeiro (http://www.cederj.edu.br), is a consortium of six public universities effectively collaborating to extend full university diploma courses to residents of underserved communities far from large urban centers. CVA-RICESU, the Network of Catholic Institutions of Higher Education (http://www.ricesu.com.br), is a consortium of sixteen private universities achieving exceptional synergy through the coordinated offerings of online courses from the participating institutions.

All in all, the similarities in operations and policies appear to be greater than the differences among the institutions responding to the questionnaires from the three regions studied. For now, at least, it will be possible for those responsible for information technology in the higher education institutions of Latin America to have comparative data in hand as they make future plans and implement policies, upgrade their infrastructure, develop their portals, work to obtain investment resources, and take their institutions to improved levels of academic performance.

Notes

1. The 2004 and 2005 reports can be found at the following Web site: http://www.campuscomputing.futuro.usp.br. The hard-copy version of the 2004 report was published as Fredric M. Litto, Campus Computing Report.Br 2004: Computing and Information Technology in Brazilian Higher Education (So Paulo: Altana, 2005). The other members of the Brazilian team in 2005 were Daisy Grisolia, Otavio Grisolia, Gustavo Morais, and Judith Zuquim.

2. Kenneth C. Green, Campus Computing Report 2005: The 16th National Survey of Computing and Information Technology in American Higher Education (Encino, Calif.: Campus Computing, 2006).