"Transforming Learning: Reflections on the PITAC Report"
by Judith V. Boettcher, executive director of the Corporation for Research and Educational Networking (CREN), Syllabus, November 2001, Vol. 15, No. 4 p. 14.
Judith Boettcher reflects on the President's Information Technology/Advisory Committee (PITAC) 2001 report. "What we need now is a national initiative to begin acting on these recommendations. Given the widely distributed nature of our educational systems, we will also need a groundswell of support for IT initiatives, including significantly increased resources dedicated to research and development." (p. 14)
"We are using powerful tools to support existing processes and systems, but very little of this work is contributing to a true paradigm shift." (p. 14) "We should not assume that the educational systems of the future will be built on our current structures." (p. 14) "Our national infrastructure for learning will need to be flexible, well developed, and properly supported and maintained." (p. 16) "Another design goal is that our teaching and learning infrastructure needs to be low-cost and scalable to support 'access to learning materials and systems anywhere, anytime, by any authorized user.'" (p. 16) "Some of the components of such an architecture would be: Web-based templates and applications; complex visualizations and simulations, and multi-player gaming; adaptable capabilities for student assessment; personal digital educational records; content development tools and technologies; technologies for tagging materials; and adaptable materials." (p. 16) "Effective infrastructures depend on standards. Standards support interoperability as well as the development of system components." (p. 16)
"Development and publishing efforts within education will require content development tools, as well as release time and rewards for faculty who build sharable objects." (p. 16) "More research must be directed towards the structuring of content itself." (p. 16) "One example of new content structure involves creating databases of learning materials for course clusters, rather than just for courses." (p. 17) "The panel specified that the research should be collaboratively funded across industry, private foundations, and state and federal government. Of all our national goals for the next ten years, designing and deploying an effective learning infrastructure must be a top national priority." (p. 17)
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"The Muddiest Point"
by David G. Brown, vice president and dean of the International Center for Computer Enhanced Learning, Syllabus, November 2001, Vol. 15, No. 4 p. 22.
"For the first time, this semester I'm requiring each of my students to e-mail me a sentence or two about the section of the required textbook reading that they understand least well, their 'muddiest point.' These e-mails are due at least two hours prior to class. This simple innovation has been well received by my students and has proved more beneficial than my most optimistic expectations." (p. 22) "At its most basic level, the 'muddiest point' exercise encourages students to read the text prior to class. When comments are shared among classmates, there is a new level of accountability. Feedback is provided prior to the lecture, so that classroom strategy can be adjusted 'just in time.' Classroom time is devoted to topics that students regard as the most difficult. Discussion can start from 'where the students are,' rather than from where the professor thinks the students are." (p. 22)
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"The Guggenheim Virtual Museum (GVM)"
This multi-dimensional Internet-based museum offers spatial and real-time interactive capabilities for a unique and unprecedented viewing experience. Check it out!
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"Strategic Management for Information Technology"
by George Kaludis and Glen Stine, Educause, May/June 2001, Vol. 36, No. 3, p. 48.
"…institutions now face a world where policymakers, trustees, and students are applying increasing pressure to hold the line on costs." (p. 49) "…it is critical to draw the distinction between the management of expenditures and the management of costs. For the most part, colleges and universities have managed expenditures through budgeting and other fiscal controls like procurement procedures within the institution. Managing costs, however, encompasses broader issues like depreciation, assets and liabilities, and activity measurements and opportunity costs." (p. 49) "The basic approach to controlling costs is to limit access to the utility; and when access control is not feasible or functional, institutions must find ways to absorb the expansion costs." (p. 49)
"The following three basic and unavoidable principles apply when managing the cost of information technology:
- The uses of instructional technologies will only increase costs of instruction when that technology is used to supplement existing activities or be an add-on to current courses.
- The cost of instructional technology must be measured as part of a whole process or activity, not as a stand-alone cost. That is, the development and use of instructional technologies will inevitably require new expenditures to acquire those technologies; cost savings, if any, must come in the application of the technology to other activities associated with the use of IT, e.g., course delivery costs.
- Instructional technology works well for certain activities, but cannot readily be used for other activities, no matter what costs are incurred. For example, instructional technology generally works well for large courses with multiple sections. It works less well where interaction in class is essential to achieve the course purposes." (p. 49)
"Data from the Campus Computing Survey…show that most campuses are employing information technology in the instructional program to supplement and enhance traditional course offerings." (p. 49) "More faculty are interested in learning to develop information technology applications for a part or all of their courses, and institutions are likely to be limited by the availability of technical talent to support both the needed technology infrastructure and the faculty support functions. This situation will limit institutional expenditures, but may not actually manage costs." (p. 49) "The overall result is likely to be high cost and low impact, with incremental expenditures and incremental unplanned progress." (p. 50) "Institutions tied to traditional time issues (e.g., semesters), customized course and program offerings, a 'not made here' approach and traditional cost measures (expenditures per student) will neither manage costs nor take advantage of high return on investment opportunities. Institutions allowing 'producers' rather than 'customers' to determine programming, particularly within the distance and off-campus learning program, will not be able to manage costs." (p. 50)
"The costs of information technology can only be managed to the extent that an institution understands its technology-enabled educational objectives and places them in the context of overall institutional mission." (p. 51) "The CEP [Comprehensive Enterprise Planning] planning model identifies the following five critical areas of concern for every institution:
- What are the key characteristics of the institutions as they relate to the use of instructional and other technologies?
- What is the institution's current and desired future market position in terms of instructional applications of information technology? Going into distance learning, for example, on a small scale will be extremely costly because shared technologies and overhead costs cannot be leveraged.
- How ready is the campus in terms of the physical, policy, and management infrastructure to apply information technology to the instructional program? Campus attitudes are also part of this question.
- Is the institution ready to deal with management issues like activity-based costing, multi-year capitalization of losses, and a broader view of strategic asset management?
- What are the critical determinants for the institution's reputation and current market position?" (p. 51)
"Institutions with large numbers of high enrollment introductory classes and sections have significantly greater use of technology opportunities than institutions that limit class size." (p. 52) "Even within the distance learning arena, institutions can be content producers, course distributors, learning support centers, or course and degree providers, depending on their enterprise strategy." (p. 52) "The institution must view technology as a way to achieve strategic academic goals rather than as a general resource for all faculty and for all courses." (p. 52)
"Because institutions are not generally good at eliminating programs and many institutions have current investments in antiquated technologies for instructional delivery, the rate of technology and content depreciation costs are going to increase and this will further outdate existing infrastructure investments." (p. 55) "Cost issues and assessment of outcomes will challenge academic management structures because assessment of programs will need to move from deliverer assessment to learning outcome assessment. Cost issues will also require decisions to be made on what technology standardization is essential for the entire institution to use."
(p. 56)
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