Technology is Maturing and Virtual Reality is on the Horizon
By Ed Cuoco
I think that in 2016 the higher educational market is going to see a continued entrenchment of competing technology ecosystems—the term often used for a comprehensive computing environment. The leading companies that provide ecosystems are Microsoft, Google and Apple, and in the coming year each will be trying to maintain and build upon their positions. In addition, Facebook will continue to dominate community and social networks.
Why should we care about these technology giants? Because our students are intimately aware of their hardware, tools and services. Each of these vendors has a presence today to one degree or another in four areas of education:
- Back office and cloud platforms (servers)
- Office tools and production systems (desktops)
- Apps—mobile applications that provide communication and tools for phones, tablets and ultra-light laptops
- Social network communities
What is hard to predict is which one of these ecosystems will gain dominance in 2016 or even if a dominant position matters!
Microsoft has recently refreshed its desktop suite with Windows 10 and new versions of Office. Google continues to invest in its federated approach based on loosely integrated applications that extend its Docs and Drive services. Apple continues to dominate laptops, tablets and phone apps. Facebook will evolve its already rich environment for social networking, and it expects to be a major provider of virtual reality products, having recently acquired Oculus. All of these companies have compelling advantages—making for a confusing mix of technologies for faculty to juggle.
Our students will continue to apply technology wherever they can—whether to acquire information using online sources, exploit computers to enhance their work, or venture into new media such as virtual reality, which I see as an emerging medium not only for training but also for self-expression. The early-adopter stage of VR is arriving in 2016, and students will gain access to creation tools and simple viewers (such as Google cardboard) that will lead to a completely new paradigm of interaction with technology.
Ed Cuoco is currently an adjunct faculty member at Bunker Hill Community College and Wentworth Institute of Technology teaching writing and communications.
The Domination of M-Learning
By Jeremy Cunningham
E-learning removes barriers of space and time for students; therefore, the learning is more personalized and dynamic. This next year, m-learning will accelerate this trend.
M-learning stands for mobile learning and refers to learning content across platforms and devices of all forms. It is an iteration of e-learning and brings continued promise of broadening the learning experience by allowing students to learn when and where they want to. Individuals are not tied to a single location because the device travels with them. This adds not only convenience but opportunities to immerse in the learning experience. What is needed, and what will continue to grow in 2016, is the development of learning tools to take maximize the mobile devices.
Developers will focus on production of content specifically for this rather than merely adapting coursework for the online space. What if my composition class, when learning about sensory detail, required each individual to sign in from their mobile device and use its camera to display where they were at that given moment? They could provide sensory details from a first-person perspective and we, as the class, could add to their viewpoint. We could point out things they don’t see and offer our own various perspectives. All of a sudden, this becomes an authentic exercise not only in sensory detail, but in point of view and subjectivity. Platforms and programs are needed to support this kind of learning experience.
M-learning allows education to be adaptable and authentic like never before. Developing content directly for this space responds to both students’ and teachers’ wildest dreams. This demand, along with the scalability due to the widespread adoption of smartphones, will drive more direct content development for this format in 2016.
Jeremy Cunningham is a part-time instructor at Washtenaw Community College and Cleary University where he teaches composition and communication coursework. He also teaches English at Mason High School.
People will Matter more than Technology
By Andy Hoang
People: I believe it’s not the technologies that will be the driving force of change in higher education, but rather the people leading the university. Without creative vision and bold leadership, emerging technologies become powerless. Leaders will be pressured to architect creative hybrid teams that embrace risks and disruption, digital and design, and the ability to quickly adapt.
Content: The culture of story-telling at public universities must move away from transactional to aspirational. I predict teams will produce more digital content that will create a destination like experience. A true content strategy integrated with a university’s overall branding and marketing plan will be more apparent in the type of content being produced. I believe there will be less content, but more meaningful and higher-quality story telling.
Education is a Destination: Content management systems are not development tools. They are digital experience platforms that empower teams to create unique destinations. For a majority of prospective students, their first experience with a university is no longer a physical one. It’s digital. More universities will create homepages with content that will bring their campuses to life, making it feel like a travel destination, connecting visitors with human experiences and the culture of the university.
Andy Hoang is the chief marketing officer at Long Beach State University. His experience in marketing and communications includes, health care, science and higher education.
An Emphasis on Learning and Pedagogical Practice
By Malcolm Brown
During my time as Director of an academic computing division within a campus IT organization, I used the title “academic computing specialist” for most of my positions on the curricular side. The title reflected an emphasis on computing technology, which at the time was appropriate. However, a trend that surfaced in 2015 renders that emphasis somewhat outdated, a bit like the feature phone.
Today, it is becoming more common for such staff to be hired as instructional designers or instructional technologists, and this clearly signals a new emphasis on learning and pedagogical practice. Moreover, these professionals often do not report to the IT organization, but can be found in centers for teaching and learning, the library, or other units that might report to a dean or vice-provost.
I expect this trend will continue to gain momentum throughout 2016. Curricular support will no longer live exclusively in the IT organization. Increasingly, cohorts of campus organizations will develop and share the task of moving forward with the institution’s mission of teaching and learning. Reflective of this trend, new job titles made their appearance in 2015, such as “chief learning officer,” “director of educational innovation,” or “manager of e-learning design and services,” with a report line not to the CIO but instead to a provost or dean.
As this trend strengthens in the coming year, it will call for a new kind of campus leadership, one that is adept both in building and sustaining organizational alliances across campus organizations and also in articulating a vision for academic transformation. This new and agile leadership will become more important as we progress through 2016, and EDUCAUSE will be convening conversations that enable us to explore the ramifications of this trend.
Malcolm Brown has served as the Director of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) since 2009. He has initiated major ELI undertakings, such as its Seeking Evidence of Impact program and the Learning Space Rating System. Prior to assuming the ELI directorship, Malcolm was the Director of Academic Computing at Dartmouth College, overseeing a team active in instructional technology, research computing, classroom technology, and pedagogical innovation.
(Next page: Predictions on security, data governance, data culture, and IPASS)
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