Information Technology in Higher Education

Transcription

1 Information Technology in Higher Education OUR DIGITAL WORLD Diana Oblinger, Ph.D. President and CEO, EDUCAUSE November 2, 2014 Interfaces and Interaction New user interfaces and functions Being digital changes our experiences and expectations. There is an app for that. Examples: Managing traffic with crowdsourcing Finding video with a voice (Amazon Fire TV) Sensors and the quantified self Engagement with a Purpose It is not man or machine. Flexible power strip example: Sold 373,000 units Earned the crowd over $400K Quirky Submit idea Evaluate ideas Marketing, pricing Manufacturing Revenue sharing: Quirky keeps 70% 30% goes to crowd members involved in development Of that, 42% goes to the idea originator, etc. It is combinatorial. 1

2 Engagement A dynamic relationship between the individual and the institution Powerful predictor of success Creates a sense of belonging Expands and enhances the vibrancy of the community Can digital engagement strengthen your college? DEEPER LEARNING Higher order learning comes from complex challenges. Games for Learning and Assessment Games can provide a window into the process of learning Assess skills such as systems thinking, collaboration, problem solving, communication in the context of subject-area knowledge Experiential learning spaces Situates learning in complex information and decision-making situations Failure is a key to learning through games Focus on what users can do Practice helps develop expertise. 2

3 You learn to do what you do Simulations are interactive Practice leads to expertise and confidence Data is available for feedback Telemetry can log breathing, heart rate, facial expressions Students learn by being scholars. A generation ago the manuscripts were only available in analog form Manuscripts can be searched for patterns Students and scholars have a more encompassing frame of reference Digital Humanities Roman de la Rose, example of a digital library Contains digital surrogates of 130 extant medieval manuscripts Removes time and spatial limitations New technologies can capture complex human interactions for feedback and assessment. Real-time and Formative TeachLivE The classroom setting is a combination of real and virtual Students are virtual characters with a mixture of personalities Implemented at 42 campuses in US Mixed reality teaching environment Supports teacher practice To prepare and retain pre-service and in-service May be used to test real-time teaching skills With large amounts of data, patterns emerge that can be used for personalization. 3

4 Adaptive Learning Tailored to student needs and behaviors Used in blended learning Blended math course increased completion rates 67% Students completed blended statistics course 25% faster Questions How can residential institutions leverage the digital to advantage? Do our instructional experiences reflect the connected, global environment students will negotiate when they graduate? How do we help students develop the judgment and perspective required in an online, information-abundant world? STUDENT EMPOWERMENT Information can provide feedback and feed students forward. Dashboards Benefits: Instructors can rely on the dashboard like a personalized tutor Provides an ongoing profile of student progress Dashboards can immediately reflect concepts students might fail to grasp Many students need help linking college with work. 4

5 Career Coach Employment projections Information about: Employment trends Income potential Require education Adapt programs based on trends Students need help with their complex lives. Results: First term success rate 97% vs 59% 37% higher retention term-to-term Five times more likely to graduate in 6 years Case Management and Student Success Counseling and intervention software Case load management Monitor Engage Support Early alerts Data can help students who are unaware their success is at-risk. Predictive analytics and intervention Increase student awareness of class standing and likely outcome Involve advisors in student success efforts Instigate behavior changes; goal is to teach students how to learn Intrusive Advising Deliver messages Early and often Timely and relevant Substantive Constructive and encouraging Questions Are we leveraging technology to empower students, advisors, and faculty? Can data-driven interactions between faculty and students become richer teaching or advising moments? If technology profiled student progress and pinpointed problem areas, would students and instructors benefit? 5

6 COLLEGE TO COMMUNITY IT is reshaping delivery systems, business models, economics. Massive education Are MOOCs courses? Brand extensions? Publishing platforms? MOOC participants can take a proctored exam for certification; others provide equivalency credit Most MOOC participants are not students Learning is a lifelong endeavor. Learning Advisor (Open College of Kaplan University) provides resources for students of Personalized all ages to design guidance flexible system learning for: paths. Degree Well-being programs Certificates Work and Continuing Education Open Relationships learning (e.g., MOOCs) Sounding board allows users to invite others to advise or comment Learning Portal Certificates Credit for experience Online hobby classes Professional certification Crowds have become potential problem-solvers and innovators. 6

7 Distributed problem-solving can transform innovation Crowds take on new meaning Innocentive Online clearinghouse for scientific problems Crowdsourcing Noncredentialist There is no better resource for improving the world than the world s humans. General public engagement in science Systematic collection and analysis of data Serve education and outreach goals Citizen Science Globe at Night project Engage people in light pollution Effects of light pollution: Disrupts ecosystems Adverse health effects Energy waste Questions How does the community experience the institution digitally? What are their connections and interactions? Are we leveraging our digital presence to enhance community value? Does the college have an integrated online, mobile, and face-to-face presence? CLOSING THOUGHTS The combinatorial power of the human and the virtual is exponential. 7

8 The future is more than a digital replica of today s classroom. If we used the best technology has to offer, could we design a better future? Slide citations 3: image from 4: Mary Meeker Internet Trends: 5: Quirky and page 87 The Second Machine Age by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee Norton & Co. 11: image from Sim City Construction and Zoning text see Anya Kamenetz: Psychometric considerations in game-based assessment and Kurt Squires : image courtesy of Susan Metros and Joan Getman, USC. EDUCAUSE: Uncommon Thinking for the Common Good Diana Oblinger doblinger@educause.edu 15: image URL; 17: 19: Image from 23: Image permission of Ross Stader; 25: Montgomery County Community College Career Coach; 27: Sinclair Community College Student Success Plan/MAP % pdf 29: image from 37: image from Innocentive website page 84 The Second Machine Age by Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee Norton & Co. 39: Image from 8