Group items tagged

Steven Bell offers his perceptions and explanation of the terms "sustaining innovation" and "disruptive innovations". "Sustaining innovations" represent practices that fit into the existing structure and practices of institutions even if they disrupt the standard methods of operation, but can however be adapted into the institution. "Disruptive innovations" on the other hand cannot be adapted into existing structure, but require the adoption or creation of new models and skills. Bell cites mobile phones as a form of "disruptive innovation" that could not function with the requirements of fixed lines, but with improved quality eventually became more vital than the fixed lines. The danger of "disruptive innovation" is that their threatening impact is unnoticeable until it is too late and they dramatically alter the way things function. Bell also uses the recent Google Apps for Education as another example of "disruptive innovation". At first there were doubts about its ability to replace Microsoft office, but that is what is happening today. This article is a warning to not underestimate the power of new ideas, developments or technologies.

Katrina Meyer voices growing concern about the ability of disruptive technology such as online education to produce the needed change in higher education. Disruptive innovation is a term coined by Clayton Christensen for innovations in technology that interfere with the current state of affairs. The term was originally coined to for the business realm, but began to be applied to education with the advent of innovations such as online learning, blogs, social media cloud computing and a host of others. While Meyer clearly states her belief in the potential of disruptive technology to encourage new thinking and learning approaches, she clarifies that she does not know how the change will occur. Higher education is grappling with declining governmental revenues, tuition increases and the call from stakeholders for more effective learning programs. On the other hand, enrollment in online programs has increased annually, and according to results released by the U.S Department of Education, students performed better online than in face to face learning with the largest gains achieved in courses that mixed both online and face-to-face instruction. . Meyer also adds that perhaps the inclusion of online components in college campus courses might be an indication that innovative disruption is finally making an entrance into campus based higher education. This article is targeted at higher education, and institutions are encouraged to incorporate online learning and other technologies into their repertoire in other to make learning more student-centered, motivating, choice enabling and providing connections to real life. Faculty must be willing to take risks and experiment with the knowledge that while some tools might be disruptive, not all of them are.

The author is Associate Provost and Executive Director of the Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship at Georgetown University. The author refers to Clayton Christensen's "disruptive innovation" term to refer to the recent changes in higher education. The author argues that a key source of disruption in higher education is coming not from the outside, but from internal practices. This administrator points to the increase in experiential modes of learning, how education is moving from "margin to center", which proves to be powerful in the quality and meaning of the undergraduate experience as well as the way business is conducted. The author refers to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its publishing of a "high impact practice" list, strategies which are connected with high retention and persistence rates, such as undergraduate research, service/community-based learning, and global learning. These practices also have a significant influence because they increase (according to George Kuh) student behaviors that lead to meaningful learning outcomes. The author summarizes how technologies can play a key role as new digital, learning, and analytics tools make it possible to mimic some features of high impact activity inside classrooms, changing when and how students can engage in course content. Since the greatest impact on learning is in the innovative, integrative, and socially networked experiences, then the author argues that faculty and staff need to re-create dimensions of these experiences by bridging the classroom with life outside of it. He concludes that connections between integrative thinking, or experiential learning, and the social network should no longer be an afterthought, but the connection that should guide and reshape learning in higher education. This article would be most useful for administrators and faculty who inform decisions related to technology infrastructure and tools for teaching and learning.

This article serves two purposes in research about emerging technology and higher education: 1) it provides insight on the business side of the issues and trends, highlighting the energy and enthusiasm of vendors and developers eager to deliver what they think higher education needs and 2) a different perspective on Clay Christensen, a notable figure in technology and higher ed who is perceived as both a hero and villain by different groups in both sectors. There are several articles about the spring 2014 "disruption" events, along with dozens of blog posts. This one is selected because it provides enough context and information to associate Christensen with other literature and it introduces the vendors and developers to the topic. The author's tone is moderately critical of the events and the people involved, a nice comparison for articles penned by Christensen and other evangelists themselves.

This is a research project undertaken by Crispin Dale and John Pymm from the University of Wolvehampton in the United Kingdom, to explore the use of the iPod as a technological learning tool. The iPod is defined as a portable media player designed by Apple Company originally as an audio player, but subsequently updated to include video, social media, games and many other applications. The authors mention that the iPod was categorized by Berry (2006 cited in Dale & Pymm, 2009) as disruptive technology that challenged conventional education practices. The podagogy project was conducted in the University of Wolvehampton performing arts courses. The term 'podagogy' is defined as a portmanteau term used to define the iPod's dual usefulness as a podcast and technological tool. Using three different projects requiring students' use of the iPod to retrieve information and create knowledge, students were expected to deliver outcomes showing a range of skills that included creative and performance skills, interpretive skills, research and assimilation skills and synthesis of complex theories and information. Five themes that emerged from the project were * Flexible learning. Students had the freedom of time and space to reflect on their own work away from the classroom and the teacher. * Creative learning. Students were empowered to think more creatively about their work. * Sensory learning. Students learned through sound and kinesthetically. * Personalized learning. Students felt a sense of satisfaction at being able to upload their own personal works. * Collaborative learning. Students worked with others on dance, drama and podcasts for the iPod. The aim of this article is to demonstrate to educators, the use of the iPod as an effective technological tool that can enhance student learning and participation because the students of the present era are greatly influenced by technological shifts and trends.

The article serves two purposes for research on the topic of higher ed information technology: 1) the challenges associated with managing campus IT are universal; the issues are not found only in American higher education and 2) a case study for exploration of solutions for campus IT problems including cost, adoption and oversight, or management. The recency of the publication is important for context on current trends and issues as well as current management strategies. The sources is important because the authors are economics professors at universities in the UK who are working toward an openness in education agenda, an issue that is often met with resistance in the US even though it is commonly regarded as a possible solution for some IT problems. Openness in education has been widely debated in consideration of three key areas: cost, quality, and access. Open education resources (OER) includes free or low cost textbooks, lab manuals, learning objects and courseware. These options offer resources to educators and students at a lower cost than publisher materials and vendor software, however faculty and others question the quality of resources that are offered for free. The myth that "free" does not equal "good" in the eyes of academics prohibits widespread adoption of OER thus limits access to education resources for many. The case study in this paper goes much deeper, to examine the issues relating to creating an openness initiative at a major university and evaluate the strategies used to shift the campus mindset in regards to OER, change behavior for selecting campus and course resources, and open a dialog around OER, both using and creating from and for the OER community. Bonus: excellent lit review on the topic of openness in higher ed.