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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.

This is one of many articles about institutional reformation from change evangelist and education futurist Clay Christensen. What is unique about this one is that it is an extract from a larger work and republished for the higher ed community via EDUCAUSE. Christensen argues in this paper about the avalanche of change triggered by technology, the need to embrace technology, and suggests that higher education is threatened by technology. His rhetoric often revolves around those topics so many of his paper provide a context in which to understand the significance of higher ed IT issues: people are hesitant to change; academia is notoriously slow to adapt in great part due to its deeply rooted history and highly valued traditions; and campus leadership feels threatened by what is happening, either because they are truly worried about the effects of technology or because people like Christensen keep telling them they should be worried.

In the 2014 top-ten list, EDUCAUSE panelists and members identified learning outcomes, IT leadership and staffing models, instruction technologies, IT funding, providing access, and risk management as the primary challenges in higher ed IT. These issues differ greatly from the topics identified by Gartner, Inc in their annual IT issues report for CIOs however because this list was created by EDUCAUSE members - all of whom are higher ed IT professionals - the list provides a context for understanding campus IT responses to trends identified by Gartner.

From the non-academic side of the issues, this article outlines emerging technology trends in business. The article solidifies arguments for technology awareness, adoption, implementation and support in higher education because it supports the theory that technology adoption in education is not the same as educational technology adoption. IT governance is about the technology that higher professionals need to do their jobs - to run the business of higher ed. General project management principles apply, as well as general awareness of consumer technology trends because, after all, higher ed professionals are consumers and the university is a consumer and a B2B partner with vendors and services for mobile tech, cloud technology, hardware and software, and more.

Historical perspective of the higher ed CIO. Examines the role of the CIO approximately 10 years after the job gained a foothold. Important for context on the topic of the role of the higher ed CIO. Information includes survey data about the responsibilities and job duties of the developing role. Value lies in the literature dating back earlier than the date of this publication for more information and a deeper historical perspective. Of note, even then CIOs were concerned about their place within the organization and their professional growth as well as being able to manage campus IT in the future with considerations for rapid growth and adoption by all campus users and commercialization of computing resources. These concerns are present today, in current literature suggesting that ongoing research and inquiry is necessary to ensure the health of the profession. Additionally, the struggle to maintain adequate footing in both the administrative and the academic side of the college was present then as it is today, suggesting that the CIO is truly unique in comparison to other "C" level positions.

Weiss' dissertation topic centers on the required skills and knowledge of a higher ed CIO. Her research examines CIO titles, roles, responsibilities, professional development and formal education and training. Her aim was to define a process by which to evaluate the performance and success of a higher ed CIO. While I do not agree that CIOs can be assessed equally, I think the inquiry conducted by Weiss yields a valuable trove of information with which to illustrate the functional responsibilities of a CIO. She looks at the role of CIO from the perspective of campus IT stakeholders and makes an assessment based on their view and opinions of competency in a CIO. This differs from literature on the subject told from the CIO perspective, thus has value in subsequent research on the topic of CIOs.

Joshua Kim, the Director of Learning and Technology for the Master of Health Care Delivery Science program at Dartmouth College, often writes for Inside Higher Ed. In this article, Kim shares ten questions posed to him by Rachel Hanel, a student and employee at Kaplan University. Hanel presented ten questions to Kim based on his experience with learning management systems (LMS).  Kim believes higher education institutions should based their LMS selection off of the quality of the product, the quality of the company, and the size of the user community, not just price. Kim also points out the direct and indirect costs associated with each LMS must be evaluated before making a decision. Students are looking for an LMS utilized by faculty members, while faculty members have a wide range of requests from an LMS, making the selection of a LMS for a college or university difficult. A few products and services to watch break into the LMS market over the next few years are Instructure Canvas, OpenClass, and Coursekit, in addition to Moodle and Blackboard, whom already hold most of the market share. According to Kim, institutions should put education first when reviewing LMSs. College and university personnel, specifically those looking to switch or add a LMS, are the intended audience. 

CEIT - Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology. University of Queensland resource. Multiple areas of important. Some access is limited but provides a very good foundation of their areas of development as applied to ed tech.

Chronicle article regarding Pres. views on online ed

Since 2002, the New Media Consortium has partnered with experts in the field of educational technology, including the Educause Learning Initiative (ELI), to conduct a Delphi study and generate its annual Horizon Report on emerging trends in educational technology. The report, widely considered a respectable analysis of issues and a guide to addressing those issues, is disseminated with a Creative Commons open license for public distribution and consumption. Key themes in the NMC Horizon Report include: Infrastructure, leadership, organizational strategies, teaching and learning, curricular content, and assessment (pg. 4). The framework of the report includes sections on policy, leadership and practice (pg. 6). The report includes references for further reading on every issue presented. The references are evidence of the research conducted by the panelists involved in developing the annual report. Trends are also described as short term, mid term or long term trends, helping the reader estimate the impact of the trends on existing campus IT issues and initiatives. Some of the trends in the 2014 report support trends identified by EDUCAUSE and Gartner, while others are unique. Social media is an issue in the NMC report, but not the others, while assessment strategies using student data and technology are common among all three. The Horizon Report is unique in its daring presentation of topics that challenge conventional thought about higher education. The report predicts a significant threat to higher ed coming from online learning and emerging models of formal education. The report also highlights the power and impact of data - from learning analytics to predictive instructional models - that seem to transfer authority from professors to technology and technologists. There is a lot to consume in the Horizon Report. Analysis can be augmented with blogs and conference proceedings which review the report in part or in whole. Reading the report and supporting re

Chris Proulx, the President and CEO of eCornell, wrote an article featured in Forbes magazine. The first technological influence is the growth of online education within top tier schools. Proulx believes the second impact technology will have on higher education in 2013 is increased innovation affecting the "flipped classroom." Students no longer rely on faculty members to provide them with information. In this model, group discussions and activities are used during class time to strengthen the students understanding of the material while engaging them fully.  Hybrid programs are the third technological change influencing higher education in 2013. 2013 will bring a focus on hybrid programs, courses balanced on-campus and online. Great technological advances can be made to improve hybrid courses for students and faculty members. Proulx believes a race is on for a new instructional model within higher education during 2013.  The fourth technology is the need for a new classroom-learning model. As faculty continue to teach in a flipped classroom, the peer-to-peer and peer-to-faculty models of instruction must change.  Finally, the fifth influential technology impacting higher education in 2013 is the potential for tuition costs to decrease. Proulx believes as technologies improve, faculty will be able to reach more students using the same amount of effort as in the past. While these technologies may not exist yet, as they begin to develop, the cost of education will slowly begin to decrease. Tuition may not drop in 2013, but the industry is likely to see some financial shifts over the next few years, in reaction to advanced technologies.

Steven Kolowich, a technology reporter for Inside Higher Education, describes the online support initiative supporting online programs at Northern Virginia Community College. The intended audience for the article is higher education officials, including institutions expanding into online education. Kolowich highlights NOVA's experience with online education and how the College turned a mediocre program into a successful one.   When NOVA began an online program in the mid-2000's, the vice president for instruction and information technology, Steven Sachs, dedicated a few IT employees to help online students with small, instructional issues. After some research, Sachs realized for-profit colleges were spending more than half of their budgets on support services for students, such as financial aid counseling, job placement assistance, and academic advising. Shortly after this realization, Sachs implemented the "Next Level Initiative," spending more than $2 million to offer support to online students. The Next Level Initiative was extremely effective on all six of NOVA's campuses. Over the next four years, online programs grew four times faster than on-campus programs. Additionally, the difference in completion between online and on-ground students fell from 16% to 8%. Kolowich uses NOVA as an example to express how imperative support services are for online students.

Eric Stoller, a student affairs blogger for Inside Higher Education, discusses the need for technology proficiency within student affairs departments. During his time as an academic advisor, Stoller used his knowledge of technology to spend more time with students and less time working on organizational tasks. While academic affairs departments have slowly begun adapting with technological advances, student affairs departments appear to be left behind. Technologies exist to help streamline student services processes. If student affairs departments invested in learning and using new technologies, their efficiency would increase. Stoller also explains student affairs offices need to meet students where they are: on social media. Student affairs departments deal with a variety of issues and utilizing social media and other communication channels to reach students is beneficial. Regardless of how it is done, Stoller believes student affairs employees need to adapt to technological advances before being left behind in higher education.

Best technology site you will find - gets my endorsement for all-around ed-tech site.

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.

Edited by then president of EDUCAUSE, this book is a collection of case studies and reflections on practice from the field of higher education information technology management. Oblinger's objective was to provide evidence of impact in regards to adoption and successful implementation of campus technologies. The format allows campus leadership and IT professionals to examine the challenges and issues associated with higher ed IT through the lens of their peers at other institutions. The variety of cases shows similarities and differences among institutional types. Valuable as a snapshot of what was happening at the time of its publication for perspective and context as well as to question whether strategies are effective, or not, over time.

Both an examination of the history of higher education and a review of popular instructional methods from the days of Aristotle through to day, this paper introduces a meek "call to action" by the authors. They charge that change is needed and they outline the reasons why in a thoughtful and gentle way, an approach that is very different from Clay Christensen, and encourage exploration of emerging technologies to manage that change. Their approach is less threatening than others (like Christensen) and rather than claim that technology is the driver of change, they simply detail the history of education and conclude that it is simply time to change because of who we are in our modern global society. The authors include models on new governance in higher ed that embrace technology to improve teaching and learning and they outline issues about which they feel institutions should be most concerned. Although gentle throughout, compared to Christensen, they drive home the same point: if institutions don't begin changing to meet the needs of today's learners, today's workplace and today's uber-connectedness they will fail to meet their missions.

A comprehensive report on information technology governance in higher education, this report begins with the history of higher ed IT, review then current trends and issues, and carries forward to recommendations for leadership, including boards of trustees, for managing IT going forward in the 21st century. While slightly dated (>10 years), it is a complete work that covers topics relating to IT governance and emerging technology. The publication date (2003) is a milestone for issues in higher education: before the global financial crisis which significantly impacted campus funding from 2008-2012; before Nokia introduced mass market smartphones in 2006, and before the release of the Apple iPad in 2010, which was a pivotal point in educational technology adoption. The perspective of the authors in this report are significant because of the time period from which they speak to us now, a decade later. That decade has been rich with innovation and change; this report makes an interesting point of reference. Were the authors on the right track? did their ideas come to fruition? What, in their report, can we still use and apply today in IT governance?

The authors of this article, all leaders in higher ed IT, argue that a CIO is the center of campus information technology (IT) and therefore a "change agent" that has an opportunity to contribute and have an impact in all areas of campus business. The article has several different topic sections that include quotes and commentary by the authors about being a CIO and working with the CIO. Topics include: leadership qualities of the CIO; operating a service department within the organization; initiating change on campus (ie technology project management); and contributing to the academic mission of the university through partnerships and collaborations with other executives. The web version of the article includes embedded video of the authors describing topics in greater detail. While interesting, the primary value in this article are the topics which are good fodder for one-to-one conversation and inquiry with CIOs. It would be interesting to use the article as a reference and use the topics as the foundation for interview questions. When interviewing more experienced CIO's it would be interesting to find out what has changed over time. Younger CIO perspective may be similar to the author's.

In this article, Young compiles an overview of issues that challenge the status of a higher ed CIO. Interestingly, some of the comments on the article argue against the author's perspective, claiming they are seeing expansion in CIO responsibilities on their campuses. The author cautions that information services are viewed as operational and not a strategic driver for business which puts the CIO at risk. I disagree with the author and lean toward agreeing with the comments, however I am open to looking at this article and comparing to other perspectives at the time to try and understand why he chose this argument.