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Since the year 2000, the higher education information technology (IT) organization EDUCAUSE has published a top ten list of issues identified by a selected panel of higher education IT professionals. The 2014 report is different because, for the first time, members of the organization were invited to rank the issues in a survey conducted after panelists had assembled lists themselves. Because of this change, the resulting data sets can be evaluated across institutional types, as defined by Carnegie Classifications, and compared to determine what differences exist for IT issues across the institution types. This data set is important when investigating emerging technology trends and assessing research from various entities such as the New Media Consortium's annual Horizon Report.

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

The New York Times dubbed 2012 "the year of the MOOC" and throughout 2013 universities and colleges of every size and shape scrambled to make sense of the phenomena of massive open online courses (MOOC). Some institutions gambled big on MOOCs, thinking that the massive online format would ease crowded classrooms and cut down the cost of paying faculty (adjunct and otherwise) to teach hundreds of students the same required content. San Jose State was one such institution, taking the risk of placing freshmen into a MOOC for a basic math course, a project which had disastrous results. In this article, Georgia Tech explains how they intend to continue applying MOOCs to solve campus problems, citing the San Jose State case as an example of what not to do. GA Tech announced in 2013 that they were going to offer a master's degree via MOOC, one of the first credit bearing MOOC-to-degree programs in the country. While MOOC interest has waned since the start of 2014, GA tech continues their work, with a waiting list of applicants ready to jump into the next MOOC-to-degree cohort. This articles serves as an example of managing emerging technology and GA Tech leadership is a group of individuals to monitor as the next few years roll out. Does the program continue? Do graduates succeed? Can the school sustain the program? Does the school launch addition programs following that model? Do other schools make a similar attempt? Any research that comes of the GA Tech endeavor will be interesting.

Voss reflects on the last five years, since his initial debate with Bradley Wheeler in 2010 about the role of the campus CIO and concludes that the role of the CIO has changed. Not only has the role changed, he explains, but the qualities a CIO must possess have changed as well. As the CIO, in many cases, is becoming a more senior leader, there is also competition on campus as some academic and administrative departments seek to gain control of the IT they use. For example, a VIce Provost of Research Computing or a CHief Digital Officer. Voss argues that breaking off responsibilities and redistributing controls the campus IT portfolio puts the institution in danger. he argues that the campus CIO needs to be actively involved in all segments of campus IT use and needs to be the primary spokesperson reporting to the president and the board on all IT matters to ensure that investments and IT projects are aligned efficiently and effectively.

This article explains how one institution, Abilene Christian University (ACU) has focused on mobile phones and how they are successfully changing the classroom and data collection efforts. This is one example of how the traditional teaching and learning model is becoming more collaborative and interactive, now that instructors and students have equal and flexible access to information. ACU does regular self-reporting surveys of students and teachers to assess their opinions and evaluations. Based on the data collected since using devices in their courses, students are participating more during class and communication between faculty and students has increased. This article also describes how this institution has incorporated "mobile learning fellows", faculty who are given time to work on and evaluate a mobile learning project of their choice. The author is the Senior Editor of Network World magazine and this information would be helpful for faculty and administrators in information technology or instructional technology, in order to successfully implement curriculum onto mobile devices.

This article explains the need for e-portfolios, how they can be used as a tool, and several examples from colleges who have successfully implemented them with students. The author makes connections to the National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) survey, suggesting that e-portfolios may be associated with high-impact practices to improve engagement and retention. This new way of documenting evidence of learning and learning outcomes considers students as able to exercise their voice in presenting and representing their learning, with a focus on reflective learning. The author argues that since pedagogy and curriculums are changing, the way we assess students should also change to reflect this shift. This article would be most helpful for faculty and faculty development centers looking for concrete ways to implement and maximize the use of e-portfolios. The author is Vice President for Quality and Assessment at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC & U) and writes from an assessment perspective.

This article describes the growth and implications of e-learning programs for adults. It covers the historical context and economic background needed in order to understand the sudden expansion in distance learning programs, focusing on access and convenience as the main incentives for students enrolling at rapid rates since 2007. Statistics and charts in the article help to demonstrate how this growth occurred. Characteristics of quality adult learner programs and determinants of success are also reviewed. Barriers to access and participation, such as time and space, financial aid support, and institutional policies and services are explained in detail for the reader. This article is helpful for faculty to understand how to place emerging technologies within the context of the adult learner population. The author is a professor of adult and community college at North Carolina State University and her research seems focused on the engagement and participation patterns of adult learners.

Educause trends of top ten IT issues

Interesting ideas about structuring education differently

This blog covers the content outlined in Salman Khan's book, The One World Schoolhouse. Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy (currently a free, easily accessible, and widely popular online collection of video lectures) envisions a college where students spend their time on internships instead of in classrooms and professors operate as professional mentors on real-world projects, helping to solve problems collaboratively. Students learn by pacing themselves and define their own personal learning environment. The information outlined in the blog and the topic of the book seems significant with regards to how curriculum will continue to evolve, particularly since MOOCs modeled similar to Khan Academy are predicted to have an enormous impact on higher education. From reading this blog, it points to the idea that the success of free and open online courses is difficult to ignore. This technology blog author appears to be following upcoming trends and ideas in technology and the greater impact on colleges and universities.

The author of this opinion article is a professor of philosophy at Ohio State University. He summarizes how in the past he had been resistant to teaching online, but has since realized the immense benefits and opportunities of e-learning, due to several cultural changes. For example, social media, e-mail, and texting have changed personal contact so that electronic media has become a standard way of communicating. This shift along with entertainment education (referred to at edutainment) has also resulted in student preferences toward online courses. Another benefit is access, as students often want to work while attending college, or they just want the flexibility of taking classes from home without a set schedule. The faculty member shares how he transformed his traditional teaching style and gives several examples, such as turning my paper handouts into electronic slides and board work into screen-capture videos. He also shares how to keep students engaged through his delivery of content, such as speaking without notes, so there is an element of suspense through an audio recording. Utilizing content in different formats also helped him to apply techniques in another direction, as he states that many of the video clips and visuals developed for online courses can be used in traditional courses. The author ends with sharing how online teaching has increased his communication with students, through direct e-mail exchanges and conversation on the course discussion board. He concludes that students report enjoying online courses and faculty and staff need to adjust to their demands and accommodate student preferences, which troubles many faculty members who resist to teaching online. This article would be most useful for faculty as well as senior staff in academic affairs who are looking to engage faculty in teaching online.

The author is a professor of Information Systems Management at Duquesne University. This article seems to have an intended audience of future technology professionals in higher education. The article begins with an overview of how large technology organizations such as Dell, HP, ISM, Sun, Hitachi, and Fujitsu have introduced green and sustainable initiatives. The author explains the difference between "green" and "sustainable". He differentiates that "green" is generally understood to mean friendly to the environment and energy efficient, while sustainable implies planning and in¬vesting in a technology infrastructure that serves the needs of today and the future, while conserving resources and saving money. These steps are stated in general terms throughout the article and could be considered as a guide for administrators looking to move their institution to "green IT." The recommended steps include the following: identify and prioritize the goals of a green IT initiative, assess the current situation relative to high¬ priority goals, find and execute "quick wins", and craft and communicate an action plan. The author also discusses energy efficiency improvement measures, which can range from a series of simple and inexpensive ac¬tions to much more expensive infrastructure upgrades. The author also discusses potential challenges, such as significant increases in power consumption in data centers since 2000. The article also identifies several areas of opportunity for improved energy efficiency, and encourages future leaders of higher education to demonstrate a sense of commitment to these practices through their actions. He argues that building a strong sense of awareness of green and sustainable practices may produce innovative ideas for conservation of energy and preserving the environment.

The author of this article is a faculty member and software specialist of Computer Information Systems at Bentley College. He discusses that in today's Web 2.0 world, wikis have emerged as a tool that may complement or replace the use of traditional course management systems as a tool for sharing course information. In the article, he describes best practices for using a collaborative web application known as a wiki to change a traditional course management system. A wiki is a useful tool for involving students in the process of creating and sharing course content. While course management systems have specialized features such as online grade books and exams, useful exclusively in academic environments, students are not likely to encounter these tools outside of a college classroom. By introducing a wiki for collaborative course management, students also learn to interact with a useful real world tool. This allows them to complete some tasks that would be more difficult using a traditional course management system. Since students and faculty can both post information to the wiki, the role of the instructor changes from being the leader to being a partner with the students in their own learning process. The author shares some of the educational uses, such as tools for teams to perform group projects, creating literature reviews for research projects, participating on signup sheets, summarizing readings, posting project summaries, communicating with students, and even sharing class notes. Educational concerns are also shared, such as: wikis lack features that are needed for acceptance within the educational community, access control to protect certain public pages (such as the syllabus), or providing private spaces for collaboration. The author views this as problematic because anyone can change anything. However, he also shows that this aspect may promote a sense of community among its users. He predicts that the course management system (CMS) of the future must be

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.