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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.

Terry Anderson writes a synopsis of the book 'Managing Technology in Higher Education', written by Tony Bates. In his article, Anderson captures the essence of the textbook and provides a summary of the chapter contents. This article is suitable for students and faculty wishing to locate relevant resources related to incorporating technology into learning and pedagogy. Anderson notes that even though Bates has written five texts focused on the realm of technology in distance education, 'managing technological change' moves away from his usual focal point, to embrace every model of higher education. The book begins with a summary of the salient points for the benefit of college presidents who rely on the executive summary for the meat of the matter. Anderson's overview spans the nine chapters of the book. Chapter one provides an outline of technologies used n higher education, while the following two chapters deal with leadership and planning, along with models on course organization. The following two chapters focus on the all-important issues of cost versus student access to colleges, and effectively supporting faculty on incorporating technologies into their teaching processes. In chapter four, Bates cites specific cost figures to support the information provided, thereby offering a fresh change from generic and vague statements about the actual costs of creating or implementing certain technologies, including setting up a web course. The next chapter focuses on human resource support to education technology, and the decision to either centralize or decentralize that support. In other words, whether or not to provide the support from the ranks 'within' or call in outside and professional help. The last chapter is about the gains and losses of incorporating technology into the day-to-day operations of institutions. Anderson concludes by adding that the book will assist decision makers choose the technological models best suited to their institutions

Most in attendance at the December symposium believe Kirschner and Stimpson would argue drastically different positions on online education. Both women attended online courses in an effort to better understand the experience, and were asked to reflect on those experiences at the symposium. Surprisingly, Kirschner and Stimpson felt similarly on a few major areas.  Stimpson completed a creative writing course through the University of Phoenix. Following her online experience, Stimpson argues the diminishing presence of faculty will deteriorate the dignity of the teaching profession and higher education as a whole. Those following trends and experts in higher education expected most of Stimpson's comments. Kirschner's role in the initial developments of online education led those at the symposium to expect her to fervently defend massive online courses. Surprisingly, Kirschner agreed with many of Stimpson's points, admitting face-to-face instruction is preferable to online education. Kirschner's comments alluded to her belief that brick and mortar institutions offer an educational experience superior to those offered through online programs.  Kirschner 's opinion differs from Stimpson only on her belief that technology and online education will make significant improvements over the years to come. Those improvements will aid in education instruction within online programs as well as on-ground courses. Stimpson believes the focus needs to be on the quality of instruction and presence of faculty support and communication, something not found in her online course. The similarities in both women's perspectives caught many at the symposium off-guard, but highlight the ever-changing nature of online education and its supporters.

This article by Glenda Cox highlights the concern for teachers' ability to implement and sustain the increasing use of technology to enhance learning, in a world where technology does not remain stagnant. From 2005 to 2011,the University of Cape Town, South Africa gave out small grants as incentives to teachers who employed the use of innovative technology. This article shows the result of a survey given to 30 recipients of the grant, to uncover the factors that compelled them to alter their pedagogical and teaching practices. The survey questions were centered on individual action and social structures. When asked why they altered their teaching to include technology, most of the teachers said it was their personal decisions, fashioned by pedagogical need to improve learning, and they received structural support in the form of money to purchase resources. Their responses also revealed that they enjoyed collaborating with their peers. The innovations continued to be sustained in the institution because they addressed real concerns. The motivation factor for these educators was not a desire try technological advances, but rather a desire to improve their teaching. Cox concludes by encouraging support for teachers who want to make such changes, because support creates awareness, leading to sustainability of innovations. Cox also stresses the need for more funding for innovations. This article is targeted at institutions wishing to support the advancement and sustainability of technological innovations.

This is a prezi by Laura Taylor, listing the stages required to sustain and integrate technology into teaching and learning. Taylor illustrates that while this is a complex endeavor, technology is now a central feature of student learning, and is constantly changing and evolving. As a result it is vital to constantly evaluate and assess learning spaces. When all stakeholders acknowledge the value of technology, educators will be more likely to implement it in their course work. The challenges however range from teacher training to the alignment of technology to learning goals. These problems can be surmounted with both technical and administrative support. For successful integration of technology, teachers should be given time to adjust and provided access to technical support. When integrated successfully, technology produces motivated learners and skilled confident staff. This prezi is for the benefit of institutions looking for resources on integrating technology into learning programs.

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

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.

The authors feel textbooks are outdated by the time of print, offer a limited perspective, force the reader to take on a passive role while learning, and are limited to their physical form. The four limitations of textbooks are adding to higher education's lack of active learning. Students today expect to be engaged while they learn, not to read from an outdated textbook or listen to static lectures. There is a potential for change, however, believed by the authors. An example is given from Old Dominion University. A team of faculty all assigned to teach the course Social and Cultural Foundations of Education to potential education students, created an assignment where the students would write their own textbook. The final result  (called a wikibook) was determined by the students and faculty using a grading rubric for each student submission. The best-written and supported sections were submitted to the final wikibook. The assignment was a huge success. A few years later when educational laws changed in Virginia, the wikibook was quite to adapt. The authors argue wikibooks may not be factually perfect, but there are quite a few benefits: a student-centered learning experience, skills are developed in researching primary sources, and the instructional design is extremely adaptive and flexible. In order for a wikibook assignment to be successful, the faculty member(s) must take a guiding approach to student learning, instead of lecturing. The conclusion argues for a pedagogical shift, not necessarily involving wikibooks, but a more general transition to faculty to encourage creativity and joy in teaching and learning. 

Malcolm Read talks about the benefits of collaboration not just on higher education community, but on information and communications technology (ICT) community as well. He also highlights the role of the virtual environment in enhancing collaborative research, and the impact of cloud technology on research, teaching and learning, and higher education management. ICT infrastructure has benefitted from the growth of collaboration research, facilitated by the World Wide Web. The usage of the virtual environment for virtual research has not been without its challenges, one being that the technology tools and applications usually require specialist support, and has high overhead costs, which are usually borne by the researchers themselves. Read argues that it is time for a new profession of research technologists to emerge with the skills to support collaborative research, identify generic approaches within the field of research, provide the required training, and provide maintenance of related infrastructures. Another alternative would be to heighten the professionalization of personnel who service the e-learning environment. On cloud computing, Read believes that the wealth of information available through the cloud is a valuable resource to administrative computing in the sense that it offers a cheaper data storage option. Of course one of the most obvious benefits of the cloud, is that it offers access to web 2.0 operations such as blogs, wikki and of course emails. The way each institution uses cloud technology however, will differ according to their individual needs, a point that should be taken into consideration if an organization should opt to design processes in collaboration with other institutions. Read sees virtualization as a solution to the problem because it can be used on any single computer, to run different applications, making it shareable between institutions. One concern here however is that of data security and duration of service. The crux of th

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 case study details the definition of an IT problem (too many projects backlogged) and the realization of a larger systemic problem (adopted technology not meeting needs of users) which led to a deep analysis of campus systems, stakeholders, and IT governance. The case is an example of a user community hungry for technology and hopeful that technology will solve their problems and an IT organization willing to support more technology use. The solution was IT governance, a process to more carefully evaluate user needs and proposed solutions and balance that with existing infrastructure and long term strategic planning. Value here is in the title: not often does higher education admit to failure and this is part of my thesis - that failure must be part of the culture in order to manage emerging technology effectively. CIOs and other campus leaders must be willing to acknowledge that something isn't working, admit failure or defeat, and move on. This must be done quickly - in an agile environment. The value here is that this case study illustrates my theory.

This blog post can be viewed as a supporting material to aid a reader in understanding the 2014 Horizon Report. Blog authors at Columbia's Center for New media Teaching and Learning review the Horizon Report and summarize its findings along with thoughts for application at Columbia. This summary of the report and insight from a prestigious university may aid a researcher in understanding perspectives on emerging technologies. The value here is in the author's perspective as an educational technology professional who manages campus technology and partners with faculty in adopting emerging tools and resources. He includes examples of past experience in technology adoption alongside thoughts about Columbia's opportunities to adopt new tools. For example, he describes the challenges associated with hybrid and flipped model teaching in response to the Horizon Report's concern for adoption and adaptation to emerging models and technology.

This video archive presents a point/counterpoint debate of the challenges and opportunities afforded a campus CIO. Issues discussed include: the cost of and shrinking budgets for campus IT; service and support for students and faculty users; managing emerging technology, such as Second Life virtual worlds; and professional development for CIOs. Both panelists agree that a CIO needs to be both a strategist and a plumber, but this agreement is not reached until the conclusion. Value in this resource are the issues presented and frank and sometimes humorous discourse between the two CIOs. The debate occurred when campuses were battling increased use of technologies by all stakeholders and decreased budgets due to the global economic crisis. The viewpoints reflect that challenging time and serves as a basis for evaluation of CIO ability to manage effectively in a crisis when technology use cannot be curbed by budget cuts.

Not an in-depth article nor a complete survey of issues, but it does give a brief overview of issues a higher education CIO must consider. The article's only strength is that it supports the argument that there needs to be a strategic plan in place for responsive adoption and implementation of emerging technologies. The publication is commendable and the article's publication date sets the stage for reflection on the most recent 5 years of technology issues in higher education.