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Weighing In
The Next Phase for Academic Computing
7/16/2008
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Organizational Reluctance to Embrace Innovation and Risk
Those who advocate for innovation and risk in the use of information technology toward improved learning face a cultural barrier. In the lexicon of the existing campus computing establishment, "innovation" and "risk" are not a top priority. Central computing, now, and very necessarily, pursues stability, management of large numbers of resources, incremental change, testing, auditing, reliability, disaster recovery, vendor contracts for service and maintenance, sustainability, and quality of service.
At a time when the most startling and exciting learning environments are being created in Web 2.0, the computing establishment has enough to do just to keep the big pipes and big iron running.
Since academic computing should be pursuing Web 2.0, where the action is, its placement within an organizational structure not suited to venture into Web 2.0 territory, perhaps it should be moved. Academic computing units have never fit comfortably within central computing administrative units, and perhaps now they should not be so positioned.
How To Administratively Recognize Innovation and Risk?
Web 2.0 is decreasing the importance of central computing. IT-savvy folks on campus now see, in some cases, they have a choice between an application supported on campus and a similar application offered on the Web.
In a world where the apps are "out there" and the browser is the portal to information technology resources, and where the subscription model continues to grow, and especially where Web 2.0 is evolving into the new desktop, the gap between existing commitment to central computing and exploring new learning opportunities becomes all too clear.
We see now in higher education that innovation around teaching, learning, research, and technology has moved to academic departments, research centers, and the library.
Recommended Reading
- Digital Arrays for Evidence-Based Learning
Our culture is redefining itself and we are redefining how we see learning. It is time for educators to get out of the box of seat time, finally, and consider evidence-based learning.
- 'That Which Weaves Together': The NSF Cyberlearning Report
Trent Batson takes a look at the National Science Foundation's Report of the NSF Task Force on Cyberlearning, "Fostering Learning in the Networked World: The Cyberlearning Opportunity and Challenge."
- The Power of Wikis in Higher Ed
Over the last six years, Stewart Mader has staked his career on the power of wikis. Mader first worked on wiki adoption initiatives in the IT department at Brown University, becoming fascinated by their power and potential. In this first half of a two-part interview, Mader talks about powerful ways to use wikis in education, content ownership issues, and how wikis tend to be used--and why.
- Sakai 2.5.2 Gets Performance Boost; New Modules Released
The Sakai Foundation has released the Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment 2.5.2, the first maintenance update to the open-source learning management system since the 2.5 release in March. The new version includes performance enhancements, as well as a number of bug fixes and other enhancements.
- Microsoft Changes Virtualization Licensing Rules
Microsoft has made substantial changes to its virtualization licensing program, changes that will lower the cost of using virtualization for many customers.
- Vorex Upgrades Web-based Data Collection Tool for Schools
Vorex has released an update to its Vorex Online Survey, a Web-based data collection tool designed to allow schools to collect information and gather feedback from education stakeholders.
