How Technology is Revolutionizing Higher Ed

Technology is bringing about change in most industries by enabling new models to emerge and develop faster. In turn, learning to learn is fast becoming the most valuable skill and is already valued as such in the fast changing world of tech.

According to The Institute for the Future (IFTF), an independent, non-profit research organization, a new movement is afoot, one driven by trailblazers, people who take charge of their own education. IFTF created a new project around asking a key question: are you an extreme learner?

Extreme learners are powered by technology. They harness a fast-expanding world of knowledge that is increasingly at their fingertips. They know that learning now can be done anywhere at anytime.

Marrying technology to learning creates the basis for a revolution in higher education.

Key themes underscoring this brewing revolution are:

• Social networks have not created the human thirst for learning new things – we are born with this desire and necessity – they have merely contributed to making it visible by enabling sharing and collaboration at scale.
• The World Wide Web we know is a long way from the Internet and its original purpose. It will continue to evolve with platforms growing based on the value they provide.
• The issue with education institutions is that they are putting administration and process before people. Because people now have more options and tools, and compare notes again, they are voting with their attention and time, far more precious than any other currency.
• New models are creating useful experiences both in offering an entry point for different kind of learners – visual, auditory, kinesthetic – who can go at their own pace, and for selecting the right programs for the student – app development, responsive web design, and also mastering a new language, for example.
• The open source tools of choice vary; the attractive propositions are access, convenience, and support.
• Schools need to teach subject matters for the digital/social/tech age.
• Educational institutions have developed the habit of demanding from students with little giving back.
• Curricula are limited to the industrial definition and model of education.
• It is time for educational institutions to embrace technology.

A platform for learning together

The Internet was born as a tool to enable communication and collaboration. From the development of ARPANET# to modern day, universities have been heavily involved in its development via research and innovation and computer science centers and throughout its history.

In the early 1980s the NSF funded the establishment for national supercomputing centers at several universities, and provided interconnectivity in 1986 with the NSFNET project, which also created network access to the supercomputer sites in the United States from research and education organizations.

Today we take interconnectivity for granted, accessing the World Wide Web# via browsers both to conduct business, to learn about products and services, and to learn via information – whether freely available, paid, or freemium, a mix of both.

Education dates its origins farther back in history#; in the United States, the Mann reforms# introduced a model based on Prussian discipline and gained widespread approval becoming the most influential factor in building the foundation for the operational aspects of modern schools.

Early opportunity with standardization

Prior to the spreading of school as the place where official learning happened, many children learned to read and do math at home, mostly with their mothers.

In the 19 century, colleges helped young men make the transition from rural environments to the more complex economy of cities. Some institutions in the Eastern part of the country employed a model dating back several centuries (with tutors) catering to niche audiences – the offspring of wealthy families.

By 1900 educators argued that the post-literacy schooling of the masses at the secondary and higher levels, would improve citizenship, develop higher-order traits, and produce the managerial and professional leadership needed for rapid economic modernization. The commitment to expanded education past age 14 set the U.S. apart from Europe for much of the 20th century#.

By developing and applying standards, the earlier education networks’ purpose was to train workers for contemporary jobs in factories and to form well-adjusted citizens. Higher education was still a fairly exclusive proposition# reserved to those who were destined to leadership positions.

In Europe, schools date farther back; the University of Bologna#, my Alma Mater, opened its doors in 1088. Many world-renowned writers, philosophers, scientists, jurists, and economist taught there, several celebrated business people received their education at UNIBO.

The word universitas originally applied only to the scholastic guild (or guilds)—that is, the corporation of students and masters—within the studium, and it was always modified, as universitas magistrorum, or universitas scholarium, or universitas magistrorum et scholarium.

In the course of time, however, probably toward the latter part of the 14th century, the term began to be used by itself, with the exclusive meaning of a self-regulating community of teachers and scholars whose corporate existence had been recognized and sanctioned by civil or ecclesiastical authority.#

While standardization of education served a civic purpose, the roots of the institutions that served that purpose provide a useful data point to explore where technology is taking us next.

More complex economies requiring higher education

The complexity of modern industry and the diversification of businesses increasingly required a differentiation of curricula to both help form a broader and stronger skill base and to specialize workers for different functions.

In modern times technology itself has also become an essential component of many businesses – both as part of the production and operational aspects of how companies work, go to market strategies, and to service customers.

Technology is supporting a direct approach to knowledge sharing and learning.

Introduced in 2012 and now competing with established online education providers, the ‘Massive Open Online Course’ format or MOOC offers a rich roster of online programs whose value proposition is the ability to access courses from distinguished faculty tenured in top universities# on a variety of topics, often free of charge.

Coursera is an example of this kind of offering. Anyone can browse the roster of courses available, discover a course, sign up online, and learn at a personal pace through videos and interactive quizzes. Students can complete assessment graded by peers and connect with course mates and teachers like Dan Ariely, professor of psychology and behavioral economics, Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Although courses are free to attend, students pay for certification with some courses approved for credit equivalency by the American Council on Education. The platform has around 1.4 million course enrollments each month#. In a NYT interview#, Coursera CEO Richard C. Levin, former president of Yale University, says growth will come from the number of people seeking certificates and courses for professional advancement, where certification will be important.

Other startups like Udacity (also for profit) and edX (non profit, affiliated with MIT) are based on the MOOC format. With technology as the backbone, these entities are and will be able to see which courses and programs are popular and select to support the best ones.

With adoption, online offerings multiplied

Once the stigma of getting a university degree online was removed thanks to the proliferation of options and the marketing efforts of early entrants founded to help working adult learners, more universities started offering online degrees.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average student profile has evolved from young, financially dependent, and full time to older, working, and part-time. This second trend is adding an incentive for top tier universities to offer online degree programs.

A separate ranked list# is evidence of a wider acceptance of the programs. As the pool of applicants for online degrees increases#, so is the number of universities that cater to them. Here is a ranking of top online colleges# for 2014, and a listing of accredited online schools and colleges#.

Due to their participation in MOOCs and the advantage afforded to them by name recognition, top-tier universities are experiencing growth, while other institutions are forced to consolidate physical locations and revisit course make-up, learning formats, and provide more student support to help with program completion and remain competitive.

Challenges with opportunities

Hybrid programs are on the rise. However, a recent report by New Media Consortium on Higher Education# highlights key challenges institutions are facing along with the opportunities afforded by technology on the curriculum and teaching side. They are:

1. Virtual lack of technology training for faculty members

As lecturers and professors begin to realize that they are limiting their students by not helping them to develop and use digital media literacy skills across the curriculum, the lack of formal training is being offset through professional development or informal learning, but we are far from seeing digital media literacy as a norm.

2. New forms of scholarship, such as conducting or posting research via social media, are outpacing the ability of many faculty members to assess their value adequately.

3. Current processes (such as tenure reviews) do not value technological sophistication and therefore discourage faculty members from moving beyond the status quo.

4. Current technology and practices do not adequately support individualized learning.

5. Traditional models of higher education are being challenged by new forms of education, like MOOCs, which need to be evaluated to determine how to best support collaboration, interaction, and assessment at scale.

6. Most academics are not using new technologies for learning and teaching, nor for organizing their own research.

On the business model side, sustainability depends on financial health, ultimately determined by enrollments, course completions, and student satisfaction – all increasingly measured in real world results and career outcomes.

Marketing spend will help in the short term, while learning exchanges like Coursera grow in adoption and find a model that creates a win-win situation both for students to receive recognized credits when and where it matters to them, and for the MOOC format or something like it to become profitable.

As is often the case, revolutions are the product of dissatisfaction with the establishment and external forces that reveal another viable path.

In the case of education, the challenges are multiple, including the rising cost of a university degree and the allure of alternative, faster, options to a productive and profitable work life achieved through them.

Role models and examples of successful entrepreneurs and enterprising teams that have leveraged hybrid models or created their own learning opportunities through experience abound.

In a world that is embracing the art of making again and places value on the ability to get things done as well as the skill of good communicators, where learning to learn is the most useful competence, what does the new education format look like?