Higher Education Needs to Invest in Technology

Today’s students aren’t just bringing their own technology devices to the classroom, they’re also bringing them to the student center, the gym and the dining hall. This increased use places greater demands on a campus IT infrastructure. Universities seeking to solve today’s challenges will need to respond with robust access and bandwidth upgrades. At the same time, institutions need to respond to the “mobility shift” which allows educators and students to be nimble and engaged from anywhere.

Additionally, the education community needs to think about how the emergence of augmented reality devices from Google Glass to Oculus will transform campuses. These devices bring powerful questions related to how they enable students and teachers to maximize the educational experience. Moreover, all of the thinking relative to technology investments needs to also consider security - as the cyber security attack at the University of Maryland earlier this year revealed, universities need to balance empowering students with keeping them safe.

Higher Education will Explore New Funding Models

The historic practice of providing funding to state institutions based on enrollment is already shifting to performance-based models. These models will redirect educational priorities and investment to help more students succeed while also redefining an institution’s responsibility to its students and its community. While the performance model discussions are more apparent for the state-funded institutions, their impact may extend further as it pertains to incubation, research and corporate support. Already, these systems are gaining momentum and leaders need to be highly involved with their build-out.

There’s no magic button to press to ensure education institutions success in the future. But, those seeking to differentiate themselves and best attract and empower students need to think about these issues and react immediately.

COMPREHENSIVE CHECK

Task 1. Match the words to the definitions.

1. challenge 2. sustainability 3. moving target 4. common denominator 5. MOOC 6. multi-disciplinary 7. wellness

a) involving different subjects of study in one activity; b) the idea that goods and services should be produced in ways that do not use resources that cannot be replaced and that do not damage the environment; c) a course of study that is made available over the internet and that can be followed by a large number of people; d) the situation of being faced with or something that needs great mental or physical effort in order to be done successfully and therefore tests a person’s ability; e) the state of being healthy; f) something that is the same for all the members of a group and might bring them together; g) something that is always changing, making it difficult to count, describe or achieve; h) the action of opposing something that you disapprove or disagree with.

Task 2. Decide whether these sentences are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. Online education delivery model is better than any other models.

2. Today’s students demand cross-disciplinary learning and thinking in science, engineering and technology.

3. Google Glass and Oculus will enable students and teachers to maximize the educational experience.

4. All Chief Academic Officers believe online education is strongly represented in their institutions’ long-term strategies.

5. Scores of other universities are realizing students value their academic experience than their life experience.

6. The increased use of technology devices places greater demands on a campus IT infrastructure.

LANGUAGE ACTIVITY