What is the role of technology in

higher education?Saira AkhtarYaseen Bhutta Alannah FehrenbachWill LorenzoMichelle Shayowitz

"Given the tremendous growth in online learning over the last decade and a half, we might comfortably hypothesize that this new form of learning has been both disruptive and innovative".

- Peter Stokes

How is technology affecting higher education in America?

• Technology is rapidly advancing, and as

it becomes more available, the United States has increased pressure to maintain a competitive edge in the world market.

• US graduation rates from higher education are dropping, and while funding for education in many states decreases, College Board notes a tuition increase of 5.6% over the past decade (Wildavsky, Kelley, Carey 2)

Technology plays a role in learning institutions in 4 distinct ways:1. Globalization of HE through technology

2. Cost

3. Tangible technology (Smart/Hybrid Classrooms)

4. Intangible technology (MOOCS)

Purpose of Technology

"Technology should be the means not the end…what’s your mission… for us we want to use technology [at a global level]...we know it’s a great way to unite classes in what you are doing…we just have to do it in a way that’s meaningful-Vice President Lynne Brown- NYU

Colleges and Globalization

• The majority of universities will have some kind of presence abroad in the coming years

• In a survey, 54% of respondents, which included executives from around the world, said that their institutions have or plan on having foreign locations.

• Education is becoming easily accessible and allowing students from around the world to come together and learn.

Recruiting Students

• Technology (websites, advertisements) is one of the main way colleges reach out to potential students.

• "It's a challenge internally to make sure that we still put a lot out in print but (also) how’s your website set up and how easy is navigation and how are you putting all your material on mobile apps …technology will be key to us”-Vice President Lynne Brown- NYU

Recruiting Students• An education that

incorporates technology is an incentive to go to certain schools like Macaulay because "you can't be a successful person unless you are literate in technology"- Dean Kirschner- Macaulay Honors College

Advantages of the Technological Revolution:

Economic:

• Cuts administrative costs considerably

• Online classes are making college more affordable

Advantages of the Technological Revolution

Community:• “Campus Matters” - Richard Guarasci: President of

Wagner College

• Technology shouldn’t be seen as a counter to traditional higher education but as a supplement

• Goal shifts from: “Knowledge assimilation to critical thinking”

Smart Technology in Classrooms

-Provides easy-to-use, interactive way for professors to give lessons

-Professors can show images, videos, and use animations to enhance learning experience

-Seen as the future of education, universally approved, but very expensive

Pres. Scott Evenbeck"It was a traditional lecture hall and the professor

wanted to put whiteboards all the way around the room. The professor would talk about physics and then the students would all go to the white boards and work physics problems and then he would coach them, and guess what, they did a lot better rather than them passively taking notes the whole time.”

"I’m hoping that all of higher education can learn from hybrid courses. Electronic resources should be used to learn some of the content and then the students can go to a lecture to build upon what they already learned online."

President Karen Gould, Brooklyn College

(paraphrased)

Creating one "smart" classroom cost $50,000 alone. Although these classrooms would be beneficial, the budget simply cannot allow for all classes to have "smart" technology.

Chancellor Goldstein

"Now technology is envisioning things the way we could never imagine.”

"The largest part of CUNY's budget has to do with people. That is unsustainable in the future. We will have to find a way to balance the delivery of content in a way between technology and people and that’s going to have to happen."

Chancellor Goldstein"Laboratories are

very expensive and labs today can often be done virtually and that’s also going to happen.”

"So much of this is about cost and to be able to do things in an integrated way with technology that we were never able to do before."

VS.

Technology Making Distance Learning Possible

What Role Will MOOCs Play in the Future of Online Education?

What is a MOOC?

• Massive Open Online Course.

• One teacher lectures remotely to hundreds, or even thousands of students.

• No face-to-face interaction between students and their professors.

• Interactive user forums.

St. Francis

Provost Houlihan

(While talking about a course he teaches)

"I never lecture because there's a

fantastic MOOC on it"

The class meets once a week to complete

assignments.

President Dugan

"Online courses are not for the students

in this college."

Success requires a certain type of

student.

Senate Bill 520 in California- requiring state colleges and universities to grant credit to

students who opt for MOOCs.

Pros

Can compensate for the underfunding of

colleges.

Students won't be closed out of courses needed to obtain their

degrees.

Cons

Higher rate of withdrawals/failure.

Shows interest for for-profit organizations

"I believe in face to face interaction...I learn better when I'm looking at the professor. The professor can give me live feedback...The alternative that will be beneficial for everybody is to mix online and in-class, but online can never replace in-class. To get the best out of the professor, you need to see the professor. Hybrid is good.

Kafui Kouakou, University Student Senate Chairperson

Pres. Scott Evenbeck"MOOCs are just a

different form of publication. They're delivering the content, but what are the students learning, and how do you assess that learning. The whole secret of MOOCs is how you close the loop.”

“In the classroom, we ought to use that classroom to learn from one another and to be coached by the faculty member."

MOOCs and the Future of Higher Education

• Will we have a few "Rockstar" professors teaching the masses?

• Will accreditation become more widespread?

• How will this affect the quality of student learning?

• How will this affect the economy?

Massive Online Open Administration: MOOAs

"Think about it: MOOAs are the perfect solution to the rising cost of education. We take superstar administrators and let them administer tens, maybe even hundreds, of thousands of faculty at a time." Laurie Essig of The Chronicle

Future of technology

-Increased use of smart technology in classrooms

-More budget apportionment to technological innovation (sci fi future?)

-Increased global presence of American HE institutions to help competitive edge

Acknowledgements

We would all like to thank the following:

Prof. Louise Hainline

ITF Maggie Galvan

Chancellor Goldstein

Dean Kirschner

All of our interviewees