Digital Technologies inDigital Technologies in Higher Education: Higher Education:

Current Challenges and Future Current Challenges and Future ProspectsProspects

Digital Technologies inDigital Technologies in Higher Education: Higher Education:

Current Challenges and Future Current Challenges and Future ProspectsProspects

Sarah Guri-Rosenblit

International Forum, e-Learning Russia,MESI University, Moscow, 3 June 2010

The Open University of Israel

Higher Education:Higher Education: Influencing Influencing TrendsTrends

• Widening of access• Budget cuts by governments• Growing diversity of higher education

institutions• Globalization• Emergence of the digital technologies

Widening of Access Widening of Access

• Start of the 20th century - 1 million students

• 1960s - about 7 million students

• 2010 – about 150 million students

Peter Drucker's Prediction:Peter Drucker's Prediction:

“Thirty years from now the big university campuses will be relics. Universities won’t survive. It is as large a change as when we first got the printed book”.

Drucker, P. (1998). The future has already happened, Futurist, 32 (8), p. 16.

Digital Technologies: Digital Technologies: Confusing TerminologyConfusing Terminology

• E-learning• Web-enhanced learning• ICT• Telematics environments• Computer-mediated communication• Virtual classrooms• ……..

Distance Education and E-learning:Distance Education and E-learning:NotNot the Same Thingthe Same Thing

• Most applications of e-learning take place in campus-based universities

• Most distance education is not carried on by the digital technologies

Impact of the New TechnologiesImpact of the New Technologies

• Networks of research communities

• Administration

• Library restructuring

• Teaching/learning - ???

Some Erroneous AssumptionsSome Erroneous Assumptions

• Space and time as barriers to overcome• Urge to broaden access• Self-evident advantages of the technologies• Natural study inclinations of students• Making profits• Imparting information vs. constructing

knowledge

Reluctance of Academic FacultyReluctance of Academic Facultyto Use a Web-enhanced Teachingto Use a Web-enhanced Teaching

• Time consumption• Lack of incentives• Lack of technological literacy• Distributed teaching responsibility• Lack of appropriate support systems• Burnout

Navigating between Contrasting Navigating between Contrasting TrendsTrends

• Globalization vs. national needs• Broadening of access vs. marketization• Competition vs. collaboration• Intellectual property vs. intellectual

philanthropy (OER – Open Educational Resources)

Sir Arthhur Clarke's Observation:Sir Arthhur Clarke's Observation:

“When it comes to technology, most people overestimate it in the short term and underestimate it in the long term”.

Clarke, A. (1999). 2001 – A Cyber Odyssey: Arthur Clarke’s optimistic guide to surviving the information age, Himalmag, 12 (11).

Challenges & TrendsChallenges & Trends

• Bridging over the digital divide• Finding the golden triangle of utilizing the

technologies and reaching a balance between costs-access-quality

• Moving from national higher education systems to global/glocal networks

GlobalizationGlobalization

“Humboldt’s university with its emphasis on research was one of the transformative institutions of the 19th century, the emerging global university is set to be one of the transformative institutions of the current era”.

Economist, September 8th, 2005

Challenges & Trends Challenges & Trends (continued)(continued)

• Establishing efficient national and international quality assurance mechanisms

• Utilizing the potential of the Open Educational Resources (OER)

• Changing roles of academic faculty• Changing the fabric of potential student

clienteles• Gradual change of academic environments

Potential Student ClientelesPotential Student Clienteles

• Local-national-international?

• Young-old?• Only for academic degrees or also for

professional training or for recreation/life long learning purposes?

Gradual Change of Gradual Change of Academic EnvironmentsAcademic Environments

• Moving to a blended mode of learning/teaching

• Collaborative degrees between several institutions within national jurisdictions and beyond

• Broader and wider integration of advanced technologies

Thanks for your attention!Thanks for your attention!