Leadership & Technology: Infrastructure Is Not the Issue

Carole A. Barone, EDUCAUSE

Charleston, SC

June 19, 2002

Copyright Carole A. Barone, 2002. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational

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TransformationTransformation

…to change or alter completely in nature, form or function (Webster’s Dictionary),

i.e., taking away

Learning Anxiety (Schein, HBR

March 2002)

Information Technology is about change

AND

IT is changing IT.

Infrastructure Is Infrastructure Is not not the Issuethe Issue Technological determinism is a fallacy

Technological, economic, and social forces are driving institution-wide transformation

Institutional characteristics (culture, values, policy, politics) & leadership style affect the viability of strategic choices

Current support methods do not scale

(NLII Findings 2000)

Convergence of technology & Convergence of technology &

pedagogypedagogy

Convergence of Technology & Convergence of Technology & PedagogyPedagogy

TechnologyLiteracy

ClassroomPresentations

Discipline/Specific

Applications

SystemicApplication

s

Individual Collaboration

Concept Map of Key ThemesConcept Map of Key Themes New business models

(partnerships, consortia,collaboration)

Assessment

Knowledge management

Student support services

Online communities E-learning

Learner centeredby design & practice

Learning materials & services

markets

Faculty engagement and support

Ubiquitous, transparent technology

Pedagogy/learning theory

Education that is

•Active & learner-centered

•Dynamic and lifelong

•Collaborative

•Cost-effective

•High quality

•Accessible

Policy

Perspective:Perspective:Convergence or Convergence or

Collision?Collision?

IT’s Different Than IT’s Different Than It WasIt Was

“IT support staff cannot claim success just because they deliver product, nor can IT customers expect satisfaction without thinking about what they want.”

(Gregory Jackson, “Ya Can Talk All Ya Want, But IT’s Different Than It Was:

Conundrums in Support of Information Technology,” ER, Sept/Oct 2001.)

Why are we worrying Why are we worrying about this?about this?

Perceived Failures

Expectations

Supportability

EXPECTATIONS !EXPECTATIONS !Students expect professional quality

courseware

Faculty expect independence

Administrators expect to be held blameless

STUDENTS EXPECTSTUDENTS EXPECTActive learning situations

Convenience/Customized learning environments – “swirling” (Johnstone, et.al)

Interaction and Collaboration

Faculty to share their cognition

Learning is: Technology enables:Learning is: Technology enables:

Active Interactivity

Social Online anytime

Contextual Multi-media

Engaged Diversity of presentation

Owned Asynchronous

(NLII Fellows: Knibb, Carmean, Haefner 2002)

Emerging Faculty RoleEmerging Faculty Role

Designing active learning and knowledge creation environments that immerse the student in the cognitive style of the discipline.

Faculty Types & Faculty Types & ExpectationsExpectations

Entrepreneurs (Cottage Industry)Risk-Avoiders (Boutique

Solutions)Careerists (Consistency)Reluctants (Prove It!)

Paul R. Hagner, “Faculty Engagement and Support in the New Learning Environment”, ER, Sept./Oct. 2000, pp26-37.

PerspectivePerspective

AdministrationAdministration

Administrators expect the CIO to handle matters of technology

Leaders expect to focus on external relations

Leaders expect to use rhetoric to guide transition

Service DilemmaService Dilemma

Dealing with the friction created by the need for a dynamic, blended service environment to support individual faculty members in a culture that abhors risk and values linearity, critical scrutiny, and consensus building governance conventions.

““Changing Roles, Changing Changing Roles, Changing Rules”Rules”

Blend support for academic and administrative, teaching and research computing

Blend local control into service concept(Brown & Jackson, NLII02)

Package consistency to respect process and independence

Promote learning objects over individual course redesign

Design “help” around new learning and working strategies

Align IT and institutional planning and assessment Collaborate!

Breakthrough Breakthrough Leadership Leadership (HBR Nov/Dec 01)(HBR Nov/Dec 01)

Institutions require a new style of courageous, focused,visible, and emotionally intelligent leadership with a deeper level of internal executive engagement

2121stst Century Leadership Century Leadership RealityReality

Sociotechnological ContextTransformational AssessmentLearning OutcomesExpectations & DemandCollaboration/PartneringAlignment & ROI/VOI

http://www.educause.edu/nlii/keythemes

Readiness for Readiness for TransformationTransformation

Awareness + Attitude = Readiness

The institution must know why it is doing this and must make informed choices

(Ready Tool -www.educause.edu/ready)

Leaders must create an environment that can accept change

Systemic ApproachSystemic Approach

Software

Products

Standards

Business Models

Policy

Relationships

Support Services

Technology

BestPractices

Space

Guiding PrinciplesGuiding Principles

Know thyself

…and thy president

Tie your camel

Leadership & Technology: Infrastructure Is Not the Issue

Carole A. Barone, EDUCAUSE

Charleston, SC

June 19, 2002

Sources and ResourcesSources and Resources Ready Tool – www.educause.edu/ready MERLOT – www.merlot.org National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII)

Key Themes - www.educause.edu/nlii/keythemes Carole A. Barone and Paul R. Hagner, eds.

Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning: Leading and Supporting the Transformation on Your Campus, Leadership Series, Vol 5, Jossey-Bass, 2001.

Jason L. Frand, “Students’ Information Age Mindset”, ER, Sept./Oct. 2000, pp.14-24.

ACE/EDUCAUSE Series – Distributed Education: Challenges, Choices and a New Environment

Buckley & Laurillard articles in EDUCAUSE Review, January/February 2002.

READY TOOL PURPOSEREADY TOOL PURPOSEgetting below the surfacegetting below the surface

Conceptual framework for complex decisions

Context for creating a dialog about key questions and issues

Interactive medium for dissemination Gauge of campus readiness for change

www.educause.edu/ready/

Major Activities Major Activities

Result • High Quality Learning Components • Support for Faculty Development

M E R L O T

Track & Assess Usage

Develop Discipline

Communities

Post/Host Learning

Components

Review & Assess

Learning Components

Solicit Learning Components

Emerging IssuesEmerging Issues

Scholarship of TeachingLearning OutcomesService vs. ControlTransformative assessmentExpense vs. investment (ROI)Demand vs. Supply

http://www.educause.edu/nlii/keythemes