Memo
To:ISP 499z students
From:Jennifer Powers, instructor
Date:January 27, 2004
Re:Information Technology in Education presentation, 2/3/04
As information technology (IT) plays a bigger andbigger role in campus life, it is time for colleges and universities to consider
- Who are the people involved (stakeholders)?
- What issues does each set of stakeholders bring to the table?
- What are the critical success factors (things that must go right)?
- How can we measure the success of those factors?
Please review the attached quotes and additional readings.
I look forward to reviewing these issues with you on February 3, 2004. Please contact me ASAP if you have any questions at .
Attached: Questions
Questions
The new information revolution began in the business sector and has gone farthest in it. But it is about to engulf education and health care. It is bound to change both of them drastically. Again, thechanges in concepts will in the end be at least as important as the changes in tools and technology. It is pretty much accepted now that education technology is due for profound changes in structure. Long-distance learning, for instance, may well make obsolete within 25 yearsthat uniquely American institution, the freestanding undergraduate college. It is becoming clearer every day that these technical changes will—indeed, must—lead to redefining what is meant by education. One possible consequence: The center of gravity in higher education (i.e., postsecondary teaching and learning) may shift to the continuing professional education of adults during their entire working lives. This, in turn, is likely to move learning off campus and into a lot of new places: the home, the car, or the commuter train; the workplace, the church basement, or the school auditorium where small groups can meet after hours.
(Drucker 1998, p. 54)
- Consider the above quote. Do you think that in the last five years, we have begun to realize Drucker’s suggestions? Find online sources that support your argument.
- Read the Campus Computing Project reports for 1999–2002 ( Consider:
- Who are the people involved in IT in education?
- What are the issues involved and how have they changed?
Critical success factors thus are, for any business, the limited number of areas in which results, if they are satisfactory, will ensure successful competitive performance for the organization. They are the key areas where “things must go right” for the business to flourish. If resultsin these areas are not adequate, the organization’s efforts for the period will be less than desired.
(Rockart 1979, p. 85)
- Consider the Rockart quote above and the answers to the previous question. What do you think are the critical success factors involved in IT in higher education?