149 Chapter IT in Higher EducationPossibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis Amir Manzoor Bahria University, Pakistan ABSTRACT A 21st Century Classroom is a learning environment that incorporates current critical thinking, problem solving, communication, and collaboration skills into traditional core knowledge instruction Fostering this space will enable students to integrate core subjects and lead to a deeper understanding of global awareness and greater economic, civic, health and environmental literacy Skeptics have argued that transforming higher education, especially to attenuate its cost is something, which we know, but we cannot get it However, information technology is a way to achieve this required transformation This chapter explores explore how information technology might help achieve this transformation to advance higher education, and its prospects for success INTRODUCTION Information Technology (IT) means the use of hardware, software, services, and supporting infrastructure to manage and deliver information using voice, data, and video (North Dakota Information Technology Department, 2014) IT also included the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW) IT is an essential element for endorsement and assessment of courses taught in higher degrees IT also provides support to teachers for communicating with various stakeholder and to students to adapt to new environments Both teachers and students view IT as a change agent for producing a large, positive impact on their camps lives IT provides numerous learning services for both faculty and students Higher education institutions (HEIs) must include exchange of knowledge as part of these learning services This exchange of knowledge occurs among faculty, students, and staff that are specialists in their relevant fields of knowledge As such, the HEIs as whole can benefit from this pool of specialized knowledge to improve their decision making In order better educate citizens so that they are able to live in an ever more complex DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-9455-2.ch007 Copyright © 2016, IGI Global Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis world, IT resources should be commoditize so that they become mobile and easily accessible Technology is changing and fusing into higher education at a rapid pace The trend is leading us towards a world where IT will become so pervasive and every HEI will adopt IT to improve higher education Being highly flexible, IT provides us various options about how best to apply it While some choice may be straightforward, other require a careful reflection on the university values that will be expressed by the use of IT The purpose of this chapter is to explore how information technology might advance higher education, and its prospects for success HIGHER EDUCATION As of 2011, the latest figures available in 2014, the US has a total of 4,599 Title IV-eligible, degreegranting institutions: 2,870 4-year institutions and 1,729 2-year institutions (National Center for Education Statistics, 2012) The US had 21 million students in higher education, roughly 5.7% of the total population About 13 million of these students were enrolled full-time which was 81,000 students lower than 2010 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013) In 2009, 21.3% of the adult population above 18 years had attended college, but had no degree, 7.5% held an associate’s degree, 17.6% held a bachelor’s degree, and 10.3% held a graduate or professional degree The historical gender gap had practically vanished New England and Colorado had the highest proportion of college graduates, and the South Central states the lowest (Census Beureau, 2012) In 2011, 76.4% of people aged 25-54 in the EU-27 had at least an upper secondary education level, compared to 57.3% of those aged 55-74 Those who had high educational attainment amounted respectively 28.8% and 17.6% Just over one third (34.6%) of the population aged 30 to 34 in the EU-27 had a tertiary education in 2011 (Eurostat, 2013) Before exploring IT and its potential roles in higher education, this chapter will take a look at some key demographic facts about higher education By 2012, there were around 13 million students studying in European universities In USA, the largest group of students was in 2-year colleges (Sedghi & Allen, 2012) 2.1 Students and Institutions Across the globe, HEIs vary greatly with respect to number of students and type of institutions By 2014, research and doctoral universities in USA accounted for less than 10% of HEIs and enrolled more than 25% of total number of students Most small 4-year and master’s institutions in USA were private and comprised almost 20% of all the institutions (Jackson, 2012) However, these institutions only enrolled 5% of total number of students There were many specialized HEIs (such as business, health, medical, and engineering) but they enrolled a very small number of students While the student enrolment distribution in HEIs didn’t follow the Pareto distribution (80-20 rule) but it was close 33% of all HEIs in US enrolled 80% of the total number of students (National Science Foundation, 2014) There are now between three and seven students per computer on average in the EU; laptops, tablets and netbooks are becoming pervasive, but only in some countries Interactive whiteboards are present in schools (over 100 students per interactive whiteboard), as well as data projectors More than nine out of ten students are in schools with broadband, at most commonly between and 30Mbps on average in the EU Most schools are connected at least at basic level (for example, a website, local area network, virtual learning environment) (European Schoolnet, 2013) 150 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis 2.2 Finances Private institutions in USA derived twice as much of their revenue from tuition as compared with public institutions However, private institutions derived a very small proportion of revenue from government support In contrast, public institutions were the biggest receivers of government support Private 4-year universities, and US colleges spent around $23,000 per student on instruction as compared with approximately $13,000 per student spent by the public institutions (Jackson, 2012) Though, private institutions enrolled only about 48% of the number of students that public institutions enrolled Such variances in education industry are the driving force behind the structural challenges of future higher education 2.3 Costs and Productivity Education costs and student debt are rising at an unsustainable rates (Surowiecki, 2011) These cost issues can be considered as an instance of Baumol’s cost disease (Baumol & Bowen, 1993) As Surowiecki, (2011) states “teachers today aren’t any more productive than they were in 1980 … colleges can’t pay 1980 salaries, and the only way they can pay 2011 salaries is by raising prices” (p.3) In a speech (US Department of Education, 2011), US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said “I want to ask you, and the entire higher education community, to look ahead and start thinking more creatively—and with much greater urgency—about how to contain the spiraling costs of college and reduce the burden of student debt on our nation’s students” (p 1) Similar point was made in a discussion among several US College and university leaders and President Obama (Whitehouse.gov, 2011) It is clear that to address higher education costs and debt problems fundamental changes are needed IT can play an important role in that change Despite its simplicity and appealing nature, the productivity observation made by Surowiecki (2011), is not complete as it doesn’t take into account the non-traditional education models 2.4 Expectations and Models Society expectations for higher education continue to rise (Jackson, 2012) These rising expectations come in part from the continuing expansion of knowledge and in part from cognitive challenges The curriculum is only part of these expectations Higher education also expected to provide graduates with reasoning and critical-thinking skills These skills include the ability to make judgments about news, data, arguments, and analysis One significant achievement of higher education is a vastly more diverse student population This student population has important and positive consequences for our society At the same time, this student population poses serious challenges because the diverse learning styles and requirements of this population makes this population difficult and expensive to educate Despite prevalence of traditional campus-based higher education, there exist many non-traditional educational models that are better positioned to exploit technology and overcome Baumol cost disease These educational models include some well-established public institutions (such as Empire State College in USA and Jawaharlal Nehru University in India), newer public institutions (such as California State University at Monterey Bay, USA and Chanakya National Law University, India), for-profit institutions 151 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis (such as the University of Phoenix), multi-state collaborations (such as Western Governors University, USA and Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), India), and many community colleges (Jackson, 2012) It can be said that these institutions were developed as a response to Baumol cost disease 2.5 Prospects of IT in Higher Education There exist opportunities in higher education of streamlining administration, reducing duplication of work, and consolidating departments Capitalizing these opportunities, however, is not the cure for Baumol cost disease Higher education needs a fundamental change in its core activities, its organizational structures, and the teaching/learning styles and strategies Making IT central to the teaching and learning process is one way to achieve this change We see many exemplary efforts in this area such as PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations), Apple II, Personal Computer (PC), and MIT’s Project Athena All these efforts aimed to transform higher education by helping higher education grow, evolve, and gain efficiency and flexibility Still more change is needed in higher education Modern technologies and initiatives (such as social media, virtual environments, and cloud computing) continue to impact higher education The important question here is the nature of these changes Are these changes evolutionary, or transformational? And if higher education needs a transformation, what is the best path towards this transformation? INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Mostly, IT consists of a multilateral array of hardware and software, end- user devices, servers, and networks According to Educause (2014), approximately 5% of the overall expenditure of US-based universities and colleges was devoted to information technology Worldwide IT spending patterns differ with respect to control and institution size Increased institutional spending on compensation and staff training is an indication that HEIs are investing in their workforce The largest part of this spending was on core organizational systems and services (such as data centers) followed by sending on teaching and learning technology (Educause, 2013) Role of technology in HEI is evolving and the future role will depend on HEIs priorities of IT spending IT spending focused on enhancing the traditional model would limit the transformational role of IT IT spending focused on supplementing, changing, and even replacing the traditional model would help HEIs capitalize on transformational role of IT and avoid Baumol disease 3.1 Progress To date IT has progressed rapidly but in uneven fashion and progress in one area driving others and vice versa For example the rapid growth of communication has resulted in heavy taxing of previously underused mobile networks In the past, excess capabilities of wired Internet resulted in emergence of services such as YouTube The convergence, integration, and migration of technology are the most significant aspects of technology progress Today’s IT components (i.e servers, networks, and end-user devices) are interconnected and interdependent and increasingly indistinguishable 152 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis IT is everywhere in our daily lives End-user devices are small and light enough to be carried everywhere Pervasive wireless networks are able to connect these devices all the time Clouds of servers host an astounding diversity of services, resources, and information This progress in IT has made possible a rapid and extensive social change to occur The connectivity has also become at least as important as location socially, economically, and politically 3.2 Knowledge Society IT produces profound and irreversible effects on our ways of working in all areas of the professional, social, and personal life The Knowledge Society makes infinite and extremely varied resources of information, knowledge and learning provision available at any place and any time The possibilities allowing one to participate in social life taking place anywhere in the world are pervasive and engaging Our environment, habits and expectations are changing as a result of such ubiquitous and easy access to these exciting opportunities Higher education has also benefited from these opportunities The present context poses radical challenges to the educational paradigm HEIs need to come up with new ways to engage students in their learning and prepare them for their future life and contribution to society It is expected of higher education to develop new competences in students with new ways of teaching HEIs need to design and provide active, personalized and collaborative learning environments that could engage students in effective, efficient and rich learning paths and provide them the knowledge and key competences needed by 21st century knowledge societies IT, integrated into these learning environments, can provide great contribute to education systems’ success in facing this complex challenge To make this happen there are some conditions that should be met First, students must have access to operational infrastructure in the classroom and make best use of it during lessons Second, teachers must have the right competences enabling them to use IT to support engaging teaching and in-depth learning Third, suitable and adaptable pedagogical environments that can be adopted mainstream while being adaptable to different contexts Fourth, good quality learning resources must be available and students’ assessment models must be updated and implemented (European Schoolnet, 2013) 3.3 Looking Ahead Most scientific predictions about the evolution of technology over the next five years fail IBM (2013a) provided the following five predictions for 2014 • • The Classroom Will Learn You: The classroom of the future will learn about each individual student over the course of their education, helping them master the skills that match their goals The rapid digitization of educational institutions will allow unprecedented instrumentation of the learning process Cognitive computing, or learning technologies, will help us calculate everything we can about how each student learns and thrives, then create flexibility in the system to continually adapt and fine-tune what we deliver to that student and how this supports teachers and employers Buying Local Will Beat Online: The technology trends will move us back to brick and mortar—but with a difference In the future, retailers will layer increasing levels of engagement and personalization on top of the shopping experience, ultimately merging the instant gratification of physical shopping with the richness of online shopping and making same-day delivery a snap 153 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis • • • Doctors Will Routinely Use Your DNA to Keep You Well: Today, full DNA testing to help make treatment decisions is still rare But cognitive systems and cloud computing may make this form of treatment mainstream It could be done faster, more affordably and much more frequently In addition to DNA testing for cancers, we may even see DNA-specific personalized treatment options for conditions such as stroke and heart disease A Digital Guardian Will Protect You Online: Security is evolving from being based on rules, like passwords, to being automatic and made stronger through us just being us This guardian will have your back, trained to focus on the people and items it is entrusted with based on a 360 degree of an individual’s data, devices and applications It will make inferences about what’s normal or reasonable activity and what’s not, ready to spot deviations that could be precursors to an attack and a stolen identity The City Will Help You Live in it: For citizens, smart phones enabled by cognitive systems will provide a digital key to the city People can have fingertip access to information about everything that’s happening in the city, whether an experience is right for them, and how best to get there Because these learning systems have interacted with citizens continuously, they know what they like—and can present them with options they might not find easily It appeared that almost 50% of the predictions came out to be true Here are IBM’s 2011 predictions for 2016 (IBM, 2013b) • • • • • Energy: People power will come to life Imagine being able to use every motion around you— your movements, the water rushing through the plumbing—to harness energy to power anything from your house to your city Security: You will never need a password again… The use of your retinal scan or your voice as a passport to verification will replace multiple passwords for access Mind Reading: No longer science fiction… See a cube on your computer screen and think about moving it to the left, and it will Mobile: The digital divide will cease to exist… In five years, the gap will be imperceptible as growing communities use mobile technology to provide access to essential information Analytics: Junk mail will become priority mail Imagine technology that replaces the unwanted messaging in your life with the next best thing to a personal assistant These predictions portray a world where the focus of technology is no longer an institution but an individual There will be associated shift in the locus of control and responsibility as well Connectivity, content, and services will now come some providers which are external to one’s location i.e a cloud This is a significant shift from past practices of technology use IT IN HIGHER EDUCATION The progress, convergence, and integration of technology has brought a fundamental change in the faculty, students, and higher education institutions This change is something that they have or might be expected to acquire The change continues but progress may be uneven 154 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis 4.1 Access to IT 4.1.1 Individuals’ Use of IT A digital divide refers to a divide between those who have ready access to information technology and those who not With technology becoming more important, an increasing divide would make those already disadvantaged left further behind in technology use In the words of Vargas (2007) from Washington Post, “two Americas online: one that’s connected to high-speed Internet socializing, paying bills, uploading debate questions to presidential candidates on YouTube and one that’s not This is the digital divide” An assumptions can still be made about individual (especially students) access to IT today According to Pew Internet (2013) and Heimlich (2013), US Teenagers and most adults had mobile phone According to National Telecommunications and Information Administration (2012), US households had some level of broadband Internet access, and at least one Internet-ready computer According to Wormald (2014), by 2014 every American had at least one authenticated online identity (such as e-mail account, social media account, online banking etc.) and knew how to search on the Internet using a search engine)such as Google) Most people had a digital camera capable of both still photos and videos, and were aware of the process of offloading and sharing their photos and videos (Madden, 2011) 4.1.2 Institutional Use of IT The HEIs, especially in USA, were making good use of institutional information technology, such as student records or learning management systems Electronic interaction within campus communities was commonplace and effective, whether by e- mail, instant message, social media, chat rooms, or other media (Educause, 2009; Jackson, 2012) In general, classrooms were equipped with appropriate technology and most HEIs provided course and library/reference materials in electronic format Most HEIs had facilities to create video lectures and make them available online (Garfinkel, 2011) The institutional networks operated at bandwidths of at least 10Mbps and many provided wireless networks that operated at 11 Mbps or grater bandwidth The primary costs of IT were the software licensing and technical staffing due to falling costs of computer hardware Cloud technology provided economy of scale and limited the constraints on technology initiatives taken by HEIs (Educause, 2013) 4.1.3 The Future In future, we can safely assume everyone will have resources (such as devices and accounts) needed to enjoy mobile connectivity that enable them to communicate with anybody Home computers and networking is expected to improve at a level where streaming video and simple two-way video interactions will become common A majority or people will become familiar with synchronous social media or messaging environments and use them to communicate with other users or groups of users New authentication and monitoring technologies would emerge that help HEIs protect student assessment (including testing and grading) from fraud Server clouds would replace local production servers and data centers There would be increased collaboration among HEIs on key IT applications (such as learning management systems and library management systems) (Jackson, 2012) 155 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis 4.2 Roles of IT Higher Education Higher education has one fundamental educational purpose i.e to advance society, institutions, and economy To fulfill this purpose, higher education aims to provide students with social, political, and economic skills and knowledge HEIs can augment students’ human capital in few ways First by enrolment i.e providing students with more choices to seek education beyond high school, second, by instruction i.e unidirectional transmission of knowledge through lectures and readings amplified through classroom, tutorial, and extracurricular guidance, third, by certification, i.e the measurement and documentation of knowledge and skill through some form of assessment, and fourth, by socialization i.e educating students to become an effective member of society With limited resources and higher efficiency expectations, HEIs face a tough challenge to fulfill their purpose The important question here is how IT can help higher education pursue its goals of enrollment, instruction, certification, and socialization of students IT can bring evolutionary change or replace existing historically established mechanisms and processes of higher education In order enable evolutionary change in longstanding mechanisms and processes of higher education, IT can provide four overlapping educational functions It can streamline administration, amplify and extend traditional pedagogies, mechanisms, and resources, make educational events and materials available outside the original context, and enable experience-based learning In order transform or replace the mechanisms and processes of higher education, IT can renew and redefine the social environment and replace the didactic classroom experience (Jackson, 2012) If used as organizational technology, IT can promote progress in higher education by making administrative processes to become more efficient It can also provide diverse, flexible pathways for communication and collaboration within and across different entities As a learning technology, IT can become an integral part of teaching and learning processes of higher education HEIs already has infrastructure in place to reach, teach, and assess students and to streamline administration This infrastructure includes hardware, software, as well as key organizational processes (such as identity management) These key organizational processes are key to IT success in higher education The important question here is which applications of IT infrastructure can probably provide most help to evolve higher education 4.3 Streamline Administration Besides administration of human resources and scheduling, administration of HEIs also provides academic resources to faculty and students, performs student experience data collection, description, and indexing IT reduces redundancy, eliminates bottlenecks, and maximizes access The manual and decentralized systems of student registration and record keeping have paved the way for highly integrated online systems These system enable administration to more work with fewer staff and hence increase workforce productivity Decentralized and inconsistent distribution and access mechanisms for instructional and research materials (such as course packs and library books) have paved the way for sophisticated library and learning management systems The fundamental impact of this integration of IT into higher education is reduced transaction costs However, in many cases the increase in volume of transactions stored and processed has greatly offset this reduction in transaction costs Individual HEIs have benefited from economies of scale to significantly control costs With some cost savings coming from collaboration initiatives such as uPortal and Sakai uPortal is a Java-based framework for creating enterprise web portals while Sakai is a community of academic institutions, 156 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis commercial organizations and individuals who work together to develop a common Collaboration and Learning Environment Many HEIs are using highly efficient cloud computing services in order adapt their institutional processes to external standards Purdue University started “Course Signals” initiative that used analytic and data-mining tools to analyze data on student progress and learn (Purdue University, 2013) This initiative clearly demonstrated technology’s role in making academic administration more effective However, low usage of learning management systems (LMS) by institutions was indication of future problems of technology integration in learning In a bid to support students who used LMS less frequently, Purdue University used LMS login data to locate these students and then provided various academic support services to come up with early interventions The data mining capabilities provided by IT and modern data collection helped Purdue focus its support resources in a much focused and efficient manner Analytics and big data use can greatly improve administration but requires complex policy challenges involving privacy Moreover, many institutions lack the analytic capability and expertise to exploit data they collect already Hong Kong University (HKU) developed a home-grown IT system for general university administration and management This highly functional and user-friendly system was decentralized and modular in data management The two significant sub-systems were the student information system (SIS) and the human resource information system (HR IS) These two systems interacted and linked with all other areas of administration and management The SIS managed student data, providing capabilities for entering student records, assessment scores, and managing many other student-related data needs including student admissions The HRIS supported the processes, practices and needs of human resource functions, such as staff selection, recruitment and appointment, performance management, staff development, and career progression and development (UNESCO, 2011) 4.4 Amplification and Extension of Traditional Pedagogies, Mechanisms, and Resources Traditional roles and transactions in higher education can potentially be expedited and extended through IT (e.g by storing and distributing materials electronically and providing a medium for collective interactions among faculty and students) Search engines and online learning resources can significantly enhance faculty and student access These profound effects of IT fall short of transformational Blackboard, Sakai, or Moodle LMSs lectures can be viewed from anywhere but the enterprise remains recognizable IT has the potential to enable true online learning where students can learn without ever entering a university campus In USA, approximately 4% of student population completed their courses through online education and approximately 21% students took at least one course through online education (Gjackson, 2012) A future can be imagined where students would be able to readily transfer credits, earned at other institutions, to any other institution to fulfill degree requirements In this regard, many pioneering institutions (such as US-based Empire State College and Western Governors University) are providing competency-based degrees that provide self-paced learning and credits can be earned for life experience In the long run, a future can be imagined where students would be admitted, taught, examined, and granted degrees without having any institutional faculty or course offerings This, in turn, spawn entirely online purely instructional institutions These institutions would find novel ways to use technology for more effective and efficient working 157 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis According to Allen and Seaman (2011), these trends imply we need to reevaluate the role and effectiveness of online distance learning This rethinking could meet strong resistance As traditional stand-alone institutions become networked institutions, the university campuses can be imagined to become truly global However extending traditional pedagogy beyond traditional boundaries would meet linguistic, cultural, and stylistic challenged Electronic materials can be made available in diverse arrangements and formats to be accessed by a large population of students having diverse learning styles However, this diversity would come at a cost of reduced teaching effort The Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL) is a part of the Symbiosis group and is a private distance education provider offering mainly postgraduate programs in various disciplines including management, information technology, education, humanities and law It is located in a large campus in Pune, Western India It has state of the art infrastructure with world-class facilities such as video conferencing, an e-communication Centre, well equipped laboratories and classrooms, library, audiovisual halls and conference halls All SCDL centers are connected through a virtual private network All activities and operations are carried out mainly in a centralized fashion using innovative ICT solutions SCDL has not only created a large network of study Centers, but it is a pioneer in developing many ICT solutions and facilities to improve the quality, accessibility, delivery and reach of education to thousands of distant learners SCDL offers blended learning programs combining self-learning material (SLM), e-learning, online learning and faculty-based learning The use of innovative technology solutions has helped SCDL to achieve academic and operational excellence Today, SCDL serves more than 200,000 students from all parts of India and over 40 different countries pursuing various programs through distance learning SCDL has some 150 employees and also uses the expertise of over 400 visiting faculty members (UNESCO, 2011) Electronic distribution of materials need hardware/software, technical specifications, and protocols These software applications are still evolving and the risk of transience will grow as the pedagogical materials emerge in born-digital form These risks are not simply associated with data inaccessibility With increasing personalization opportunities of educational experience offered by IT, every student’s experience will become different The fundamental problem here would be the recording and measurement of that experience Universities and other institutions of higher learning, particularly in USA, are using social media (such as Twitter) to enhance the way students communicate with both their tutors and fellow students outside of the classroom is a key challenge One such example is University of Texas at Dallas (Bart, 2011) Students can follow (and be followed by) the faculty who would post additional links and be available for online discussion Students could tweet with questions, etc All tweets were also embedded in the university’s virtual learning environment (VLE) by way of Twitter Widget HTML embed code Twitter is a useful tool as it is available on the web as well as through dedicated apps for smartphones and tablet devices Using Twitter, interaction with the tutor increases around formative and summative assessment opportunities, and many other tweets can be informal in nature One of the key benefits is that students can see their teacher was ‘normal’ by way of his tweets, which in turn can make him more approachable Students can communicated with other students via Twitter, and non-twitter users can still access links posted by the tutor via the embedded widget Universities in UK are following similar practices To ensure student engagement, UK universities are using online assessment This assessment is some level of formal assessment This is typically worth a small percentage of the overall module mark or contributes to a threshold value that has to be attained in the continuous assessment to pass the course For the latter there is no direct contribution to the overall module mark and the module is marked purely 158 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis on the exam Multiple online tests are spaced evenly through the module Students receive immediate feedback, usually on those tests that contribute to thresholds Students get multiple tries if they get it wrong first time for lower marks This assessment drives learning So students focus on assessments and these assessments ensure the students have to engage To be able to design and critique effective pedagogic use of a technology, with reference to theoretical concepts, universities are using technologies, such as Moodle, ForumNG, Camtasia, PowerPoint, and YouTube Each student contributes an account of their use of a technology in their teaching, and comments on two other presentations, with reference to pedagogic principles and concepts (Association for Learning Technology UK, 2014) Many teachers use IT to support traditional learning methods One example is information retrieval in which students are passive learners of knowledge and not take part in the learning process G Galea (2002) explains how IT can promote teaching and learning According to G Galea (2002), there are two main reasons behind increased use of IT in education in UK Firstly, IT can change the lessons’ pace Children in modern society need to develop sufficient potentials and skills that enable them to take full advantage from the new opportunities that ICT offer Second, there are groundswells of interest of academic researchers in UK in how technological tools can enhance the quality of teaching and learning in schools These academic researchers help learners to achieve better outcomes Furthermore, it has been proved that new technologies have lots of benefits for the students IT allow for a higher quality lessons through collaboration with teachers in planning and preparing resources (Ofsted, 2002) Students learn new skills such as analytical skills and reading comprehension skills (Lewin et al, 2000) IT also help develop some writing skills (such as spelling, grammar, punctuation, editing and re-drafting) (Lewin et al, 2000) Still new technologies encourage independent and active learning, and students’ responsibility for their own learning (Passey, 1999) Students who use educational technology feel more successful in school and are more motivated to learn more and have increased self- confidence and self-esteem Many students find learning in a technology-enhanced setting more stimulating and much better than in a traditional classroom environment (Pedretti & Mayer-Smith, 1998) Virtual environments have gained widespread use in recent years as a tool for studying human behavior Problems ranging from how children make road-crossing decisions to how adults respond to social situations have been studied using various kinds of immersive virtual environments Virtual environments have also been used as a tool for training new skills, particularly in cases where training in the real environment can be risky or dangerous Given the growing use of virtual environments for research and training purposes, we are interested in understanding more about how people perceive and adapt to virtual environments Broadly speaking, our work focuses on how experience in real and virtual environments affects how people perceive distance The Hank Virtual Environments Lab at University of Iowa uses virtual environment technology to safely and systematically study perception-action problems with real world consequences Our research focuses on understanding how pedestrians and cyclists cross trafficfilled virtual roadways, and how people perceive and adapt to virtual environments The overarching goal of this multidisciplinary lab is to advance the fields of behavioral science and computer science through our study of human behavior in real and virtual environments (University of Iowa, 2014) At University of Tasmania, Australia virtual worlds were used to enhance teaching and learning in multiple ways Undergraduate pre-service teachers in the Faculty of Education were given the opportunity to engage with a virtual classroom scenario Participants were assigned to role play a student with a particular profile or to take the part of the teacher and practice their behavior management skills in a series of guided activities Sixteen students from the HIT Lab (Human Interface Technology Laboratory) took part in this semester-long project to conceptualize and design their own virtual world within Second Life Four 159 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis imaginative and interactive worlds were created, culminating in a final presentation attended virtually by staff and fellow students Another project sought to introduce students to the study of the sociology of religion in an immersive way The students who did this optional activity rehearsed and performed a role play of a Pagan ritual, which they performed live before their peers in a lecture This activity required the students to gain skills in avatar customization and involved custom made animations and sound effects and interactive props as well as traditional academic research A machine was made of the role play The university staff attended a variety of online conferences and events within Second Life These events were often supplementary to a broader conference The capacity to engage with peers in the virtual environment at little or no cost is a growing area of interest to educators and support staff In another instance, Computing and Information Systems students were assigned a project to design and build of an interactive hospital room The group developed skills in 3D building, scripting and project management (University of Tasmania, 2014) 4.5 Availability of Educational Events and Materials Outside the Original Context Availability of electronic materials increasing their broader distribution As such, it would be possible that news users of these materials could be found and the materials could be reused beyond their original context The Open Educational Resource (OER) movement aims at providing content that is developed by using shared investment and provide shared benefits One of the core ideas behind OER movement is making learning resources available outside their original context The MIT Open courseware (OCW) initiative was initially a publically accessible repository of learning resources (such as lectures, problem sets etc.) Over the passage of time, OCW has grown and the learning resources provided by OCW now also include similar material from many other institutions worldwide In 2011, the OCW initiative spawned the MITx initiative (MIT, 2011) The MITx initiative provides both material and mechanisms to demonstrate and certify mastery of the material The Khan academy provides a publically accessible repository of instructional videos The repository include a wide range of videos covering diverse topics The Carnegie Mellon’s Open Learning Initiative (OLI) provides specifically designed courses that provide full online representation of instruction for the course The courses offered doesn’t replace the faculty but works in conjunction with the faculty for more effective utilization of class time Faculty research and publication have also gone beyond the historical boundaries of peer-reviewed books and journals and now available through multiple forms of media and mechanisms The diminishing boundaries of university scholarship has serious implications for universities Universities need to rethink how to hire, evaluate, retain, and promote their faculty These implications are more serious for research-based universities (Jackson, 2012) According to Fitzpatrick (2011), traditional peer-review based evaluation of faculty will be replaced by a collaborative evaluation based on the degree faculty has influenced development of his/her field This shift in evaluation approach will require HEIs to go beyond some deep-rooted assumptions and change in the mindset IT can play a fundamental role in how HEIs define their goals and measure their achievements Another important contribution of ICT is the availability of open textbooks These open text books are available in a variety of formats However, an open textbooks is much like an iceberg The student edition of the textbook is the tip that we see above the water A tiny fraction of the open textbooks provide corresponding teacher’s edition that includes problem solutions, lesson plans, teaching tips, and other information teachers and faculty have come to depend on An even more minuscule number have 160 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis additional supplementary material available like PowerPoint slides, review flash cards, etc available This reason is one great obstacle that hinder wider adoption of open textbooks Unless these books provide support materials that are prerequisite necessities for teacher adoptions, adoption of these books will not increase ICT has the potential to help develop and provide the required supporting materials in a variety of formats Today’s technologies have the ability to dramatically change the lives of students with disabilities These technologies can enable them to access the curriculum, participate in learning activities alongside their peers, personalize their learning, and achieve their full potential Universal Design for Learning (UDL), developed by Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), a leader in the research and development of technologies to support and enhance learning UDL is an approach to developing curricula that will meet the needs of the widest possible range of students Curriculum designs based on UDL, provide flexible options that can be adjusted for individual students’ needs To support UDL, technology offers multiple options for students Students can use these options to access information and demonstrate their knowledge The incorporation of additional assistive technologies and media is a major component of creating flexible materials for learning To assist schools in providing accessible materials for students, many governments coordinate with different providers In order to create materials in alternate formats, these providers rely on an exemption to copyright law As a result, the materials are available only to students who fall into one of the categories named in the law (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 2012) 4.6 Experience-Based Learning Simulation is the primary technology used for experience-based learning One good example is early simulated chemistry labs where students could perform pre-defined chemistry experiments without going to a physical laboratory Today’s simulations are advanced, support multi-user environment, and allows users to perform user-defined experiments More powerful computers have provided us with more powerful simulations such as computer-based games that are more complex and realistic Cloud-hosted multiuser virtual environments go beyond simulation to replicate complex environments In manner similar to the spread of social-media based communities, faculty and student experience-based learning has gone beyond campus boundaries Cloud computing, extensive networking, and graphic-rich powerful end-user devices have made possible new communal experiences These technologies are transforming the notion of campus in many important ways such as shift of traditional notions of authority There exists a wide range of disciplines that historically have relied on face-to-face tutor-learner interaction for knowledge transfer The German University model developed in 19th century was based on Friedrich Schleiermacher’s liberal ideas and involved strict discipline and control of every aspect of university This model may become less relevant in presence of university models based on direct, simulated experience These new models would change the role of faculty from instructor providing direct instructions to a facilitator advising and guiding student inquiry Since 2006 Education Scotland’s game-based learning initiative, The Consortium, has been working with teachers across Scotland to explore and share just how the appropriate use of computer games can have a positive impact on teaching and learning More recently, it has been encouraging pupils to become creators - not just consumers - of games with a game design initiative The Consortium is a Centre where education managers, head-teachers and teachers can visit in order to try out a range of computer games 161 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis and game design technologies in order to discuss the relevance and practical application of them in their schools There is a team of Development Officers who work with schools on agreed projects and who can offer support to deliver CPD events and even to speak to parent groups Education Scotland can loan to schools to support their shared projects a range of game based resources that include games and consoles for example, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, Sony PS3 and Xbox360 The team share what is happening in schools, through a variety of channels Teachers can collaborate using the Glow group and share the resources and experiences they have with their game based learning and game design classroom practice Education Scotland has developed partnerships with local authorities and established links with many Teacher Education Institutes and where appropriate, with industry partners Our research in this area is contributing towards the growing body of evidence to support game based learning Education Scotland are currently working with schools on a number of game design projects and investigating the impact of other technologies such as virtual worlds and mobile learning (Education Scotland, 2015) IT AND NEW SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IT primarily acts as a delivery mechanism to enhance and expand traditional pedagogies and learning environments IT provides new social environments and, in some cases, become the foundation of learning rather than its outlet 5.1 Use of IT to Renew and Redefine the Social Environment IT can bring significant transformation ad socialization in higher education The role of IT in socializing higher education is less controversial One possible channel of socialization in higher education is scholarly community where students and faculty can spend time and learn how to evaluate information Exposure to diversity (e.g different people, different rules etc.) is another channel Both academic environment and extracurricular activities can be channels of cultural socialization With disaggregation of certification function from the instructional function in higher education, these two types of socialization will continue to decline By 2012, only 14% of US undergraduate students lived in housing provided by college and were less intensively involved in extracurricular activities Currently, a small number of students benefit from socialization opportunities offered by HEIs (Jackson, 2012) The role of IT is exacerbating or revering the diminishing socialization can be both challenge and opportunity Socialization should be a distinguishing feature of higher education to reverse the diminishing socialization Doing so, we will need an online communication mechanisms for communication between the faculty and geographically scattered students It is likely that IT would expand the socialization effect of higher education The electronic means of communication (especially social media such as Facebook and Twitter) are preferred choice of today’s students However, in many cases the students prefer not to combine their social-media environment with their academic environments (Jackson, 2012) Social media communication is a controversial matter from generational perspective that could either promote or inhibit effective socialization Social media and its importance in socialization is growing with increasing student enrolment in distance learning courses Various universities of the developed 162 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis world (such as University of Phoenix and Athabasca University) and developing world (such as Indragandhi National Open University of India) are employing both commercial and ad hoc techniques to integrate socialization through social media in their learning environments The aspect of socialization is important however it is surrounded by uncertainty with respect to its effectiveness 5.2 Use of IT to Enhance Classroom Experience Technology can be used to deliver a course online without needing a faulty Perhaps, this is the most controversial application of technology in learning Such use of technology can result in transformation of higher education Such transformation would especially influence those disciplines and subjects that have traditionally used classroom lectures, readings, and tutorials in order transfer knowledge from tutor to student According to Koller (2011), a student first need sufficient background knowledge of certain concepts before he/she could start problem solving This mastery of concepts, as a first step to problem solving, can be provided in a cost-effective manner by learning technologies Doing so, precious classroom time can be utilized by the faculty for problem solving activities This way students can gain deeper understanding of the topics under discussion and enhance their creativity PLATO (www.plato.com) is one good example computers replacing teachers by providing a technology-based teaching mechanisms that automatically tailor instructions so that students quickly master material PLATO started from University of Illinois in 1960s and currently is a commercial venture Many attempts have been made to start a similar type of venture Typically, IT is used in classrooms to support pre-classroom activities (e.g activities for student support) To improve student success in large, lower division gateway courses, University of Texas started a Core Transformation Program (CTP) Carnegie Mellon University started Open Learning Initiative (OLI) that was a step ahead of CTP The OLI courses had an explicit design meant to replace classroom experience However, these courses were provided through traditional institutional settings There exist some legitimate concerns regarding controversial replacement of face-to-face teaching with online courses One such concern is that technology may not replace certain kind of interactions and may not be applicable at all in certain disciplines Some critics oppose use of technology in learning because it will replace labor with capital In many cases, the issues can be more complex Many institutions still offer introductory courses on introductory subjects such as Calculus These courses are taught in traditional classroom setting despite the fact that many online institutions are teaching are teaching these courses effectively (University of Illinois, 2013) One such innovative online institution is StraighterLine The existence of an expensive and less efficient classroom-teacher model is difficult to understand This is because HEIs can use cloud services to host and provide existing online courses developed by other institutions However, one simple explanation could be that in some disciplines, such as mathematics, HEIs like to have their faculty teach advanced courses and have collaboration with faculty from the same or other HEIs By teaching such introductory courses, mathematics faculty can complete the required credit hours needed to justify the staffing at the department One inference that can be drawn is that teaching is considered as an organizational choice by HEIs As such, any effort to bring change in teaching must consider the change in wider context 163 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis FUTURE RESEARCH AREAS The use of shared services is expanding Future research is required to investigate the possible role shared services can play in IT infrastructure of higher education IT governance is not a passing fad, and more institutions rely upon their governance model when making major IT decisions Future research is needed as to how the higher education institutions should opt a governance model that best suit their individual needs The use of cloud and open-source computing continues to grow on campus, but growth is slower in the administrative applications area Given the proliferation of cloud computing in private sector, further research is needed as to how the cloud computing adoption can be increased in the higher education institutions The need for more bandwidth continues, and gigabit-to-the-desktop service is no longer just for the large research institutions Future research is needed how this functionality can become a cost-effective solution for the higher education institutions CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS The evolution and transformation of higher education can greatly benefit from IT This transformation is needed to better meet the pedagogical, sociological, economic, and financial challenges of the future higher education To reap these benefits of IT, we need to overcome many obstacles To overcome these obstacle, HEIs need to make difficult, fundamental changes in their organizations and the ways they provide education While there exist a clear need for these change, the progress made by HEIs to implement these changes has been limited In part, this limited progress is due to the fact that some necessary changes are quite controversial to implement For example, HEIs still conduct many courses, especially introductory courses, in large classrooms with little faculty-student interaction The students can gain similar learning by simply watching a video lecture probably from a top faculty from some other renowned HEI In order for IT to transform higher education, HEIs need to exploit opportunities and address problems The transformation of higher education would also require us not to lose focus on human capital The goal of HEIs should be not only make higher education more efficient but also better, the principal goal for IT-supported learning To achieve both greater efficiency and better outcomes through IT-supported higher education requires a commitment about the future, both within and outside current institutions Many institutions, such as Virginia Tech, have already made such commitment (Virginia Tech, 2013) IT-supported higher education would require the reconciliation of policies and procedures HEIs would need such reconciliation to encourage mature, safe, and effective use of IT Teachers will need to familiarize themselves with emerging IT and the way it is being used by students for communication and learning purposes That will help bridge the technological and generational gap between faculty and students Students will learn how to use technology in a round-the-clock learning environment Equipped with these technological skills, students will be in a better position to learn in a university environment characterized by the use of more expensive and sophisticated technology Students will be able to develop independent thinking, express themselves in different ways, answer questions in a timely, relevant manner, and share/receive real-time feedback from peers and faculty 164 IT in Higher Education-Possibilities and Prospects in an Era of Economic Crisis In the evolution of higher education, IT is a valuable contributor and a facilitator of process change, efficiency gains, and enriched learning By devoting large budgets for technology, HEIs are demonstrating their understanding of this value of IT in higher education HEIs are investing in IT staff, bringing in service management to gain efficiency, and exploring new service models Leader of HEIs need to understand the overall role of IT in their organizations in order to make informed decisions about the use of IT in higher education The data stored on distributed IT systems remain elusive and institutional heads of HEIs need to work with IT and other department heads to develop practices for effective use of distributed IT resources HEIs need comparative data about resources at all organization levels and benchmark their organizational IT by regularly participating in benchmarking studies conducted by various third parties An organizational focus of HEI on use of administrative and learning technology to gain efficiency or learning outcomes can result in either gain or loss Only if HEIs understand the technologies and their applications, effective progress can be made HEIs need to decide how to relate IT and its applications to the organizational structure and goals of higher education to identify and remove obstacles and progress towards the needed transformation of higher education REFERENCES Allen, I E., & Seaman, J (2011) Going the Distance: Online Education in the United States, 2011 ERIC 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