Perspectives On Higher Education In The Digital Age

This volume consists of a series of seventeen essays examining the future of higher education, especially as impacted by the rapid advance and pervasive presence of digital resources. There can be little disagreement that information, communication and instructional technologies are already having a significant impact on schools and colleges, and what is occurring today will have a profound influence not only on educational structures in the future, but also on teaching and learning processes. As a consequence, all stakeholders in the educational enterprise will be affected. The 26 authors and co-authors represented within, all of whom are recognized scholars and practitioners in the field of distance education, attempt here to pose relevant questions and provide thoughtful, and sometimes provocative, responses. These contributors write from diverse perspectives, representing several countries and continents, as well as varied organizational and cultural settings, offering both micro and macro views on the topics they address.

The European higher education sector is moving online, but to what extent? Are the digital disruptions seen in other sectors of relevance for both academics and management in higher education? How far are we from fully seizing the opportunities that an online transition could offer? This insightful book presents a broad perspective on existing academic practices, and discusses how and where the move online has been successful, and the lessons that can be learned.

The book deals with the digital turn in higher education: One aim of this book is to address the challenge by providing a multi-disciplinary, international perspective on higher education during the digital turn. It presents epistemological, ethical and theoretical approaches, and best practice examples, from universities in different countries using different learning strategies. The book can be understood as an international and interdisciplinary collection providing heuristic strategies for handling the digitalization of higher education in theory and in practice.

"This book provides a comprehensive framework of trends and issues related to adult learning"--Provided by publisher.

This book presents a wide-ranging and critical exploration of a topic that lies at the heart of contemporary education. The use of digital technology is now a key feature of schools and schooling around the world. Yet despite its prominence, technology use continues to be an area of education that rarely receives sustained critical attention and thought, especially from those people who are most involved and affected by it. Technology tends to be something that many teachers, learners, parents, policy-makers and even academics approach as a routine rather than reflective matter. Tackling the wider picture, addressing the social, cultural, economic, political and commercial aspects of schools and schooling in the digital age, this book offers to make sense of what happens, and what does not happen, when the digital and the educational come together in the guise of schools technology. In particular, the book examines contemporary schooling in terms of social justice, equality and participatory democracy. Seeking to re-politicise an increasingly depoliticised area of educational debate and analysis, setting out to challenge the many contradictions that characterise the field of education technology today, the author concludes by suggesting what forms schools and schooling in the digital age could, and should, take. This is the perfect volume for anyone interested in the application and use of technology in education, as well as the education policy and politics that surround it; many will also find its innovative proposals for technology use an inspiration for their own teaching and learning.

Academic management and administrative processes rely heavily on technology in business offices, virtual laboratories, digital libraries, and the like. Technology also has an impact upon teaching, freeing classrooms from constraints of time and space. Yet many university leaders are hesitant to set technology as a priority. This book is designed to address the subject from a perspective appropriate to leaders. An important concept covered here is that the new advances in information technology drive a significant restructuring of our social institutions, which will provide access to knowledge and education that was formerly restricted to the privileged. The generation raised with this technology demands new approaches to teaching and learning-this poses a unique challenge to traditional faculty members. The authors of this book believe "It is our collective challenge as scholars, educators, and academic leaders to develop a strategic framework capable of understanding and shaping the impact that this extraordinary technology will have on our institutions." They believe that academic institutions will change in form and character, and that such changes will affect the mission, function, and possibly even the concept of the university. The role of leadership is to both see over the horizon and adapt leadership styles to an environment of constant change. Leadership must formulate a clear and consistent institutional vision.

This important book explores key areas of educational technology research and development within an education system infused by technology. The book explores the opportunities and challenges associated with planning and implementing educational technology within higher education. It is unique in that it is a multi-perspective view of key contemporary work on education and technology and draws on the common struggles and best practices from experts. Readers will gain a balanced understanding of educational technology and how it is used across a broad educational spectrum as well as ways to stimulate an ongoing dialog and sharing among those dedicated to optimizing the use of technology in educational settings. The book covers topics including The development and application of e-learning technology standards Distance learning approaches to online instruction Multimedia classroom practices Perspectives on online learning design Web-based training strategies Research on students and student experiences with technology within and beyond the classroom learning experience