Wired Tower, The: Perspectives on the Impact of the Internet on Higher Education

by Pittinsky, Matthew Serbin

• ISBN13: 9780130428295
• ISBN10: 0130428299
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-01-01
• Publisher: Financial Times Prentice Hall

Summary

Everyone agrees that the Internet is profoundly changing higher education -- but how? Which impacts are long-term and fundamental; which are transient and soon to be forgotten? In The Wired Tower, academics, leading government education figures, business thinkers and investment professionals come together to assess the realities of the Internet in higher education. In a series of previously unpublished essays edited by Blackboard, Inc., CEO Matthew Pittinsky, these experts consider every key issue related to the Internet in higher education. The essayists offer new insights into issues including: strengthening the relationships between campus and online learning; evaluating Web-based learning and ensuring quality standards; providing better support for students and faculty; new solutions for online course development, design, and delivery; the business opportunity that exists; the role of government in fostering this arena.

Table of Contents

Preface	xiii
Transformation Through Evolution	1	(12)
From Dot-Com to Dot-Edu	2	(3)
The Roots of E-Learning	5	(5)
The Potential for Great Change	10	(3)
Higher Education: A Revolution Externally, Evolution Internally	13	(28)
The Coming Revolution	18	(7)
The Coming Evolution	25	(12)
The Discovery and Creation of New Knowledge	27	(2)
Preservation and Transmission of Eternal Truths	29	(4)
Service to Humanity	33	(2)
The Combination	35	(2)
Conclusions for the Nation	37	(4)
E-Learning in the Postsecondary Education Market: A View from Wall Street	41	(24)
Increasing Enrollments Should Drive Growth	45	(4)
Expenditures Support E-Learning Growth	49	(4)
Distance Learning in Postsecondary Education	53	(5)
Forces Driving Distance Learning	58	(2)
Distance Learning Beneficial to Bricks-and-Mortar Education	60	(1)
Online Communities In Postsecondary Education	61	(4)
The Emerging Global E-Education Industry	65	(46)
Education Economics and the Growth of the Private Sector	72	(4)
Marketplace Realities: World Participation in Postsecondary Education	76	(2)
Readiness of the World Market	78	(2)
Language Communities Online and Market Position of English Language Instruction	80	(5)
Education and E-Learning as International Trade	85	(2)
Barriers and Challenges to A Global E-Learning Industry: Infrastructure and Access Issues	87	(6)
Case Studies	93	(11)
Universitas 21	94	(3)
African Virtual University	97	(1)
Global University Alliance	98	(1)
Worldwide Universities Network	99	(1)
Sylvan learning and Sylvan International Universities	100	(1)
An International Management Program	101	(3)
Concluding Reflections	104	(1)
Endnotes	105	(6)
Quality, Cost and Access: The Case for Redesign	111	(34)
Endnotes	143	(2)
Where the Rubber Meets the Road: An On-Campus Perspective of A Cio	145	(36)
People, Organizational Structure, Financial Resources, and Policies	150	(9)
Faculty Support	151	(2)
Technical Staff	153	(2)
Policies, Copyright, and Intellectual Property	155	(3)
Financing Campus Technology	158	(1)
Technology Infrastructure	159	(8)
Network	159	(4)
Data Management	163	(2)
Assuring Access	165	(2)
Technology Standards	167	(4)
Tying Things Together---Portals and Middleware	169	(1)
Electronic Information Resources	170	(1)
Institutions that go Beyond the Envelope	171	(8)
Models for Addressing Issues	176	(3)
Summary	179	(2)
Questioning Media	181	(20)
What Problem Gets Solved by This New Technology?	187	(2)
Whose Problem Is It?	189	(1)
What New Problems Are Created After Solving an Old Problem?	190	(1)
Who and what might be Harmed by A Technological Solution	191	(4)
Are Changes Gained and Lost with New Technologies?	195	(2)
Who and What Acquire Power Due To Technological Change?	197	(3)
Endnotes	200	(1)
Five Great Promises of E-Learning	201	(20)
Prediction 1: Convergence of Modalities	203	(3)
Prediction 2: New and More Sophisticated Academic Technologies	206	(4)
Prediction 3: Data Mining	210	(2)
Prediction 4: The Learner Profile	212	(3)
Prediction 5: Ubiquitous Web Communities and Services	215	(5)
Endnotes	220	(1)
Index	221