With the advent of social networking and Web 2.0, the role of information technology is no longer restricted to transacting business operations of an enterprise. Customers demand and expect instantaneous information to be made available to them. In the case of a community college with a typically young and energetic student body, registration information, course material, course schedules, wait lists, facilities management, etc. all need to be inter-connected and available to the them by demand. “Distance learning” was an innovative concept fifteen years ago and a “nice to have” supplement to traditional methods of lecture delivery. With today’s rapid proliferation of network bandwidth, “online learning” is a necessity which an educational institution cannot do without. In light of these contexts, it is important that the CIO recognizes the need for an easily accessible, highly available and yet highly secure environment.
The essential paradigm of knowledge assimilation has changed from traditional note-taking and a one-sided lecture emanating from the podium to a more dynamic and vibrant environment even inside a live classroom. As long as it not disruptive, students ought to be encouraged to participate actively in class using laptops, iPads and other “gizmo-de-jour” that are connected to the internet. This way, they can contribute meaningfully to the discussions by carrying parallel research using powerful search engines that were all but non-existent even fifteen years ago. The student body of today has essentially mastered the art of multi-tasking and it may be unreasonable to expect them to be disconnected during the period of the lecture. Given the need for constant connectivity, it is imperative that such an ambience is provided by the college. If not, you can expect to see dwindling numbers in new registrants.
The enriched learning experience that technology providers comes at a cost. Projects, presentations and other requirements of a typical class are now more creative demanding the need for more resources in terms of network bandwidth, storage, computer power, etc. Unfortunately, this demand is not uniform but certainly peaks during “finals” week every semester/quarter. Should the college then look for a dynamic need-based solution as opposed to investing scarce resources in information technology that may otherwise lie unutilized? The answer is a resounding yes. Cloud computing and service oriented architectures today are able to provide a need-based dynamic provisioning essentially optimizing the demand-supply curve.
Another factor that works in the favor of a cloud computing architecture (or more specifically, software as a service - SAAS) in learning institutions is "technology obsolescence.” With the rising cost of education coupled with an uncertain employment prospects, it is fair to expect students to demand that the latest versions in software and operating systems are made available to them. In this situation, it is unwise for the administration to invest heavily in licenses for software/hardware when they are likely to become obsolete by the time it is fully deployed.
Added to all of this is the ubiquitous need for IT to be constantly aligned with the business. In this case, it is the business of education. As administrators devise new strategies to increase enrollment and keep pace with the competition, it is not enough for IT to merely provide a supporting role. On the contrary, IT needs to be an enabler for newer ideas and promote both disruptive and non-disruptive paradigm shifts in the education field.
