IT Infrastructure Management and Emerging Technology - Case Study Example

Running head: Emerging Technology Student name: Student number: Course title: Lecturer: Date: INTRODUCTION The Charles Sturt University in Australia, which is named so in remembrance of Charles Sturt an explorer, was established in 1st July 1989,this university was a result of coming together of already existing Colleges of Advanced Education, such as Mitchell College of Advanced Education, Murray Institute of Higher Education , and Riverina College of Advanced Education. The institution has gained reputation, as an enigma in open learning and distance education, which is intensively technology, centered and utilizes the use of the internet. The institution has massively utilized the use of distance education, where a great populace of students, throughout the world can access the universities courses. This has been fostered by online forums, digital libraries, access to internet based library resources, online examination access, training material access and assignment submission (Svend 125). On the other hand, distance education is the act of instruction, which occurs when the instructor and student(s) are physically separated, by existence of a geographical difference, and technology, with face-to-face instruction utilized to reduce the gap. This education is usually carried out in home or at their places of work, and can assist those disadvantaged by resource availability or physical disability to foster their education. The appropriateness of the technology utilized to deliver the content is of concern in distance education, in order to achieve the desired academic quality. Distance education is delivered by several existent methodologies which can be broadly categorized as; the use of Voice – this concerns technologies such as of telephone, video conferencing, audio conferencing and frequency modulation receivers. . Passive and real time use of voice exists. There are Computer tools which are utilized for distance education , these are Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) – which uses the computer as a complete teaching machine to present individual lessons, Computer-managed instruction (CMI) - uses the computer to organize instruction and track student records and progress. However, in this method, the instructions are not tied to being presented by the computer. Another method is the Computer-mediated education (CME) which is used to describe computer applications that can be used to assist in the delivery of instruction as defined by Khosrowpour(56 -62), this includes electronic mail, fax, real-time computer conferencing, and World-Wide Web applications and print which is the traditional and basic foundational element of both conventional and distance education programs and the basis from which all other delivery systems have evolved. Various print formats are available including: textbooks, study guides, workbooks, course syllabi and case studies. Porters chain is a concept utilized business management that was begun in 1985 by Michael Porter who introduced a generic value chain model that utilizes a sequence functionalities believed to be common in several firms, this was made explained in the book Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. In the book porter argues that activities done by the organization add value to the goods and service that an organization offers , the activities should therefore be optimized for the organization to gain competitive advantage, Porter Value Chain model consists of two main components: primary activities and secondary activities. The primary activities are inbound logistics, operations outbound logistics, marketing and sales and service. The CSU Process Model identifies the core and support processes for the University, this model can be mapped to the Porter Value Chain model. The core processes are grouped under Discipline Profile which can be mapped to the outbound logistics, learning and Teaching is mapped to the inbound logistics and operations while Research and Graduate Training is mapped to marketing and sales. The support processes include Planning, Governance and Enabling processes. Governance is mapped unto Human Resource management, enabling environment is mapped to the firm infrastructure and finally enabling processes are Technology development and procurement. The model provides the basis for analyzing the university value chain through its processes. This is because discipline is a prerequisite for any activity, whether it is a primary or support activity, and plays an important role in establishing a link between what the university offers, their core functions and their objectives. There have been several arguments by authors for the special role played by the University, and for the need for it to operate outside of the economic forces that define activity in the commercial sector. In education, competitive advantage is achieved by creating a psychological perception the populace that what the university offers, meets their needs. The university has currently implemented The CSU Interact Website which brings together information on many aspects of the Interact implementation at CSU. This system which is based on Sakai framework is expected to offer online, collaborative, and academic environment to support the universities activities such as research, learning and teaching. The reliable environment has a single access point and integrates technical and functional requirements as well as being able to sustain unplanned usage, while being able to operate in several platforms Areas to improve student experience include computer mediated education which is used to describe computer applications that can be used to assist in the delivery of instruction, this describe how the student and the instructor communicate via computers rather than the methods of communication between computers. This shall involve digitized communication, which is flexible to suit different learning activities, and other important aspects of CME such as use of e-tutoring through forums, chatting sites, audio and video-conferencing, According Keri (93 - 98) computer-mediated education (CME) is not limited to adding new technology to conventional legacy methods of organizing teaching and learning . An important aspect computer mediated education is the use of real time visual collaboration. The important concept in the system is the use of codec which is a combination of hardware and software which perform digital compression of audio and video streams in real time. The use of visual collaboration has gained dynamism from earlier understood definitions, since in academic perspective it is defined as considered by range of teaching and learning methods applied. This utilizes available diverse technology which includes microwave, satellites, optical fiber to ISDN. Charles Stuart University can utilize two distinct types of implementations; the university can either use dedicated systems or desktop systems, in addition the university can implement Multipoint videoconferencing, which involves the use of Multipoint Control Unit – a way of integrating data from multiple locations in order to allow synchronized videoconferencing between more than two distant locations, this can involve the use of dedicated software and hardware. Discussions can then gather for a large number of participants, which permits many to many, student lecturer relationship (Porter 165). When this is in full swing, it shall benefit the students in that visual collaboration fosters the acquisition of knowledge. Students are le to easily share any type of information, this ensures that they get understand the learning material better. Visual collaboration also saves money for the students; this is gained from reduced traveling to the campus locations. It also saves time, for the students, since they access the course content at their own convenience. To the university, the visual collaboration shall be benefit in reducing the cost of hiring lecturers, since the use of part time and guest lecturers shall be of cost saving benefit. Another benefit includes the fact that the university could be able to offer their academic courses, without the need for the need for the students to be physically in the university, hence being able to offer courses to international students. Another area of utilization of technology is the admission and management of student records, this shall enable all the students to register for courses and pay fees online, without the physical need to go to the university in order to be registered. The students shall also be able to check the courses being offered by the university, online, and apply for the courses. This shall benefit students in that they do not have to be physically present in order to apply for the courses, at the same time; the university shall be able to have a centralized database of all the applicants and can be able easy to generate reports. Applications in other universities The use of visual collaboration implemented in other universities include University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, which has helped the Arizona Telemedicine Program Deliver Health Care and Education Services Statewide. The implementation utilizes TANDBERG®, videoconferencing equipment to broadcast continuing medical education and deliver health services to the less privileged. This is a success story, founded on the challenges faced in 1996, which included unbalanced medical services in the state. The innovative project has been successful as portrayed by impressive the return on investment. Moreover the project has been successful in improving hiring and retention of top performers, where the health expertise to not have to be in the institution but can offer their services from remote locations. Furthermore, the project has been successful in enhanced productivity across dispersed workforces and teams; this is because unlike conventional communication methods, expressions of the participants can be determined, hence fostering communication, while at the same time promoting productivity. The project has also fostered support for environmental initiatives where the participants reduce the need to travel, hence reduce their carbon footprint. Boston University has also utilized MegaMeeting to connect with students. This is browser-based Video & Web Conferencing including real time audio and video capabilities. The project has been successful in enabling the delivery of teaching content, to student to beat previously existent barriers of heat, rain, snow and geographical distance. Alternative approaches. The alternative approach to visual collaboration, which is in computer mediated approach which is used in distance learning, is the use of postal/courier services, where the course content is mailed to students, from the time they begin classes, till they complete. This involves developments of course material for the required qualification, then the university sends parcels to the students enrolled in the course, which may include the course content, reference materials and assignments. On completion of the assignments, the students then mail back the answers to the university. This method has the potential benefits of delivering content in hard copy format Chaffey (46), however, it suffers from several shortcomings such as the fact that the mailing may take time to arrive, the use of published material especially books may be outdated, and that the environment is not real time interactive, more so, the expressions of the students is only measured by the written material, unlike visual collaboration where even the facial expressions can be determined. In addition, use of paper correspondence is expensive due to material production costs, unlike visual collaboration which have high initial costs, but after the systems are commissioned, the operational costs are very low. Finally, paper based correspondence cannot reach several students at the same time, unlike visual collaboration such as video conferencing, where several students can be reached concurrently. Another competing alternative approach to deliver distance education content and materials is the use of broadcasting, which involves the use of The TV and radio broadcasting for academic purposes, these are however integrated into the curriculum in addition to the existing face-to-face educational programs. The approach cannot be utilized as a stand alone course delivery methodology, but is used to complement existing technologies due to the several limitations of the broadcast, such as that he student should be receiving the content at the time it is broadcasted, and that students cannot be able to as questions and get responses Another approach is the manual based receipt of student’s applications and processing of the applications, and sending the applications back. This is resource intensive, due to the number of operations done, as well as the huge number of personnel required to do simple tasks, such as sorting of applicants which when computer based systems are employed, the task is simplified and can be achieved within a short amount of time. The utilization of the manual method also causes unnecessary details, as they have to be done from the university campuses, in contrast the online method are applicable from any location in the world, this therefore points out the benefits that can accrue from the use of visual collaboration. Works cited Chaffey, Dave. E-business and e-commerce management: strategy, implementation, and practice. New York: Prentice Hall, 2006. Porter, Michael. Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. California: Free Press, 1985. Keri, Pearlson . Managing and Using Information Systems. Indianapolis : John Wiley & Sons, 2000 Khosrowpour, Mehdi. Managing web-enabled technologies in organizations: a global perspective Hershey, Idea Group Inc (IGI) , 2003. Svend , Hollensen. Global marketing: a decision-oriented approach. London: Pearson Education, 2007. Read More