The Future Role of Technology in Higher Education - Article Example

? The Future Role of Technology in Higher Education The Future Role of Technology in Higher Education Introduction Higher education institutions are increasingly adopting new technological innovations in their academic researches, teaching and learning programs to enable them equip their graduates with the necessary skills of competing in the today’s global knowledge economy. New technologies have also impacted on the administration and management of many higher education institutions. For example the use of social network platforms such as Facebook and graduates.com has administrators to effectively support career service activities in their institutions as well as connect with the alumni community (Cetron and Davies, 1994, p.79). On the other hand, the adoption of online services and programs has not only improved academic life in many higher education institutions but has also reduced administrative requirements as well as streamlined student registration processes. Computers and telecommunications are some of the key technologies that continue to reshape higher education. For example the rapid advances in social media, internet, CDROMs and computerized simulations have significantly affected the current learning operations in many institutions of higher learning. Generally some of the technological devices that are increasingly playing an important role in higher educational institutions include computers, phones and other sophisticated machines that all are aimed at improving human life. Although technology has largely brought transformational benefits to many institutions of higher learning, it has also resulted in new challenges some of which include disruptive innovations, high costs and other operational challenges (Alic, 1997, p.88). Many educationists concur that the adoption of technology is an expensive process that often come with increased budgetary allocation as well as the need for time and new learning methods. Despite some of the challenges that hinder the adoption of new technologies in higher education institutions, technology will continue playing a significant role in the future of higher education particularly in the improvement of teaching methodologies, administration and academic experience. This paper critically examines the future role of technology in the institutions of higher learning and how these roles will alter learning, pedagogical and teaching methodologies. Transformative nature of technology on the future higher education learning In many higher education institutions, the use of new technologies continue transform classroom experience by enabling multi modal learning and teaching as well as enhancing the availability and use of a diverse range of online research materials and collaborations. Technological devices such as computers, mobile phones, I pads and tablets, are increasingly being used in schools as important aids in teaching, learning, and communication as well as in the day to day administrative functions. Additionally online tools for academic research collaborations will significantly contribute towards the improvement of academic research in many educational institutions (Mendenhall, 2011, p.24). Learning technological innovations such as the development of learning management software have also profoundly improved academic experience and are likely to continue playing a crucial role in the delivery of academic content. Similarly emerging technologies such as Cloud computing are also likely be adopted by higher education institutions in the future to improve their data storage. For example, the use of huge data stores offered by cloud computing will not only improve the computing performance but will also help many higher education institutions to enhance the security of data research, academic and administrative data. The other important area of higher education learning where new technologies will continue to play a pivotal role is academic partnerships and research collaborations. With increased technological advancement most learning institutions will be able to offer advanced form of learning that will result in new areas of study, professionalism and result to increased intellectual capacity. For example, many higher education institutions will be able use new technologies to expand their research collaborations improve their community engagement as well as enhance the transfer of knowledge. Communication technologies such as advanced social networking innovations, video communication and instant massaging technologies will also continue to play a number of important roles such as improving connectivity and efficiency of communication in various institutions. As a result, teaching and learning to be more students centered and outcome based thereby making the future higher education to be truly transformative. All these will further improve the quality of their learning programs as well as their contributions to the society. In many institutions of higher learning, technology has also helped educationists to focus higher education on knowledge application rather than memorization of concepts. For example some testing software being adopted in various higher education institutions are able to effectively identify the varying educational needs of the students using the answers they give in their exams and this can particularly be used to focus more attention to the specific areas of interest. Consequently technology will enable higher education be more responsive to the individual needs of the students. The key technologies such as Mobile applications, learning analytics, the internet and social network platforms will be significantly crucial in the future higher education programs. For example students will be able to register courses or access their results through the mobile applications. Mobile applications are increasingly popular in many academic institutions due to the portability and convenience of mobile devices as well as their affordability to majority of students. Lastly learning analytics and computerized simulations will also be used by educationists to help them acquire more knowledge on the learning processes and the different learning styles suited for particular groups of students and learners. Online learning and the changing teaching methodologies Distance education is one of the new learning approaches which are increasingly being adopted by many academic institutions as result advancements in information and technology. Distance and online educational programs often come with great convenience and flexibility that allows many students and working professional to be able to effectively undertake their learning programs from the comfort of their homes and offices. As more higher education institutions continue to deploy new technologies in their learning systems, significant changes are expected to occur in the contemporary educational approaches particularly with regard to the curricular and the teaching methods. Consequently the practice of online education has not only placed higher education within the reach of many people but it has also allowed various academic institutions to advance their missions and offer greater educational access to many people across the world. The rapid innovations on e-learning will continue to substantially impact on higher education. For example the future academic programs will use of the e-learning technologies and other online tools to allow online learners participate in self- assessment quizzes, view updates and relevant announcements, download academic materials and recorded lectures and submit their assignments. These innovations will allow the next generation graduates to acquire the same skills through virtual learning just as they would have achieved in face to face classrooms. On the other hand, online learning is however set to disrupt the traditional learning patterns. This is particularly evidenced by the current rapidly developing online technologies and mobile applications. Going by the trend, digital technologies will continue to advance and the future learning will emphasize on more personal feedbacks to the students than the current teacher leas learning. With more institutions increasingly adopting new communication and computing technologies, the costs of carrying out research and other academic activities have significantly reduced through the decentralization of learning. Online degree programs have also made higher education more accessible to many students as learners no longer have to be confined in classrooms (Kumar, 1997, p35). In the future, new technologies are likely to play more interactive and proactive roles in the improvement of the learning processes. For example computers and other mobile technologies such as tablets and I pads will be used to improve communication between teachers, students and researchers as well as to allow greater accessibility of the educational programs to more learners. Similarly social network platforms such as the Facebook will continue to play a vital role in improving the communication between academic institutions and learners. As earlier been noted, improving the accessibility of higher education is one of the most important future roles of technology in higher education. For example students and working professionals who are unable to undertake residential academic programs will use e-learning technologies to take online courses as an alternative to residential or face to face classes. The universal goal has been quality education and many scholars agree that technology is vital in ensuring the aspect of education if met. This can only be facilitated by use of well evaluated technological processes that can improve on educational technology. This huge investment requires the input of all stake holders if various organizations and institutions have to give quality education to their students and nationals as a whole. According to Jonassen (2006, p.106), the role played by technology is so important that it would be impossible to facilitate learning without technology more so in institutions of higher learning. Although library has traditionally been the main academic resource center in many institutions of higher learning, new technologies such as digital libraries have significantly changed this and now a wide range of information are readily accessible over the internet to many students and learners who are miles away from the respective of higher learning. With the current rapid advancements in communications and computing technology, learners will be able to undertake their educational programs from the comfort of their homes as opposed to current classroom based learning programs. Currently many institutions of higher learning have adopted this mode of educational approach to cut on cost and ensure that the students are well informed and have the skills required of them to develop their intellectual capacities. The future role of technology in the improvement of the quality of higher education Improving the quality of higher education is a universal goal of all the educational institutions. According to Renes and Strange (2011, p.203), instructional technology has increasingly played an important role in the provision of quality education. For example the adoption and use of new technological devices such as computers in classroom activities will not only make higher education more interactive but will also improve the quality of learning and student engagement. New technologies have also made higher education to be more individualized and student centered. This is particularly with regard to the fact that many teachers are now able to use new technologies to design learning activities that are tailored for the individual students depending on their learning styles and previous educational experiences. Another important future role of technology in the improvement of the quality of higher education through increased accessibility and flexibility of the learning processes. For example the adoption of online learning Universities and other learning institutions is likely to continue making learning more flexible and accessible to many students who are will be able to undertake their learning programs from the comfort of their homes (Bergeron, 1996, p.22). Consequently this will also ensure that the future educational programs are open to the current disadvantaged groups are unable to access institution based educational programs because of its high costs, lack of time and distance. With the growing completion among institutions offering higher education, technology will play a significant role in helping institutions survive the competition of the future higher education. In this context, computer mediated online education will particularly help universities and other higher education institutions to improve their teaching and learning services as well as lower the cost of their programs as part of their competitive strategies (Okpala and Okpala, 1997, p.267). Additionally the traditional libraries will be replaced by digital libraries which will be readily accessed anywhere by anyone. Additionally the new technologies will allow various communities of researchers, specialists and experts to collaborate through electronic links that overcomes geographic barriers. This will improve the effectiveness of carrying out researches in higher education institutions thereby increasing the quality of academic programs and educational organization. Learning simulation is an example of a new computerized pedagogy method that is rapidly being adopted by many educational technologists in most modern academic institutions. According to many educational technology enthusiasts, programmed learning using computer simulations will not only help in the development of high quality educational programs but will also improve the teaching of advanced special courses such as genetics, physics, psychology and statistics. Lastly, as higher educational institutions continue to deploy new technologies in their learning programs, the quality, affordability, flexibility and accessibility of higher education will significantly improve. Technology will continue to play a vital role in improving the quality of higher education as well as improvement of the accessibility of academic programs to many learners (Yankelovish, 2005, p.7). The implementation of new technologies in the academic institutions however requires proper planning and policy implementation. With the rapidly increasing knowledge driven society, technology will play a key role in making higher education more learner centered, affordable and interactive. By using new technologies such as digital libraries, higher educations institutions will become more focused on the learners as well as responsive to their changing needs as opposed to the curriculum contents. Although it is unlikely that online education will completely replace face to face classroom learning, new technologies will make education significantly more affordable such that educational opportunities will be available within the resources of a majority of citizens. This will however require significant restructuring of the current higher education model to ensure that new technologies are effectively used to lower the costs of education while at the same time maintaining its quality. Another potential future role of new technologies in the improvement of the quality of higher will be the provision of advanced skills to the learners that will transform higher education to be part of a life long learning process. For example, through the integration of modern communication and computing technologies such as social media networks, students and learners will be provided with more opportunities to continue with their learning and personal enrichment through their interactions with alumnus communities, professionals and other partners in higher education. On the other hand, the future technologies also promise new collaborative and interactive forms of pedagogy which will be particularly tailored to conform to the future societal needs (Derek, 1982). For example, online learning will allow learners to overcome the constraints of space and time and consequently make higher educational opportunities to be more compatible with their individual career needs and lifestyles. Additionally with the current digital age, advances in learning techniques such as video conferencing will significantly make learning more collaborative and interactive. In this regard, the learning environments will not only be adaptable but also more customizable to the needs of the learners. Consequently higher education learning is likely to be more enjoyable to both the learners and the teachers. Barriers to the adoption of new technologies in the higher education institutions Although technology will continue to play positive roles in various higher learning institutions, there are several challenges that usually come with the adoption of technology into the classrooms. Generally technological advancements continue to have significant impacts on the higher education and the classroom environments. Some of the positive developments derived from the adoption of new technologies in these institutions have however faced enormous challenges. Some of the major barriers to the adoption of new technologies in the present and future higher educational programs include high costs of implementing new technologies, disruptive nature of some technologies (Jones-Kavalier and Flannigan, 2008, p.14). The cost of technology is one of the greatest concerns and hurdles facing the implementation of new technologies in academic institutions. For example technology adoption is usually an expensive process that will come with increased budgetary allocation and other resources for it to be effectively accomplished (Kirschner, 2012, p.6). Consequently many institutions are looking into new ways through which they can adopt new technologies into their academic systems while at the same time lower the economic costs that come with such moves. According to Young (2002, p.4), another important challenge facing many institutions in their attempts to adopt new learning technologies is the digital divide. Many teachers and learners are yet to overcome the challenges related to lack of sufficient digital literacy skills, knowledge and concepts that can help them participate effectively in the implementation of new technologies into the higher educational curricular. Additionally some of the current teaching practices to do not support personalized learning and the adoption of new technology in the higher education institutions (McLoughlin , Wang and Beasley, 2008, p.104). This is particularly evident in the institutions that are resistance to change. Despite the potential benefits of technology to higher institutions, the rapid technological advancements as well as its unpredictability is making it difficult to systematically plan for the integration of some of the new technologies into educational programs. In this regard some of the challenges that are likely to face the adoption of new technologies in higher education institutions include the challenge of building sufficient human resource infrastructure to ensure the effective implementation of the technology. Lastly according to Wilson and Allen (2011,p.9), the disruptive tendency of some technologies used in higher education practices have resulted in a number of unwanted effects such as distraction of learners and increased cases of academic malpractices such as cheating and plagiarism. Conclusion In conclusion, the adoption of new technologies in academic institutions will not only continue to create new ways of addressing the changing needs of learners but these technologies will also help improve the accessibility and flexibility of academic programs offered in the various institutions of higher learning. 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