ITLP Tuesday Readings

Yesterday, EDUCAUSE released its 2010 study of undergraduate students and information technology. The study's ROADMAP, prepared by Judith Borreson Caruso and Shannon Smith, the study's authors, can be found on the EDUCAUSE site (click on ROADMAP at the bottom of the page) or downloaded directly (PDF).

I believe that this document is must reading for everyone involved in IT on college and university campuses as it provides solid insight into our student's expectations.

Some of the key findings from the study are:

• 84% of students responding to the survey have laptops

• 99% have a computer

• 63% own an internet capable handheld device

• the average respondent logs more than 21 hours/week online

• 20% take some or all of their courses online

• 36% used web-based applications - think word-processors, etc. - in a course

• 70% used text messaging (compared to 24% internet messaging users).

Authors of the study made five observations from the data that they believe IT and other educational leaders should consider:

1. Web-based technology has arrived in course-work. Half of the students using these tools were using them to collaborate in their classes.

2. Mobile web use is growing. 43% of students who own internet-enabled mobile devices use them daily to access the internet. They expect institutional services to be available on their device.

3. Instructors continue to need training in the effective use of technology. Instructors are reported to have uneven levels of skills which institutions may need to address with training specifically designed for instructional staff.

4. Students also need training in technology. Some 19% of the respondents reported that almost none of their instructors provided adequate training for the IT used in their course.

5. With more online courses, IT services must be reliable, always available with ever increasing bandwidth when needed. The study reports that many institutions may find it difficult to ensure that their IT services are available when needed by their students.

If you are interested in reading further and if your university is an ECAR subscriber, the full report can also be found at the first URL given above.

From my point of view, this study gives university IT leaders a lot to think about, particularly in the context of university strategies which implicitly or explicitly call for greater use of IT at the same time resources for IT are significantly declining. This will require new approaches to delivering the needed IT services that include far greater collaboration and cooperation than ever before, faster decision-making cycles, along with setting clear priorities and delivering timely results I believe that while the strategic importance of IT in higher education has never been higher there is also a real sea change in the way IT must be delivered. We must step up to this opportunity and invent our new way to go forward and to do it now.

. . . . . jim

Posted by Jim Hall at 10:17 AM | Permalink

Tony Schwarts, CEO of the Energy Project, says a lot in this short piece "Six Ways to Supercharge Your Productivity". His key point is that as a result of the digital demands of the world we now inhabit, we are in danger of undertaking more and more tasks and creating less and less real value.

He suggests six practical behaviors - all of which you've heard before - which if adopted will increase the value of what you do:

1. Make sufficient sleep - at least 7-8 hours a night - a top priority. "Even small amounts of sleep deprivation take a dramatic toll on our cognative capacity, our ability to think creatively, our emotional resilience, the quality of our work, and even the speed at which we do it."

2. Create one to-do list. Writing it down gets it off your mind permitting you to focus on what's most important at the current moment.

3. Do the most important thing first. At the beginning of the day you have your highest energy level. This is the best time to work on your most important task.

4. Live like a sprinter, not a marathoner. Break up your day to give you a chance for renewal and refueling. Schwartz suggests that you not work on any task for more than 90 minutes at a time.

5. Monitor your mood. When demand exceeds our capacity, our mood turns negative. We become reactive and impulsive, and less reflective and responsive. You need to be on guard and monitor yourself for such mood swings. Only by being aware can you act.

6. Schedule specific times to work on activities that are important but not urgent today. If you don't schedule time in the future for such activities you will have difficulty getting to them. So, when you encounter an important but not urgent task, take a moment and make one or more appointments with yourself at some future time so you'll have time set aside to work on the task.

So, here you have it. Six behaviors that will improve how you deliver value.

Have a great week. . . . jim

Posted by Jim Hall at 6:40 PM | Permalink

"The block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong." ~Thomas Carlyle

What or who gets in the way of your success?

Do you see an obstacle or a challenge?

Do you blame or do you plan?

Write three actions you can take to move the situation forward in a positive way.

Posted by Jim Hall at 10:36 AM | Permalink

I came across today's reading, "Leaders Develop Daily, Not in a Day" last week in John Maxwell's GIANT Impact newsletter. Maxwell is an internationally know writer -- over 19 million books sold -- and speaker on leadership.

His thesis in this piece is very straightforward: "Unless we set aside time to grow into the person we desire to be, we will not reach our potential." Leaders need to commit themselves to the process of growth, if indeed they want to develop as leaders.

To encourage each of us to adopt a lifestyle of personal growth, he shares five principles in this piece:

1. Growth is the great separator of those who succeed and those who don't. Maxwell's personal practice is to spend an hour each day on his personal growth.

2. Growth takes time, and only time can teach us some things. His key observation: Experience is not the best teacher; evaluated experience is. To gain insights from your experience, you have to reflect: to regularly engage in reflective thinking. His guide is ten minutes at the end of each day.

3. Growth inside fuels growth outside. It's all about what you become through your growth, not just what you learn. That is, you learn, you use what you learn; it becomes a practice.

4. Take responsibility for your own growth. At some point graduations with diplomas and program certificates cease. To continue growing, you have to take over and assume this responsibility for yourself.

5. Determine those areas in your life in which you need to grow. Maxwell argues that you should spend your limited personal development time on that small number of things you do really well. It's you choice and where you begin.

So, there you have it. Your on-going development is your responsibility; take time to work on it every day.

Have a great week. . . . . jim

Posted by Jim Hall at 12:05 PM | Permalink

Today's reading, suggested by Chris Paquette, Senior Consultant for Survey Services at MOR Associates, comes to us from the September 2, 2010 issue of the Economist - "Declining by degree". The author is an anonymous Economist consultant, Schumpeter, who generally writes on individuals and ideas behind the latest trends in business and management. (Presumably the pseudonym refers to Joseph Schumpeter [1883-1950], an Austrian economist and political scientist who popularized the term "creative destruction" in economics.)

The thesis in this essay is simple: "If colleges were businesses, they would be ripe for hostile take-overs complete with serious cost-cutting and painful reorganizations." Schumpeter makes several well-stated points:

1. College fees at state colleges have increased by a factor of 15 (for in-state students) and at private colleges by a factor of more than 13 in the past 40 years while the household income increased by only 6.5.

2. Over roughly the same period of time, hours spent per week studying by full-time students has dropped by about half, from 24 hours to 14. And, only 40% of the students graduate in four years.

3. Spending for administrative staff has grown faster than spending for teaching faculty.

4. Competition between universities is based on neither cost nor student performance. Rather, the essay argues competition is based on academic reputation (i.e., "star faculty") and bling (luxurious dorms and larger sports venues). In his view, value delivered for money paid seems to have gotten lost.

Schumpeter argues that this "luxury model" is unlikely to survive in a prolonged economic downturn. Parents are reluctant to take on debt and will look for a better deal. And, there's also the threat of e-learning. He concludes "America's universities lost their way badly in the era of easy money. If they do not find it again, they may go the way of GM."

I think the signs are everywhere that change, big change, is afoot. Budgets are eing cut, staffs reduce, and building projects stopped, slowed down, or not started. And, many, particularly smaller liberal arts colleges are having problems meeting their class-size goals.

While going the way of GM may not be what is experienced, we are likely moving to a different era, one where demonstrating value is of paramount importance. I think that we each have to stop and reflect and then act. What can I, my team, my organization do to increase the value we deliver and better align with our university's goals?

. . . . . jim

Posted by Jim Hall at 11:43 AM | Permalink