Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition: Choices and Challenges

by Donald E. Hanna and Donald E. Hanna & Associates

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1891859323
• ISBN13: 9781891859328
• Release Date: February 2000
• Publisher: Atwood Publications
• Length: 362 Pages

Customer Reviews

Visions and Choices for Higher Ed

Donald Hanna and his supporting authors have done a fine job illuminating some of the interesting aspects and issues of the growing technological world of higher ed. I enjoyed the organization of the book. It is a compilation of interesting essays on various topics, all of which are relevant to the online university.I found Chapter 3-Advanced Technologies and Distributed Learning in Higher Education by Chis Dede to be facinating. This sort of vision and creativity to picture what is possible is essential in moving us forward into new and uncharted territory. Dede offers "vignettes" to illustrate creative uses of technology for distributed learning and visions of how technology may be used in the future. These sort of changes have the possibility to make substaintial changes to the higher education model.Other chapters such as Chapter 8-Who Owns Knowledge in a Networked World? by John Tallman offer current practical knowledge. As a professional engaged in course development, it is valuable to become knowledgable regarding such issues. As questions and debates arise as to the equitable ownership and allocation of revenue from distance learning materials, it is important that faculty are well-versed in the applicable laws.Chapters such as Chapter 10-Global Access to Learning: Gender, Poverty, and Race by Janet Poley address concerns of equity and ethics. It is essential that these conversations occur now during the development of digital learning. Some choices and decisions can not be undone. It's important that each twist and turn in the growing path of distance education is subjected to thoughtful consideration. The potential benefit to everyone is great. But also the potential to further alienate certain populations exists. Only through careful consideration can the appropriate foundation be laid to benefit all.Overall, this book addresses some facinating and pressing issues in the growing world of distance education. There are many facets to consider and various points of view. Hanna's book is a great place to start the conversation.

A Valuable Survey of Technology in Higher Education

This is one of the best books I've ever read related to technology in higher education. It surveys the entire field, looking at what is happening, analyzing it against sound educational theory and taking it to the future by asking the tough question of where will traditional higher education be if it doesn't adapt to the new millennium. Although it's an easy book to read, it doesn't lend itself well to a summary review. Each chapter is unique, touching on different issues related to technology and innovation, such as change, organizational structure, leadership, ethics, faculty policies and practices and instructional design. Any of these chapters can easily be a book in itself. But in the breath of topics covered resides the book's greatest benefit, which is the ability to provide the reader with a "one-stop" understanding of the entire topic. If you're interested in going beyond a survey of the field and are committed to changing the status quo, this book will help you navigate the basics of bringing technology to the classroom, dealing with resistance and staying motivated as a change agent for the future. It's most definitely a great book about a very important and timely topic.

Higher Education: Book Review

The author presents a thorough analysis on the impact of the emergent world trends on higher education, clarifying the view for the institutions in the years to come. Emphasis is given on the following aspects as they challenge the global education in the 21st century: 1. Learning: Roles, Access, Emergent Approaches, Role of Technology and Assessment2. Organizational Models: Design and evaluation, policies and practices3. Leadership in the Knowledge EraLearningWith the emergent digital era, the learning process undergoes reconsiderations that will shape our concept of education forever. Access. Due to the improvements in the technological area, distances are being shortened making possible for more students to access education from different locations. This is demanding from higher education institutions to acquire and use technology efficiently in order to provide educational programs that reach out to students and are sensitive to cultural diversity. Emergent Approaches.The following are some of the trends that are driving educational institutions to provide innovated educational experiences for their students:· The constant and emergent changes worldwide are demanding from students and professionals continuous education or life long learning. According to the author, Americans could be changing careers six times during their professional lives.· The improvements in communications capabilities are moving the market toward a global economy, which according to the author, will impact the continuous learning process worldwide. This will lead us toward a global learning community.· Today it is not sufficient to acquire information. The learner must be able to appreciate and understand its meaning, in addition to be able to use it in problem solving situations. · Emergent educational trends lead organizations to leave behind the traditional organizational approach. · The increase of two-career families in America and single parents leave little time for students to enroll in traditional educational experiences, at the same time there is an increase in the pressure to learn and become better educated.· The changing workplace is demanding new skills and abilities that ease people to work together in problem solving situations that requires critical analysis and a personal touch of creativity.Three steps toward change in institutions in order to achieve effectiveness in the competitive era:1. Identify the external trends that are forcing institutions toward change. 2. Study the forces that resist change. 3. Develop a rationale for organizational change considering the previous steps. Higher education institutions should create effective learning environments under the emergent educational approaches and advances in technology. An effective learning experience should encompass an active and engaging process based upon a "constructivist" approach. According to this learning theory, supported by thinkers like John Dewey and Lev Vygotsky, is based on th

An important, seminal work for administrators & faculty.

Donald Hanna was formerly the chancellor of Extension for the University of Wisconsin and is currently on the UW faculty. He draws upon his considerable professional experience in Higher Education In An Era Of Digital Competition: Choices And Challenges to survey one of education's newest frontiers arising f rom the electronic age. Specific chapters address the global consequences of higher education arising from digital competition; newly emerging approaches to learning in collegiate classrooms, advanced technologies and distributed learning in higher education, the extended traditional university, distance education and technology-based universities, for-profit corporate and competency-based learning universities. Hanna's insightful and thought-provoking observations are joined with those of Janet Poley (Leadership in the Age of Knowledge, and Global Access to Learning: Gender, Poverty, and Race); John Tallman (Who Owns Knowledge in a Networked World?); Donald Olcott, Jr. (Ethics and Technology: Challenging Issues, Enlightened Choices in a Technoethic Society, and Redefining Faculty Policies and Practices)); Gary Brown (Learning and the Web: Reflections on Assessment); Kathy Schmidt & Donald Olcott (Integrated Technology Systems Design: A Model for Aligning Pedagogical Quality). This scholarly and informative survey concludes with Donald Hanna's "A Vision for the Future: Choices and Challenges for Colleges and Universities" and is an important, seminal work that should be a part of every university administrator and college faculty member reference collection and reading list.

Guide to the Era of Digital Competition in Higher Education

Higher Education in an Era of Digital Competition is a welcome contribution to understanding the turbulence and rapid change of the period we are in. Donald Hanna, the editor and principal author, has brought together an unusually qualified group of persons in the fields of educational technology and distance learning to comment on the developments and implications of these changes for organizations providing higher education, whether traditional non-profit institutions or new for-profit and corporate players.Hanna himself synthesizes and brings clarity to the plethora of comment on the challenges facing higher education in the digital era and takes note of changing approaches in the classroom. He argues that, rather than leading to impersonality in learning, technology may enable study in smaller, more intimate groups than traditional, large scale lecture halls. In subsequent chapters, he and other authors discuss implications of distribution learning by technology, while reminding us that technology and distance delivery are the means to the goal of learning, not the end in itself. They consider issues of intellectual property, ethical practice and learner access, faculty roles, and institutional leadership, and they provide numerous case studies of current practice that illustrate future directions. In a final chapter, Hanna poses a series of trenchant questions that can frame leaders' consideration of future directions for their organizations to take.All in all, the book does an excellent job of capturing the ideas currently available on this dynamic topic and framing the issues so that readers can get their arms around them, rather than being overwhelmed by what often seems unfamiliar.