Mobile Tech Transforms Higher Education: 5 Key Trends to Watch

Walk onto any campus and its clear that college students are early adopters and power users of mobile technology. This places extensive demands and expectations on college IT leaders as well as faculty and administrators. Students and teachers increasingly expect to use mobile devices to access all matter of applications, resources and communication services as part of their daily lives.

Practically every one of our studentsrich and poor, wise and less wise is walking around with a powerful computing device in their hands. These students are changing the nature of their education using those devices, whether they realize it or notand whether we help them or not. Therese Mageau, Campus Technology

Such trends are part of a larger shift toward mobile IT, of course. In the United States, more people will have access to the Internet through mobile devices than through wired connections by 2015, according to IDC. As a result, IT leaders at colleges and universities are now under pressure to prepare their campuses for the risks and rewards of mobility. Mobile technology is going to be an unstoppable change agent in education, contends Therese Mageau, Editorial Director for T.H.E. Journal and Campus Technology magazine. Practically every one of our studentsrich and poor, wise and less wiseis walking around with a powerful computing device in their hands. These students are changing the nature of their education using those devices, whether they realize it or notand whether we help them or not. Clearly, enhanced learning is at the core of every schools mission. However, colleges are deriving other benefits through mobile technology initiatives in terms of operational efficiency and enhanced research capabilities. With mobile technology as an enabling force, schools have an opportunity to foster innovation and creativity on many different levels and create an advantage when competing for potential enrollees.

Five Key Mobile Tech Trends Driving Change

Given the opportunities for growth and advancement that mobile technology represents, IT leaders must consider and capitalize on an array of related trends. Here are five key mobile tech trends to watch:

1.

Colleges embrace mobile learning strategies

Colleges and universities have realized that mobile technologies are an essential factor in accomplishing their missions. With students embracing mobile devices and faculty seeking ways to use these tools to engage them more effectively, schools are under pressure to develop a mobile learning strategy thats aligned with priorities of the institution. Examples abound. Northeastern Universitys Educational Technology Center developed a

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Mobile Tech Transforms Higher Education: 5 Key Trends to Watch

According to the Campus Computing Project, 55 percent of public universities launched mobile apps in 2011, up from 32.5 percent in 2010. strategy to enable faculty members to explore a wide array of possibilities for incorporating mobile technology into their classes. With an academic plan emphasizing experiential learning, interdisciplinary research, creative expression, urban engagement and global opportunity, the school has sought ways to use mobile devices to support the plan. Abiliene Christian Universitys strategy focuses on using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones to promote new ways of teaching and learning. Seton Hall has relied on mobile technology to foster professional development among faculty and launched a pilot tablet program in 2011. Tufts University is using the technology for global learning. Meanwhile, schools such as Stanford University and University of Florida are engaging students in mobile app development. Mobile learning is even enabling schools to generate new operating income, leveraging existing content and courses to reach new students online and around the globe. Arizona State University, for instance, is focused on adding as many as 40,000 students online in the next five years. Could we affect 100,000 students with a small, elite, highly compensated, high-performing, fantastic faculty rather than just growing the faculty with each increment of growth at the university? Thats what I think that we will have mastered in that five-year time frame, says ASU president Michael Crow.

2.

Administrators focus on operational efficiency

In an era of weak economic growth and declining state funding, school administrators are clearly under pressure to operate more economically. Mobile technology, as it turns out, may prove to be a powerful enabler of such efficiencies. In other words, students are doing most of the spending on computing devicesand the wide availability of such tools enables colleges to put more content and services online. As students bring their own PCs and other mobile devices to campus, rather than depending on schools to provide computers, for instance, schools can shift IT budgets to activities that can deliver impressive returns on investments. As Carol Smith, CIO of Indianas DePauw University, puts it, [W]e will likely spend less on computer lab hardware and refocus those investments in areas such as virtualization, security and even off-site cloud services. The school also shifted from an on-site email system to a cloud-based solution provided by Google Apps for Education (GAE). As we were evaluating potential new email systems, a big factor in our decision to adopt GAE was the fact that a large percentage of our students and faculty members were already familiar with Google email through their own personal accounts, she adds.

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Mobile Tech Transforms Higher Education: 5 Key Trends to Watch

The ability to share information among multiple departments in real-time is no longer nice to have. Its a need to have. Mike Statmore, CIO, Post University Other concerns for school CIOs are workflow and systems integration for college services, such as course enrollment. Students expect faster and more responsive service, says Mike Statmore, CIO at Post University in Waterbury, CT. The only way to provide that is through integration of systems and workflow at every student touch point. Such demands are forcing schools to eliminate department-specific IT systems and embrace integrated and interdependent systems that enhance productivity. The ability to share information among multiple departments in real-time is no longer nice to have, Statmore adds. Its a need to have.

3.

Security steps to the fore

As with all new technologies, the widespread adoption of mobile technology has created new security concerns. There are concerns about privacy, access and authentication, viruses and hacking, device theft, and intellectual property protection, as well as cheating and plagiarism. IT leaders are challenged to confront the threats and vulnerabilities they face without merely blocking access to valuable new apps and services. Smart schools are aggressively responding to these new concerns. With newer, mobile technology and social media, you are suddenly looking at thousands of conversations that are happening simultaneously, says Jorge Mata, CIO of the Los Angeles Community College District. This is overwhelming to traditional security, to legacy tools. We need to use security tools that are appropriate for this new environment, tools that will let you find that one element within thousands of concurrent sessions that may be an attackfind it and then surgically remove it.

4.

Wireless network infrastructure is tested

Mobile technology is certainly putting pressure on network infrastructure. Its forcing IT leaders, for instance, to rethink the mix of investments on wired and wireless infrastructure. I think it is clear that the wireless network now becomes much more important, and needs to be much more robust and able to handle many more clients pushing increasing volumes of data, and I suspect that will lead to a decline in the number of wired ports on campus over time, says Ronald Danielson, Vice Provost for Information Services and CIO at Santa Clara University. Also, many of the services that people are accessing with these consumer devices are off campus, so the need for commodity Internet capacity will go up faster than it otherwise would have. As an example, Purdue University is trying to meet these demands by upgrading to a 4G network and a significant expansion of fixed wireless service. The school is also adding new routers to provide consistent Wi-Fi coverage both inside and outside campus buildings. These days, not having a signal is an anomaly, even when youre out walking or driving around, says Gerry McCartney, Purdues CIO and vice president for information technology. Its like visiting a building that doesnt have electricity.

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Mobile Tech Transforms Higher Education: 5 Key Trends to Watch

We need to use security tools that are appropriate for this new environment, tools that will let you find that one element within thousands of concurrent sessions that may be an attackfind it and then surgically remove it. Jorge Mata, Los Angeles Community College District

5.

Mobile apps proliferate

The widespread adoption of mobile technology on campus is driving demand for new mobile apps that cater specifically to the needs of the school community. Whether they are produced by IT organizations or procured externally, its clear that students increasingly expect them and may even start to choose their schools (at least partially) based on the availability of valuable apps. Whats clear is that new mobile apps are proliferating on campus. West Virginia University, for instance, has created an app that features everything from athletic events to shuttle bus information. And Ohio State University has created its OSU Mobile app to give students their grades and schedules in real-time. According to the Campus Computing Project (CCP), 55 percent of public universities launched mobile apps in 2011, up from 32.5 percent in 2010. Among community colleges, the growth percentage more than tripled, rising from 12 percent to 41 percent. This is not surprising when we see how widespread mobility is everywhere else we go, said CCPs Founding Director Kenneth Green at a recent conference. When I got off the plane here in Philadelphia, I could download a mobile app to help me navigate the city. A year ago I couldnt do that on most campuses, but now I can.

Conclusion
IT leaders are now challenged to harness the power of mobile technologies in an academic setting. Clearly, mobility devices and related services present new opportunities for enhanced learning, research capabilities and operational efficiencies. However, challenges remain in terms of budgeting, security, infrastructure and other issues. By helping administrators, faculty, students and others succeed in this new world of wireless mobility, IT leaders can serve to elevate the performance of their schools, which can translate to the ultimate goal: increased enrollment.
Sources: Belissent, Jennifer (2011). Schools Move Beyond The Basics: Competition Will Drive Technology Into The Education Market, Forrester.com, February 2011. Demski, Jennifer (2011). The Consumerization of IT: Pendulum or Wrecking Ball? Campus Technology, October 2011. Grush, Mary (2011). A New Frontier in Security, Campus Technology, July 2011. Kelly, Rhea (2011). Mobile Learning Shines at New Education Summit, Campus Technology, March 2011. Kirchick, Jeff (2011). 5 Ways Higher Education is Leveraging Mobile Tech, Mashable.com, November 2011. Mageau, Therese (2011). A Change is Gonna Come, Campus Technology, January 2011. McKinsey Quarterly (2011). Innovating US Higher Education: Arizona State Universitys Michael Crow, McKinsey.com. April 2011. Rice, Alexandra (2011). Use of Mobile Apps Grows on Campuses, but Cloud Services are Slow to Catch On, Chronicle of Higher Education, October 2011. Rust, Bill, Jan-Martin Lowen Dahl, Ron Bonig, Marti Haris (2010). Predicts 2011: Technology and the Transformation of the Education Ecosystem, Gartner, November 2010. Schaffhauser, Dian (2011). Mobile Initiatives Breaking Down the Walls of the Classroom at Abilene Christian U, Campus Technology, October 2011. Weide, Karsten (2011), More Mobile Internet Users Than Wireline Users in the U.S. by 2015, IDC.com, September 2011.

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