Online Learning Summit

I attended the March 7-8 seminar, “How Technology Impacts the Pedagogy and Economics of Residential Higher Education,” which was sponsored by MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, and Harvard. Presenters from around the country gave their history with online education and the role that new technologies are playing to expand access to and improve the quality of education (e.g., hybrid classrooms). Several presenters highlighted case studies, including Dr. Ellen Junn at CSU Dominguez Hills and Eric Grimson, who talked about the transformational thinking happening at MIT. We also discussed learning analytics and how the view of student success is evolving.

There were about 150 participants at the event with representation from around the country and world (I sat next to a professor from the Indian Institutes of Technology – India). UC was well represented by Provost Aimée Dorr, several from her staff, and participants from UCLA, Merced, Berkeley, Riverside, and Davis.

It’s great to see Berkeley taking the lead on such an important evolution in higher education. I’ve gotten close to the individuals driving classroom education at UCLA and UCSD and see strong programs there as well. The event convinced me, more than ever, that it is important for IT to work closely with the academic side of the university on how technology is impacting students’ educational experience. This is happening through the Innovative Learning Technology Initiative and the President’s community college transfers initiative. I am sure we will see many other opportunities in the future as well.