Key Trends Accelerating Technology Adoption

EDUCAUSE LEARNING INITIATIVE | APRIL 2016

This special issue of 7 Things You Should Read takes as its starting point the Key Trends Accelerating Technology Adoption in Higher Education section of the 2016 NMC Horizon Report. That part of the report identifies six trends—of short-, mid-, and long-term impact—that NMC’s expert panelists believe will play a significant role in technology planning and decisions in the coming years. For each trend, the report addresses the dimensions of policy, leadership, and practice and provides examples that illustrate those dimensions.

Accessible Technology: Temple University (2016)

Temple University has developed a set of Standards and Guidelines for making technology accessible to users with disabilities. This web page includes resources for computer labs, web accessibility issues, and learning spaces.

IMPACT (2016)

IMPACT (Instruction Matters: Purdue Academic Course Transformation) is an effort to promote student-centered learning environments based on proven instructional approaches and examples of successfully redesigned courses. The redesigned courses are intended to benefit student learning and success, skills and attitudes, and institutional culture.

Blended Learning Toolkit (2016)

This free, open resource provides examples of model practices for redesigning courses to use a blended format. It features relevant literature and evaluation resources, as well as access to the BlendKit MOOC.

Building a Culture of Innovation in Higher Education: Design & Practice for Leaders. Emerging Lessons and a New Tool (2015)

This report is designed to show colleges, universities, and other organizations how to cultivate the innovator’s mindset that is necessary to build a culture of innovation. It includes a practical tool to quantify innovation and identify action steps.

The Future of the University: Speculative Design for Innovation in Higher Education (2015)

This EDUCAUSE Review article describes five models of what innovation might look like in higher education. Each model presents a different approach to an educational start-up that could show how higher education could be disrupted.

Levels of Learning in a New Curriculum (2015)

This article argues for a move away from formal, course-based education toward “creative labs” that would impart more of the skills and experiences that will benefit students in their working lives. The decentralized model the authors advocate gives students considerable discretion in choosing their educational path.

How Are Universities Grooming the Next Great Innovators? (2015)

This article discusses the ways some institutions are rethinking their approach to education to better meet the needs of students who aspire to be entrepreneurs. It includes examples of innovative majors and how students work across disciplines to learn problem-solving and innovation and respond to real-world issues.

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