Technologies in Higher Education: Mapping the Terrain Ict and Changing Curriculum Imperatives

Over a period of four years from 2010 to 2014, the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE) has commissioned from international experts a series of policy briefs that — taken together — provide a comprehensive map of the terrain of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education. Covering topics ranging widely from the role of ICT in globalization to ICT use for administration in education, these briefs, 28 in total, are an information-rich resource that can guide policy-makers, educational leaders, and educational practitioners to make more effective use of ICT. Though it is impossible to do justice to the wealth of information they provide, this Summary Brief provides an overview of the scope of coverage of the Briefs and highlights a few of the key policy issues they raise. ICT are now vital to support the business of educational institutions, and support the full academic lifecycle, in terms of learning and teaching, from initial student enquiries through to accreditation and graduation and in terms of research from initial bid writing through to project delivery and dissemination. ICT systems include six main areas: payroll and financial accounting, administration of student data, inventory management, personnel records maintenance, library systems, and learning management systems. Core ICT services provide support for the student journey, from an initial enquiry through to graduation. This includes managing a student’s initial enquiry about courses, application, module selection, monitoring and support for the delivery of a course, assignment handling, examinations and graduation. Courses are delivered and supported through an institutional Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) or Learning Management System (LMS). Most institutions have one centrally supported system, but in some instances there may be local or bespoke systems. The library provides access to learning resources (both paper-based and digital), these can include learning materials and set texts for course, research journals and multimedia resources. Research activities are supported through systems for managing and monitoring research applications, research grants and contracts, research finance, publications recording, as well as patents and intellectual property recording. Beyond this, though, the development of ICT in society is leading to the emergence of new jobs and changes in existing jobs, which calls for new curricula at all levels of education. Knowledge for the digital age cannot comprise just a traditional curriculum consisting simply of a list of content to be learned. Knowledge today is more complex, more transverse, and evolves very rapidly.