There are only 24 hours in a day. We know our readers’ days are jam-packed with teaching, emails, meetings, office hours, research, technology implementation and management, and of course, more meetings. That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the responsibilities of college and university instructors, school administrators and IT staff.
Add to that list the endless barrage of media, shared articles, viral videos and cat memes that hit your smartphone and inbox each day – information overload. There has to be a better way to keep up with what’s going on in the world of higher education technology.
That’s MY job. So let me introduce myself.
I’m Leslie, Marketing Communications Manager with Echo360. As an ed tech marketer, and more importantly, a mom to college-bound twins, I’m fascinated by the changing trends in higher ed and the innovative ways institutions are using technology to improve teaching and learning.
Being a social creature, I always share blog posts, articles and other higher ed-related content that piques my interest with my colleagues and social networks.
That’s where I came up with the idea of “Leslie’s List.” Every Friday, Leslie’s List will feature my top 5 finds of the week the blog – offering up the most buzz-worthy (and fun) content for a quick read over your morning cuppa joe.
What better way to kick off the Leslie’s List feature than to share some of the issues and presentations that caught our attention at Educause 2014 (in no particular order):
- There is still a disparity between the ways CIOs and instructors view the value of technology in higher ed as seen in The Chronicle of Higher Education’s survey of more than 1,000 CIOs and faculty members. The challenge: how best to bridge that gap?
- Harvard Business School Professor, Clay Christensen, strongly believes that online education can be as rich and fulfilling as traditional face-to-face, classroom education. Speaking on the topic of disruption, he views technology as a game-changer that will redefine the role of the traditional university.
- From the Student of 2020 presentation: Most universities today serve their students in ways that are convenient to the university and not convenient to the student. Offering more hybrid learning options is one way of offering students their instructional content in the same ways they consume all other content.
- There was lots of talk about how to extend institutional reach using online education and less talk than previous years about using MOOCs. Could MOOC mania be over?
- 97% of people age 18-25 own a cell phone, which is more than the total population who own a toothbrush. Dentists around the world just shared a unified cringe.
That’s a wrap for this year’s event and this week’s edition of Leslie’s List. Feel free to share, comment and send anything you’d like to see on the list via Twitter or Facebook. I look forward to hearing from you!
