The Goal:

 

"To significantly enhance and become recognized for the quality of our academic programs and the academic achievements of our faculty and students."

 

 

The Challenge:

 

Currently our approach to Academic Technology hides our light under a bushel. We allow the public to see things which are not core to who we are or what we do (e.g. the student disciplinary policy), but when it comes to the core endeavor of Keene State -- instructing students and enabling them to achieve their life goals -- there is little of that made visible to the world at large.

 

While this is a result of many factors across campus, academic technology has traditionally exacerbated the situation by putting our rich academic life into walled gardens such as Blackboard. Blackboard is a great tool for classroom management, but can also be a profoundly xenophobic technology, whereas Web 2.0 technologies are tools of engagement, inviting the world at large to view and engage with our academic life.

 

 

Suggested Approach:

 

While classroom management tools remain important for institutional efficiency and student convenience, the new plan will go far beyond seeing Course Management Systems as the only elearning solution, and instead shift some focus onto the current tools used to engage the world at large: Blogs, Wikis, Social Media. We will use technology not only as a tool for course delivery, but as a tool of engagement with the broader world: academic, civic, social.

 

This approach dovetails nicely with the effort to Foster Academic Community, since the the development of a robust and visible online academic community is the key component to the academic technology component of reaching this goal.

 

Desirable Outcomes:

 

  • More recognition, from both media and colleagues at other institutions, for what we accomplish here.
  • A media "ecosystem" which provides a window into our academic life for our multiple audiences: alumni, local community, legislators, potential students, etc.
  • Potentially, the fostering of partnerships.

 


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  • Recent comments:
    Alan Mccartney:In line with the various discussions that have been presented here, we must also consider ensuring that the basics within the each curriculum are appropriate and relevant to the role that each graduate will assume when entering the working environment. Although many of us believe that we devote ourselves altruistically to education, we must realize that many of the programs here at KSC are one’s that could be academically “Accredited” but are not. It is not enough for the academic institution to be regionally accredited, but if an accreditation program exists for a specific major, there is not any logical or rational reason why the program can’t strive for this. Whether we personally believe in the quality of curriculum accreditation, many employers do. In addition, students that graduate from an accredited curriculum, in many situations are able to move to the front of the line with respect to obtain personal certification in their specialty / profession. A change from the status quo, is highly uncomfortable for many, however, from the perspective of employers outside of academia (of which I am), accreditation of specific programs within the academic institution is important knowledge available to a prospective employer to utilize when determining where to spend their recruitment capital.
    Tracy Mendham:This is part of the vision that I think is so simple and smart. Academic faculty, and students, do so much work that never gets shared or appreciated outside of their own classrooms. Many products of our labor (such as the handouts for 40 homework assignments I write for a semester of ITW 101) don't need to be password protected or hidden. Moving documents from Blackboard to an academic website or a blog makes materials easier for students to access, and improves my visibility as a professional, and the visibility of the school. Since starting to use blogs and Macromedia Contribute to share my work, which I started in Fall '07 as I transitioned to teaching Thinking and Writing 101, I no longer feel like I'm laboring in complete obscurity.
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