Technology and the Future of Higher Education

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Technology and the Future of Higher Education

Today, traditional colleges and universities face reduced funding, changing student demographics, questions regarding quality and value, and increased competition. Their success requires transformative change to enable new teaching and learning approaches. 

Technology is changing the landscape of higher education. Educators are using everything from technology in the classroom, to massive open online courses (MOOCS), to flipped classrooms to find new ways to enhance access and the student experience. 

As higher education rapidly evolves, Georgia Tech is at the cutting edge of the movement. Below, Georgia Tech weighs in about this evolving topic.

Massive online education has changed the academic landscape

rafael bras georgia tech

Online education is not new. Let’s not mix online education with the so-called MOOCs, which have received much of the attention in this field in the past two years.

Georgia Tech has offered online education for more than 30 years through our professional education programs. However, massive online education has changed the landscape dramatically. 

Although critics point to low completion rates for those who enroll in MOOCs, I would argue that they are successful. They have changed the conversation. They are providing content, and that content is valuable.

So far, more than 900,000 people have enrolled in Georgia Tech's massive online classes. If 1 percent finishes, that’s more than 9,000 students — a number that is more than half of our undergraduate degree program.

So far, more than 900,000 people have enrolled in Georgia Tech's massive online classes.

And they learn for free. To me, if people sample educational material, it is good for everyone.

It means that format and use of technology to disseminate content is incredibly successful.

In 10 years, will higher education institutions be much different than they are today? Yes – we will all change. In fact, we are changing as we speak. At Georgia Tech, we are changing the way we deliver residential education influenced by what we have learned from massive online education.

But will we all look the same? I hope not. There should be a variety of styles and offerings. There will be a flavor for different people. That has value, and we shouldn’t ever lose that.

—​Rafael L. Bras, Provost, Georgia Institute of Technology

 

A fundamental change in higher education

rich demillo georgia tech

We shouldn’t assume that students are going to wait for us to catch up to them. We need to reach out and meet them where they are now. And right now, they’re online. That means offering more online content.

Technology is already allowing us to have an enormous impact on longstanding residential student problems. For example, because of large lecture halls, it can be difficult to know what freshmen have learned by the time they become sophomores.

Technology can now be inserted into those classes to measure what they know and how they are responding to the subject matter, the instructor, or the methods of teaching. Dozens of our peers are doing the same thing.

Through the use of this data, Georgia Tech’s Center for 21st Century Universities has been able to tap into the world’s largest learning laboratory.  

Students in our classrooms can be compared against those in traditional settings around the world. Once we learn what’s working, we can immediately adapt what is happening in the regular classroom.

Once we learn what’s working, we can immediately adapt what is happening in the regular classroom.

Just as importantly, the motivation to test and implement new pedagogical methods is coming from faculty members. They want to improve their teaching. 

The technology revolution is accelerating the way Georgia Tech works with students. We now have the tools that allow people to do what they’ve always wanted to do.

—​Rich DeMillo, Director of the Center for 21st Century Universities, Georgia Institute of Technology

 

Experiments to help students and improve learning

zvi galil georgia tech

We know that online learning, when developed properly, can result in learning that fully matches the in-person classroom experience.

That critical insight led to the creation of Georgia Tech's online Master of Science degree in Computer Science (OMS CS), which launched in January 2014. It is the result of a pioneering collaboration between Georgia Tech; Udacity, a for-profit educational organization; and AT&T, which contributed $2 million.

The program’s classes are delivered using MOOC technology, but with a key difference: This is not a collection of online courses “based on” the Institute’s courses. These are Georgia Tech courses that lead to a Tech degree. It is the same Georgia Tech master’s in computer science that is already widely respected.

And the tuition — $6,600 — is less than the $46,000 out-of-state tuition for an on-campus degree.

The OMS CS' low tuition costs and its flexible design have made it accessible to students who would not have been able to earn an on-campus degree. Some 1,268 students enrolled this fall, meaning OMS CS is already more than quadruple the size of our on-campus program. We project to enroll 2,400 students next summer.

It is the same Georgia Tech master’s in computer science that is already widely respected.

Programs like ours will only grow as we learn how affordable online education can best complement on-campus learning and what works best for students at different stages in their lives.

These experiments will reveal the path to higher education’s next model.

—​Zvi Galil, John P. Imlay Dean, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology 

 

Technology benefits lifelong learning

nelson baker georgia tech

As employer and employee needs evolve, working adults need opportunities to expand and enhance their skills throughout their careers.

At Georgia Tech Professional Education, our students are predominantly working professionals who are mid-career and on the move. Their needs vary greatly from the needs of traditional undergraduate and full-time graduate students.

Our instructional design team has found that working professionals require three elements from an online education experience:

  • The ability to cooperate and participate in group work in an online environment just like a face-to-face course.
  • A network of fellow students they can trust to ask for help and feedback.
  • Instant digital recognition when completing requirements of a course, including authentic and verifiable credentials showing accomplishments.
Working adults need opportunities to expand and enhance their skills throughout their careers.

In response, our team developed a number of online learning initiatives.

These include: group work sharing and Wiki-based assignments that enable students to submit work as a group and be graded as a group; access to peers and faculty through participant bios and forums; digital certificates for specific courses that can be printed, as well as displayed on LinkedIn profiles; and an electronic checklist of required items that can be manually or automatically checked off as completed. 

These valuable insights allow us to design online offerings that make lifelong learning more accessible than ever before.

—​Nelson C. Baker, Dean of Professional Education, Georgia Institute of Technology

 

Taking advantage of online learning’s flexibility

jennie li omscs college of computing georgia tech

I can set the pace myself. For instance, I have the ability to play back to the part I’m struggling with during a lecture. 

The beauty of online education is students can discover their own obstacles and remove them at their own pace.

I’m thinking maybe I’ll do one online class after another forever.

The beauty of online education is students can discover their own obstacles and remove them at their own pace.

The classes are well organized, and the professors are very engaging. 

So, I’ve been recommending it. As a matter of fact, several of my friends are applying right now.

—Jennie Li, Student, Online Master of Science in Computer Science

 

The state of the online university 

MOOCs and online colleges have yet to live up to their promise. But the situation is evolving as established colleges, universities, and private investors have joined in. What lies ahead for online education? This roundtable discussion between higher education leaders was moderated by David Leonhardt, managing editor, The Upshot, The New York Times.

Technology and the future of higher education roundtable

On Oct. 23 in New York City, Georgia Tech hosted a media roundtable with leaders of various platform providers, universities, foundations and reporters to discuss technology's role in the future of online higher education. This video series discusses the current status of MOOCS, affordability, accessibility and lifelong learning. 

Credits

Contributors: Jason Maderer, Brigitte Espinet
Page Design: Erica Endicott

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