How can University IT leaders enable the structures of digital pedagogy

Description

Can a University IT strategy be constructed and actively applied that sets out an innovative approach to the 'digital' and enable the transformative and the disruptive nature of new digital pedagogies as applied within an Arts based University.

Takeaway

A greater insight into the strategic decision making process and to highlight the need for significant change in the way in IT professionals are approaching the core function of the University.

Abstract

The University IT leader sits at the periphery of the activity of academic staff but has a great deal of influence in how University wide systems can be adapted and utilized by academic staff, support staff and students. It is key that careful consideration of all users within the scale and scope of any IT or digital strategy is genuinely given. It is also clear that strategies need high-speed adoption, clarity and agility to adapt with the times.

There is an on-going reshaping of the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and IT Director in Higher Education, it’s no longer the case to be able to manage a complex IT enterprise. I strongly believe that it has become key to understand the University within the wider context of learning and teaching, social, economic and political values. (Educause 2016 Top 10 issues. Educause 2016, Teaching and Learning and IT Issues: Exploring the Intersections. UCISA various publications 2015/16: Digital Capabilities, Learning Spaces, Social Media et al. Jisc, Technology in higher education: defining the strategic leader 2015)

Change is apparent within University IT in Higher Education, some CIO’s and University IT Directors have embraced this change while others have stayed firmly within strict traditional parameters of activity. As the core University IT service become ever more reliable and resilient then the function of the IT Department comes into question. Instead of becoming a Department where innovation and enablement is normal the IT department could become nothing more than an autonomous monitoring function.

University IT services have to go where the pedagogy leads, this may well be uncomfortable but it is an essential element of the current pace of change in learning and social practice. Clearly this isn’t the easiest thing to do in Arts based institutions where a natural resistance towards the ‘corporate’ and the ‘enterprise’ are almost the first default step of many of our key innovators.

I see my role as enabling the use of Digital Technology throughout the University, this of course extends into Learning & Teaching. It is vital to move beyond the narrow structures and processes that encumber IT in a University setting and be a key enabler of all digital activities and service transactions across the University. This in turn requires a mind-set change and a new generation of CIO’s who are fully engaged with the primary function of a University and see their role as highly informed across all aspects of the learning organization.

My proposed presentation will explore various strategies that we have used to move from being a traditional and static University IT Department to a University wide function involved in almost all digital based activities across the University.