TELE REDUX

Technology Enriched Learning

Environment at UOIT

Today and tomorrow

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 1

 The times, they are a-changin

Bob Dylan, 1964

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 2

 THE THREAT YOU’VE
FEARED

Regulation

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 3

 THE REAL THREAT

Irrelevance

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 4

 Interviewees
 President
 Provost
 5 Current Deans
 2 Former Deans
 1 Acting Dean
 More faculty than you want to know
 All PBOs
 1 Former Director (DC) of the Mobile Program

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 5

 OBSERVATIONS

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 6

 All Programs use Technology
No exception
 All faculty agreed with sustaining the
technology intensive nature of UOIT
 Only faculty in some Education programs
wanted to pursue BYOD
 All other faculty wished to sustain a
compulsory, software intensive, egalitarian
technology program (not necessarily laptop)

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 7

 Curriculum is intimately tied to
technology
 Curriculum depends on the student having a
computer
 Curriculum depends on the presence of windows
software.
 Curriculum depends on the student having
access to the LMS
 Curriculum depends on the student having
electronic access to the Library
 In some cases labs depend on the presence of a
computer running windows with USB
connectors
02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 8
 UOIT Library has a majority of its
collection in electronic form
 Currently in excess of 80%

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 9

Curriculum and Academic Policies assume
Continuous Availability of hardware

 Lectures, labs, assignments and exams (in some

cases) depend on the student always being
equipped with a computer with program
specific software
 Academic policies do not provide relief for
students without hardware or software.

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 10

 UOIT has NO open Labs
 UOIT would need at least 1400 desktop
computers to match the computer to student
ratio of DC
 UOIT would need to acquire 14-28 additional
labs to house that many computers
 Open lab desktops would not satisfy current
curriculum dependence on mobile computers

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 11

 Current Hardware Choices are not
Optimum for All Programs
 97% of all UOIT students receive one of two
different models of laptop
 High performance, high screen resolution, high
storage capacity, low performance, small form
factor, sanitizable, pen-enabled, etc.; all are
requirements of different programs

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 12

 Logistics of Hardware Acquisition are manageable,
just

 3000??? new laptops are receive over a 3??

week period n July
 Unboxing, labeling, racking, ??? requires
significant human resources
 ?? full time staff
 ?? part-time staff
 New hardware distribution and hardware and
software refresh requires the transport of over
180,000 pounds of laptops between various
locations

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 13

 Benefits of the current Mobile Program
extend beyond those who pay for it

 Financial
 Software
 Repair
 Service Desk

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 14

 Digital Literacy is an important
byproduct of TELE
 Definition
 Consume digital content
 Collaborate with peers, local and remote
 Create digital content
 Investigate digital sources, local and remote
 Assess the quality of those sources
 Analyze multiple sources into key components
 Synthesize new ideas and forms from the components
 Integrate ideas and forms across disciplines
 Simulate complex entities with digital tools
 Assess and mitigate technology risk to personal
information
02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 15
 Digital Literacy is an important
byproduct of TELE
 Digital literacy is a foundational component of
lifelong learning
 Continuous availability of hardware,
abundance of software, curriculum integration
of technology, group projects, pervasive wired
and wireless network access, extensive
technical support provide UOIT students with
digital skills second to none.

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 16

 Technical support is a key component of
the current program

 30,000+ support tickets are opened every year

by UOIT students and staff
 Hours of operation are extensive and better
than most of our competitors (UofT ~70
hours/week, UOIT ~ 90 hours/week)
 Service desk is staffed by full time technicians

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 17

 All Software in use today is either
Windows or Linux based
 Software is tightly integrated within the
curriculum
 Changes will require time and consideration of
their impact on current students

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 18

 Future Constraints
 UOIT will remain technology focused


 UOIT will exit the undergraduate computer hardware ownership responsibility



 Principles of the future program

 Compulsory
 Curriculum will be intimately tied to technology
 Software focused
 Pervasive and immersive
 Egalitarian within a program
 Technology tailored to program needs
 Students shall never be without access to the required technology


 Significant change will occur in 2014 with some pilot activity in 2013


 It is likely (needs a legal opinion) that UOIT must continue to offer the existing program to
enrolled students for a minimum of 3 (?) years


 Fall recruitment for 2013 will describe the current program

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 19
 Ecology
 a complex set of relationships of living organisms functioning as a unit and
interacting with their physical environment

 TELE (a.k.a. The Mobile Program) is an ecology

 The educational system that produces the alumni of UOIT is complex …It is
composed of systems nested within subsystems, each operating on multiple
temporal scales where observable causality is often hidden… Changes to this
system emerge through evolutionary processes and are encumbered by
complex physical, behavioral, and social phenomena as well as competing
interests.
 With apologies to Rick Stephens and Michael Richey, a slight misquote from their
article in the Journal of Engineering Education

 In other words, change TELE slowly, cautiously, and deliberately



02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 20

 RECOMMENDATIONS

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 21

 1. For the program to be world class in the second decade of the 21st century it must expand
its focus
2. Software virtualization is the foundation to the future success of the program
3. Hardware acquisition, distribution and support should be through a public-private-
partnership (PPP)
4. Students should own their device(s)
5. BYOD may be desirable for some programs where the students are remote
6. UOIT must remain in the software acquisition, packaging and (possibly) distribution
business
7. A necessary condition for successful exploitation of future “cloud based computing” is
continuous network accessibility anywhere, anytime (subject to cellular availability)
8. Programs that allow or require students to take courses in other Faculties and/or in other
programs means that either, student hardware must be capable of running the software
specified in the “foreign” course or that the hardware/software required for that course is
made available to the student
9. Process of technology review with faculty and Deans should be sustained
10. External technology advisory panels should be considered for all programs to advise on
currency and relevance
11. ITS should conduct regular technology briefings for interested faculty
12. Social media facilities should be introduced into TELE to support student communities

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 22

 For the program to be world class in the second
decade of the 21st century it must expand its focus

 Technology must be appropriate to the program

 Connectivity must extend beyond the boundaries of the campus
 Make multiple devices available to students (e.g. Livescribe
http://www.livescribe.com/en-us/, laptops, tablets, phones)
 Electronic books must replace physical ones
 Support and training for the software specified by faculty
should be available to all students
 Faculty should be trained in technology enabled pedagogy
 Create an App store for student developed applications
 Provide social media support (for life) for students and alumni
 Expand network access beyond the campus (see below)
 Digital portfolios should be available to students (for life)
 Provide (private) cloud based file sharing (for life)
02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 23
 Software virtualization is the foundation to the future
success of the program

 Hardware vendor independent

 Protection of the IP of software vendors and owners
 Virtualization and software distribution are likely bound together

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 24

 Hardware acquisition, distribution and support should
be through a public-private-partnership (PPP)

 External vendor provides the hardware that UOIT chooses

 Program is mandatory
 Available to students, faculty and staff
 Annual service contract is required
 UOIT reviews costs with the vendor
 Multi-year contract desirable with constraints

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 25

 Students should own their device(s)

 Hardware refresh should occur as needed

 One device or several, student’s choice

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 26

 BYOD may be desirable for some programs where
the students are remote

 Students in programs where no residency is required can BYOD

 Curriculum is intimately tied to technology
 Curriculum and academic policies assume continuous availability
of hardware and windows software that works on the selected
device.

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 27

 UOIT must remain in the software acquisition,
packaging and (possibly) distribution business

 Logistics of software negotiation, acquisition and packaging are

beyond the domain of an individual
 Students, faculty and staff benefit financially from volume
purchasing

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 28

 A necessary condition for successful exploitation
of future “cloud based computing” is
continuous network accessibility anywhere,
anytime (subject to cellular availability)

 Today students leaving campus must revert to personal devices

for connectivity
 UOIT promotes the creation and exploitation of digital
communities of students for whom connectivity is fundamental

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 29

 Programs that allow or require students to take courses in other Faculties and/or in other
programs means that either, student hardware must be capable of running the software
specified in the “foreign” course or that the hardware/software required for that course is
made available to the student

 Not an issue today because of the homogeneous nature of the

selected technology
 Program based choices of hardware and software may limit
student’s electives and service courses

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 30

 Process of technology review with faculty and
Deans should be sustained

 Technology is constantly changing and for UOIT to be a leader in

the provision of technology enriched learning, those responsible
for program content and delivery should be consulted regularly to
ensure currency of the technical choices.

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 31

 External technology advisory panels should be considered
for all programs to advise on currency and relevance

 Representatives from targeted industries (e.g. transportation,

automotive, energy, health care, finance, software, security, public
sector) should join with faculty and ITS to identify the future
technologies that will enhance the learning outcomes and
relevance of the program.


02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 32

 ITS should conduct regular technology briefings for
interested faculty

 The use of new technology to continuously improve curriculum

mastery and understanding is possible only if faculty are made
aware of the state of current, and most importantly future,
technology capability and availability.

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 33

 Social media facilities should be introduced into
TELE to support student communities

 It is well established in the pedagogical literature that students

helping students is an effective adjunct to the traditional learning
process.
 Relationships built during student tenure at UOIT may extend
into their transition to alumni.

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 34

 So, how do we move forward?

 Need outside help

 Need a virtualization pilot by fall 2013
 Need an anywhere, anytime pilot for fall 2013
 Need a student oriented social media environment for fall
2013
 Consider limited hardware changes for fall 2013
 Need to select a PPP vendor by December 2013
 Need to transfer responsibility for all hardware to the PPP
vendor by fall 2014
 Need to implement anywhere, anytime connectivity for all
programs by fall 2014

02/02/2024 Union Hills Enterprises Inc. 35