New Opportunitiesfor Tomorrow’s Collegesin a world of e-businesses

A Presentation by David G. Brown,

Dean, International Center for Computer Enhanced Learning

Wake Forest University

@ IBM’s Briefing for Higher Education Executive, Palisades, N.Y. July 26, 1999

New Day!Our Heyday!

New Day: Times of Rapid Change

• Universal Access to the Network

• From Access to Filtering a Flood of Info

• Geographic barriers gone

• Asynchronous Interaction

• Multimedia Learners

• Information Filtering Agents

New DayBig Changes for Higher Education

Democratization of Access (Ubiquity)

Democratization ofUsage (Course Shells)

New Day!Our Heyday!

Why Heyday?

Heyday Because--- Universities Survive Change

• 67 of the 74 oldest organizations!

• Distribute authority

• Tolerate Kooks

• House young people with fresh ideas

• House bright people with diverse views

• Employ knowledge fountains

What does our own training and experience teach us about doing e-business in a world newly enriched by information?

1958-67 1967-1998

1998-

Economist--PrincetonUNC CH

Provost and President---Drake, Miami of Ohio,Transylvania, UNCA,Wake Forest

Dean ICCEL

Wake Forest

YOUR TASK: Make Your Own Chart, Then List 3 Ideas about E-Business in Universities that emerge from your training/experience!

The economist in me says that doing business in an info-rich society will be different

• Better informed buyers (web browsing)• Better informed sellers (metadata)• More data-based decisions• Faster cycle times• Less geographic loyalty• More interactive transactions• More customization• More specialization (& outsourcing)

THE WAKE FOREST PLANF96: IBM 365XD, 16RAM, 100Mhz, 810MB, CD-ROM, 14.4 modemF97: IBM 380D, 32 RAM, 130Mhz, 1.35GB, CD-ROM, 33.6 modemF98: IBM 380XD, 64 RAM, 233 Mhz, 4.1GB, CD-ROM, 56 modem

F99: IBM 390, 128RAM, 333 Mhz, 6 GB, CD-ROM, 56 modem

• Thinkpads for all• New Every 2 Years• Own @ Graduation• Standard Template• IGN for Faculty• Keep Old Computers

• 75% CEI Users• +15% Tuition• 4 Year Phase In

1999 Software Load

Netscape 4.5, Dreamweaver 2, SPSS 9, Maple V 5.1

Windows 98, MS Office Prof 97

Computers Enhance My Teaching and/or Learning Via--

PresentationsBetter--20%More Opportunities toPractice & Analyze--35%

More Access to SourceMaterials via Internet--43%

More Communication with Faculty Colleagues, Classmates,and Between Faculty and Students--87%

Computers allow people----

• to belong to more communities• to be more actively engaged in each

community• with more people• over more miles• for more months and years• TO BE MORE COLLABORATIVE

ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 1999ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 1999

With Ubiquity---The Culture Changes

• Mentality shifts-- like from public phone to personal phone.

• Teaching Assumptions shift-- like from readings are on reserve to everyone owns a copy of his/her own.

• Timelines shift-- like from “our class meets MWF” to “we

see each other all the time and MWF we meet together”• Students’ sense of access shifts-- like from “I can get

that book in the library” to “I have that book in my library.”

• Relationships shift-- like from a family living in many different states to all family members living in the same town

Examples from My Own Class

•1247 e-mails•Cybershow•One Minute Paper•Computer Tip Talk•Joint Editing

Beliefs of 91/93 Vignette AuthorsPedagogy and Philosophy

• Interactive Learning

• Learn by Doing

• Collaborative Learning

• Integration of Theory and Practice

• Communication

• Visualization

• Different Strokes for Different Folks

From Interactive Learning Forthcoming June, 1999From Anker PublishingDavid G. Brown, Editor

ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 1999ICCEL -- Wake Forest University, 1999

The educator in me says that doing business in an info-rich society will be different

• More Communication

• More Community Loyalty

• More Collaboration

• More Customization

• More Interactivity

New Opportunitiesfor Tomorrow’s Collegesin a world of e-businesses

The New Business Environment

• Many Tightknit Communities. Customer Affinity and Bargaining Groups

• Interactivity Expected. Between customer and vendor and among vendors’ customers

• Information Filters Everywhere. Challenge is gaining and maintaining customer attention

• Worldwide Specialization. Geography less relevant.

What Business Am I In?

Primary: Linking trusting clients with the best educational resources and motivating them to use them. Consolidator!

Secondary: Creating educational resources for other “consolidators” to buy

Tertiary: Selling auxiliary services such as meals, overnights, t-shirts, mailing lists

Your Task: Are these your businesses? If not, what are?

Therefore, I should---

• Focus on my comparative advantages

• Strengthen ties with my natural constituencies

• Partner with organizations that can provide outsourcers who understand my infrastructure

• Build a reliable infrastructure

• Enable my “team” to be interactive 7x24

Your Task: You get to sit out this one!

Specific Actions to be Taken---• Empower employees with equipment, training, and

support (democratize)

• Partner with “IBM”

• Adopt “infrastructure” usable by my clients

• Use fast-loading webpages that fit all screens

• KISS (both producer and client)

• Collect and use Metadata

• Test how easily search engines find you

• Trade referrals with other sites

YOUR TASK: Extend this List!

More Specific Actions--• Create & Join Community Networks

• Act on the 80/20 and 20/80 assumption

• Customize service to natural constituency

• Nurture My Clusters of Learners

• Offer e-mail forwarding for life

• Use headliners to attract loyalty to site

• Build monitored LISTSERVS-- especially before enrollment and after graduation

• Presume that all information will be shared

Basic Themes

• Heyday

• Communication

• Customization

• Collaboration

• Community

• Interactivity

• Know What Business You’re in

David G. BrownWake Forest University

Winston-Salem, N.C. 27109336-758-4878

email: brown@wfu.eduhttp//:www.wfu.edu/~brown

fax: 336-758-4875