GEC NEWS WIREAt the Ellucian Conference 2015, technology in education took the centre stage. With the theme ‘Redefining Success in the 21st Century,’ the event took a closer look at the increasing focus on education across the region, what success means for institutes now, and what can be expected in the future. Our exclusive round up with Rusty Bruns, CIO – United Education Company (UEC) & director of IT at the American University of Kuwait
Teachers are necessary in classrooms in the same way you would not replace students with robots. When you remove personal touch, you’re removing the social element that students need.
Education is synonymous with progress, and ICT has been defining progress across verticals since decades. How has ICT innovation helped the education sector?
– If you look at K-12, you’ll see that teachers are using interactive methods; you’ll see them using laptops and tablets – even in first and second grades, not necessarily just senior level classes. Students now learn differently. Technology actually complements the way that students learn today. They no longer learning just from paper and a faculty member speaking in class about something that they can’t visually see, or hear. Audio and video is playing a fundamental role in teaching students in this day and age, which includes things like animation to teach students from 1st grade all the way up to 12th grade. For example, in more senior classes, students are now dissecting frogs using animation in science classes. Technology has allowed students and administration to put in those practices necessary to help students learn.
Would you say blended learning is a reality or a myth?
– Blended learning is definitely a reality. For example, as I just mentioned animation – concepts such as these are actually infused curriculums. It’s no longer just about power point presentations; but technology is actually infused in curriculums. When you teach students, you’re teaching them using the tools that they learn with today – and that’s really what needs to be focused on today. Unfortunately, what happens today in higher education that is that K-12 students are actually more advanced today than faculty members, who tend to be more resistant to change. This is not to say that teachers aren’t changing – they are, but at a slower rate. Several deans still believe that students should change themselves to way they teach – however this thought process is old fashioned and no longer works.
Do you think IT should follow business change or lead it?
– From a strategic planning point, IT supports business. But at the same time, IT does lead business in several areas. If you’re a good IT leader in your institution, you are the person that has access to the technology that’s out there today, so you have the power to bring this technology into your business or institution. You have the authority to bring in tools that increase productivity, add better customer service, and cut costs at the same time.
In the near future, will technology usurp the teacher?
– No, I don’t think so. I believe that even today, despite the high level of technology being used in classrooms, the element of personal touch still has to be there. Teachers are necessary in classrooms in the same way you would not replace students with robots. When you remove personal touch, you’re removing the social element that students need. What I am seeing today, however, is that teachers or faculty that are not making that jump to utilizing technology are being replaced with those who are embracing technology and using it as a tool to teach with.
