Discrepants visions sobre els usos de les TIC a la universitat

ImageGràcies a Inside Higher Education he pogut veure al post Faculty-IT Split on Tech Issues una enquesta (CDW-G 21st-Century Campus Report) entre estudiants, professionals informàtics i professorat d’universitats americanes sobre l’ús de les TIC. Aquesta enquesta ha estat presentada al congrès CT 2010 de Boston que es va fer la setmana passada.

El resum de l’IHE és explícit: An annual survey by CDW has again found gaps in the views on technology issues between campus IT professionals and faculty members. While 72 percent of IT professionals say that online collaboration software is an essential element to the 21st-century classroom, the survey found, only 31 percent of faculty members agreed. In addition, 68 percent of IT staff say that virtual learning is a key part of the higher education experience; only 35 percent of faculty agree. És a dir, el professorat té una percepció sobre l’ús de les TIC molt per sota de les possibilitats que ofereixes segons els professionals experts informàtics. No és pas gaire diferent del que passa a casa nostra.

Quina visió en tenen, els estudiant? A partir d’un resum d’aquest informe s’hi veu que les TIC els han d’ajudar a connectar la vida acadèmica i la professional (en el futur)

“Today’s high school and college students view technology as an engaging, interactive learning tool, which they expect will be readily available on campus,” said Julie Smith, CDW-G vice president, higher education. “Students associate it with the higher education experience, and campus technology offerings weigh heavily in their college selection process. They also expect that the higher education experience will bridge the technological gap between academia and professional life.”

I per una altra part, cada cop més els professionals de les TIC creuen que cal invertir més en infrastructura, perquè l’accés a la xarxa ha de ser permanent i de qualitat.

At the same time, IT professionals highlighted the need to ensure that campus technology infrastructure can support the increasingly complex 21st-century campus environment. Forty-four percent said their IT infrastructure needs to be refreshed. To provide “always on” technology access, IT professionals said they need to improve or expand their storage, security and server infrastructure.

Aquest estudi es refereix també a estudiants preuniversitaris. Entre d’altres coses,

College students are using social media – including Facebook, Twitter, blogs and wikis – as a learning tool. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of students use social media to connect with classmates to study or work on class assignments. Even more high-school students (76 percent) use social media as an educational tool

Aquest CDW-G 21st-Century Campus Report es pot descarregar de la xarxa. I per cert, un dels anuncis del web del workshop és de Blackboard Mobile, i té un lema interessant: Close the gap between the way students live and they way they learn (sic).