Transforming Technology in Higher Education

By Danica Fisher ’05, May 21, 2021

Ithaca College’s IT staff are thought leaders in the field.

Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Ithaca College David Weil and Director of Learning and Innovative Technologies at Ithaca College Jenna Linskens.

Two members of Ithaca College’s technology leadership team have been featured this month in different arenas, and both are focused on how technology can transform higher education. David Weil, associate vice president and chief information officer at Ithaca College, was featured in EDUCAUSE Review magazine in an article titled “Putting All Three Components of Digital Transformation to Work on Campus.”

Additionally, Jenna Linskens, director of learning and innovative technologies at IC, was featured in the Meraki Unboxed podcast “Lessons from the Campus,” about lessons learned in the last 14 months in higher education.

In EDUCAUSE Review Weil talks about how colleges and universities often focus their resources on a new technology, without considering the shifts in the culture and workforce that is also needed to achieve the transformations they desire.

“Shifting culture and workforce is more amorphous, something that we do but that many of us don’t often think about or approach with the level of intentionality required for digital transformation to occur.”

David Weil, associate vice president and chief information officer at Ithaca College.

“Shifting culture and workforce is more amorphous, something that we do but that many of us don’t often think about or approach with the level of intentionality required for digital transformation to occur,” writes Weil.

Weil uses IC’s move to a new learning management system (LMS) as an example of how transformation can occur in a positive way by using pilot programs and enlisting early adopters to help shift thinking and approaches.

“Consider a move to a new LMS,” writes Weil. “To achieve the new value proposition for students, faculty might need to learn different technical skills and understand new learning methodologies and techniques to be able to leverage the changed tools and instructional models. Institutions will need to provide resources to help faculty obtain these competencies, possibly requiring shifts in staffing and/or core skill sets among staff.”

“Trends over the past year have really been [focused on] how can we improve the learning experience and support all students, whether they're attending in person or remotely.”

Jenna Linskens, director of learning and innovative technologies at IC.

The Meraki Unboxed podcast hosts guests from both inside and outside Cisco Meraki for casual discussions covering the technology, people and culture that drive the business. In their 50th episode, Linskens, who provides faculty development and coaching support in technology integration, instructional design and eLearning, talks about how technology has transformed in higher education during the past year.

“Trends over the past year have really been [focused on] how can we improve the learning experience and support all students, whether they're attending in person or remotely,” said Linskens.

Linskens talks about how IT departments in higher ed have had to change the way they think about supporting and providing services to students, faculty and staff. For example, at IC in partnership with others on campus, the IT department looked at setting up classrooms with more AV technology than was previously utilized, like putting in multiple cameras and improved microphones.

Linskens says the biggest challenge that IT departments in higher ed have faced this past year is around the equity of technology. She shared how at IC the IT department provided support and attempted to close the technology equity gap faced by faculty and students, including providing mobile hotspots or laptops or setting up additional internet connecting points around campus in outdoor spaces.

“Equity spans across the platform,” said Linskens. “It might be equity regarding devices. It might be equity regarding Internet access, and one of the things that I've heard that's been reiterated over and over for many years, and I think it's finally getting recognition with the way that the world is running right now, is that Internet is a staple requirement, that it shouldn't just be exclusive.”

She also talks about how online learning in higher education has evolved in the past year due to campuses shifting from in-person to remote instruction.

“Whether it's teaching online or learning online, I think what we've seen and we've learned is that it has leveled the playing field, it has built acceptance,” said Linskens. “We have more people who are recognizing that online learning, remote or hybrid, whatever term they want to use, that there are opportunities that can be there that are just as authentic as being in a classroom.”