Using ICT in Tertiary Education –
Do We Dare to Compare?
Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology Vol
2, Issue 1 (March 2004). ISSN 1176-4120.
Christo Potgieter,
Waikato Institute of Technology, New Zealand
itbcp@wintec.ac.nz
Marlien Herselman, Technikon Pretoria, Republic of South Africa
herselmanm@techpta.ac.za
ABSTRACT
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are
major driving forces of globalised and knowledge-based societies of a new
world era. They will have a profound impact on teaching and learning for
two decades to come, including having dramatic effects on the way tertiary
education institutions carry out their functions of teaching, learning and
research, particularly on the creation, dissemination and application of
knowledge. These developments pose unprecedented challenges to tertiary
institutions. The purpose of this article is then to describe a high-level
framework that could be used to assess tertiary institutions’ use of ICT
towards improvements in the tertiary sector. The empirical study has
already commenced in South Africa and the comparative study in New Zealand
will start near the end of the year.
Keywords:
IT management, academic management
1. INTRODUCTION
As countries increasingly become knowledge-based societies, there will
be a greater demand for continuing and life-long education. With this
development the need for even more flexible learning, available anywhere,
anytime and on any topic will increase. The impact of technology puts
South African institutions of higher education (Higher Education
Institutions - HEIs) under pressure to provide learners with technological
skills in order to adapt to all the challenges of a competitive economic
environment. The shift from the Paper age to the Information age requires
that the user-centered models replace provider-centered ones in which
learners construct their own knowledge (Cronje & Clarke, 1999).
Policies for South African higher education acknowledge the imperatives
posed by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). So is the
integration of ICT in course content and delivery emphasized by The
National Plan for Higher Education (April 2001). This document emphasizes
the role ICT can play in enhancing students’ mobility, delivering
information and to provide broader access to knowledge. However, South
African HEIs still have a long way to make optimal use of ICT in the
learning process. Although some institutions have made progress in this
regard, there are a number of institutions and academics for which the new
knowledge based era has not yet dawned.
The purpose of this article is then to depict ICT and its evolution,
and identify reasons why it is currently one if not the most important
areas focused on and the basis for assessing the application of ICTs in
HEIs. It is hoped that through this paper HEIs can be guided to develop
programmes with effective integration and utilization of ICTs in their
multidimensional functions and stimulate academics to explore
opportunities posed by ICT much more. Lastly, the authors provide
guidelines on how to compile an institutional ICT profile to determine the
readiness and maturity of an institution to apply ICT. The application of
the suggested maturity tool will assist HEIs to develop a ICT profile as
well as the important ICT policy document, the strategic directive of ICT
implementation of an institution.
2. THE EVOLVEMENT OF ICT
IT (Information Technology) is originally a technology of “storing and
retrieving knowledge or data – i.e., “on computers”, whereas CT
(Communication Technology) is a technology of both/either ‘as a process
[or transmission], by which A sends a message [voice and/or data] to B
upon whom it has an effect’ and/or ‘as a negotiation and exchange of
meaning’, which is widely known or separately evolved as broadcasting or
mass communications and telecommunications. The very critical technology
to realise a convergence is the advent of Internet (i.e., Internetworks),
which enables to transmit, record, store, retrieve knowledge, data, images
(e.g., broadcasting) and even voice (e.g., telecommunication),
particularly worldwide on an instant or real-time base as two-way
communications for both a one-to-one and one-to-multiple (Kim, 2002).
According to Rijsenbrij (1997), ICT (Information and Communications
Technology) can then be seen as the technologies that support the
communication and co-operation of “human beings and their organizations”
and the “creation and exchange of knowledge”. The Association of African
Universities (2000) defines ICT as “a shorthand for the computers,
software, networks, satellite links and related systems that allow people
to access, analyse, create, exchange and use data, information and
knowledge in ways that, until recently, were almost unimaginable. It
refers to the infrastructure that brings people together in different
places and time zones, with multimedia tools for data, information, and
knowledge management in order to expand the range of human capabilities”
(Heeks, 1999). In a nutshell, it involves the electronic means of capturing,
processing, storing and communicating information.
3. PRIORITIES FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ICT IN HEIS
In a case study research project it was found by Ajayi (2002) that
almost all African universities have some form of ICT set-up ranging from
dial-up to full Internet connectivity with various bandwidths. The case
studies presented are those that were readily available. There are both
success and failures stories of ICT in HEIs in Africa. The case studies,
however, have provided premise to map out strategic plans for the
development of ICT in HEIs in Africa. Four Foundations, namely the
Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, MacArtur Foundation
and the Rockefeller Foundation have announced a HEI initiative of $100
million for Africa, which will include ICT.
For South Africa in particular, priorities for the implementation of
ICT in the first place include the formulation of strategic policies,
plans and strategies for implementation as the availability of such
documents can attract external international funding. Prioritisation of
ICT for funding and declaring ICT a priority project in the University is
also important, where ICT should even be recognised as a necessary utility
such as water and electricity in the development of the university.
Particular priority is required for Human Resources development (HRD) for
sustainability as well as organisational, structural and financial
sustainability. Integration of technology into the new learning and
research paradigm whilst staff and students are trained for this new
academic environment is important.
Also identified as priorities are the coordination of donor support for
cost effectiveness and economies of scale, as well as the development of a
campus-wide area network with fibre optics cable backbone and /or wireless
radio techniques (an inter-connection of the various Land Area Networks
(LANs) in the university), and the use of digital PABX for expansion of
local connectivity within the campus. Finally is the establishment of an
Information Communication Technology Unit for ICT provision and
development recommended as high priority, with a Consultancy Unit for
income generation, which can help in supplementing the staff salary to
reduce or prevent brain-drain.
4. ASSESSMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL NEEDS FOR ICT
This is an aspect that should be well managed especially in the
strategic planning for any ICT project or policy. The needs’ assessment
has to take into account all areas of activity of the institution,
including teaching, research, administration and management, curricula
development and library and archival services. In addition should possible
needs be considered regarding the integration of technology into the
learning and research processes and the transformation of the university
into the modern education paradigm offered by the ICT and its pervasive
working environment of the students after graduation. The process should
take into consideration and reconcile the “NEED” and the ”WANT”. The usual
actors in the assessment of needs in ICT are for example academics, the
senior administrators, top management, donor agents, local champions and
leaders, and innovators.
Two basic questions, should be addressed about the ICT needs of HEI in
any ICT policy document. The first is: Who should define the ICT needs of
the institution? Adubifa (2001) proposes two scenarios that are
applicable when determining institutional needs:
Scenario 1: Players/Actors driven
A full and coherent picture of the ICT needs can be obtained in an
ideal case when almost all the players or actors are involved - a
well-designed and managed approach can also greatly increase the outcome
of the exercise. The lecturers, researchers, students, administrators, ICT
technical team, the library and academic and administrative senior
managers would constitute the relevant internal audiences, but an external
audience may also be taken into consideration in order to serve a larger
community. This will be a natural approach followed by HEIs with a high
level of ICT maturity.
Scenario 2: The champion’s approach
The few champions or leaders, really interested and willing to invest
time and energy are the main actors. This approach is more advantageous
with a balanced output if the champion is part of the senior management.
Care must be taken to ensure that it is in the long-term interest of the
institution as a whole. This is usually the case for relatively low ICT
maturity institutions. Quality of needs’ assessment is crucial for this
class of institutions. If the ICT development starts with Scenario 2, it
is necessary at a stage for Scenario 1 to be applied in order for the
institution to take optimal advantage of the facilities and potentials of
ICT. In order to promote innovation, there is a need for a “self
organising” process to complement assessments. This scenario recognises
successful innovations, rewards the innovators to stimulate more
innovation and replicates the successes.
The second question considers the level at which ICT needs should be
defined. It is necessary to realise that the old “ivory tower” concept of
the university has given way to the “market type-information age”
university concept, which is open to the outside world and open
internally. Some aspects need careful consideration, for example the
necessity to define HEI higher-level needs first and then identify how ICT
can make valuable contributions, as well as how far the bottom-up process
with ICT champions in the lead should continue, and at what moment
management should take over to integrate and coordinate initiatives in the
best interest of the institution as a whole. The setting of priorities
across the institution is important, because resources in terms of staff
and fund are scarce and must be optimally utilise. The role of donors that
may support vendor interest over institutional interests is relevant,
because they may be leaving institutions in the long run with high
maintenance and replacement costs.
Whatever direction HEIs take, they will always need access to ICT in
one way or the other. he minimum requirement for any HEI therefore is
access to Internet, a university-wide network, and ICT applications in
teaching professional skills and research.
In order to meet above requirements and to account for the implications
of ICT it can be helpful to develop a current ICT profile of the HEI.
5. DETERMINE MATURITY REGARDING ICT
At a conference of Rectors, Vice Chancellors and Presidents of African
Universities held in Arusha, Tanzania in February 1999, the Association of
African Universities (AAU) was mandated to undertake a survey and
assessment of the ICT capacities of African universities with the
objective of synthesizing the knowledge base of how African universities
are using ICT to improve their teaching methods, enhance learning,
strengthen research functions and manage library and other academic
information services.
The Carnegie Corporation funded the study. A Working Group of Experts (WGE)
of some thirty selected African and international scholars and donor
representatives was established. John Daly, an independent consultant, was
commissioned to synthesise the knowledge base of global trends of ICT
applications in academic settings, with case studies of experiences and
best practices. A three-week on-line-discussion was carried out by the WGE
in April 2000. The report of the on-line-discussion by the WGE was
presented at the meeting of the WGE held in May 2000 at the University of
Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Several key issues were identified (AAU, 2000),
indicating that a broad scope of further study is required.
One of the key issues is that an assessment should be undertaken of the
present state of ICT in HEIs on the one hand and the future needs, on the
other hand, in order to give an indication of the existing gap and also
point at some critical issues. In addition should the adequacy of the ICT
infrastructure to address the training needs of students to use the
available ICTs in the Africa workplace after graduation be researched.
Study is also recommended for curricula development to ensure that all
graduates are ICT literate, to research appropriateness of ICTs to
increase the efficiency of education delivery and adequate response to a
new learning paradigm and the adequacy of the ICT for research and
development in the light of globalization. They also recommend that
studies should be done about the provision of Internet facilities to the
community and being in the forefront of ICT development in the country,
identification and development of ICT models that can be utilized from the
experiences gathered from the case studies, and curricula development for
optimal utilization of African academics and possible credit transfer for
on-line courses. And finally did they recommend that steps are taken to
ensure that the HEI could perform the roles expected of them in ICT
innovations and that the necessity for institutional ICT policy, plans and
strategies for implementation are promoted.
ICT is used in a wide range of applications in HEIs. Clearly one
should be aware of the possible innovations with ICT when formulating
high-level strategies and policies. Innovation can be achieved by the
integration of ICT in teaching, learning, research, academic information
services and other key support processes (AAU, 2000). For this purpose
the AAU' developed an ICT Maturity Tool. This “ICT maturity tool” is a
guide for studying a HEI's planning and integration of ICT resources. The
purpose of this tool is to set benchmarks and goals, support application
for technology related grants and create self-assessment goals. The tool
can be used as framework to assess a HEI’s maturity regarding the use and
integration of ICT.
6. APPLYING THE MATURITY TOOL
The tool suggests looking at nine sets of variables. At high level one
should consider the planning and monitoring tools, in specific the
availability of an institutional strategic plan for technology, derived
information policy plan, derived information master plan, and derived
information project plans. Then consideration is required regarding the
application of ICT in teaching and learning, covering objectives for using
ICT, professional development of academic staff, technology access and
usage patterns of academic staff, and technology access and usage patterns
of students. Application of ICT in research is a separate consideration,
including the research objectives of academic staff and students for using
ICT.
Slightly removed from the core academic matters is the application of
ICT in academic information services (Library), including the extent of
access to online public access catalogue, services in academic information
management, and training in academic information management. Then the
application of ICT in administration and management: extent of ICT
application for administration and management is covered, as well as ICT
infrastructure (type of infrastructure, accessibility and usage patterns)
and ICT organizational/support infrastructure (staff responsibilities in
technical as well as functional areas). Finally should the financing of
ICT be considered (funding for ICT internally and via fundraising; with
distinction within budget votes or budget line items), as well as
Training, Research and Development in ICT.
At overall level institutions could be at any of five stages of ICT
development. At the entry stage, they teach students to use the
technology. At adoption stage, they use technology to support traditional
instruction. At adaptation stage, they use technology to enrich
curriculum. At appropriation stage, they integrate technology and use it
for its unique capabilities. And at invention stage, they are prepared to
develop entirely new learning environments that use technology as a
flexible tool; learning becomes collaborative, interactive, and customised.
Depending on the variable, institutions may vary very much, while in the
institution the differences could also be very large.
Apart from applying the maturity tool to institutions in order to
understand current uses, the question arises as to how one would promote
further consideration of the use of ICT at HEIs. This is of course
assuming that the use of ICT in HEIs should be promoted as a key element
of strategy to ensure African universities do not fall behind too much.
The report of Ajayi (2002) also proposed that certain strategies and
actions could be embarked on to promote the use of ICT by institutions:
Table 1. Strategies and actions by HEIs (Ajayi, 2002).
|
|
Strategy
|
Actions to be
taken by HEI |
|
1 |
To encourage and
assist HEIs to formulate sound ICT policies and sustainable
strategies for their implementation |
Set up a working
group (action team) of relevant experts on ICT in African HEIs;
Analyse existing
case studies of success stories and lessons learnt and disseminate
analysis using appropriate technology (e.g. AAU Journal, newsletter,
Web sites, email) to assist African HEIs take advantage of best
practices;
Survey existing
practices and create a database of ICT with a view to:
Design templates for action
based on the categorization of level of use of ICT and existing
capacities;
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Analyse existing
regulatory frameworks with respect to their impact on ICT in
African HEIs;
Make
recommendations to African HEIs on ways of achieving suitable
regulatory frameworks;
Lobby
international and regional bodies for improved regulatory;
|
|
4 |
To facilitate the
creation of a network of ICT experts |
Analyse available human resources with ICT experts (including
subject matter);
Build and maintain an online database and directory of experts ICT;
Facilitate ICT
staff exchange;
Establish an e-forum to facilitate the sharing of ideas;
Facilitate
professional development activities in Africa;
Disseminate
information related to the use of ICT in HEIs in Africa. |
|
5 |
To encourage HEIs
to transform the practice of teaching and learning by bringing
together best practices in education and in ICT
|
Disseminate
information about courses that will help African HEIs to train
faculty members to produce pedagogically sound online resources;
Catalogue courses on ICT applications in teaching and learning;
Negotiate prices
on licensing fees for teaching and learning;
Facilitate staff
exchanges in teaching and learning
Provide a source
book on distance education. |
|
6 |
To encourage HEIs
to use ICT in research, including ICT as a topic of research
|
Disseminate information on the best uses of ICT for research;
Facilitate
provision of funds for research in ICT;
Use ICT to
prepare and maintain a research database;
Create a
peer-reviewed online journal on ICT in HEIs in Africa. |
|
7 |
To encourage HEIs
to use ICT in outreach and professional services |
Provide information on how African HEIs use ICT to enhance outreach
services, such as telecentres, school-level activities, television,
radio, newspapers, etc.;
Promote the provision and dissemination of information on
best practices of ICT to support professional services. |
|
8 |
|
Advise African
HEIs on best practices related to core administrative functions;
Facilitate
digitisation and development of inter-operable library services;
Advise on the
development of human resources capacity and organize regional
training in ICT and support services. |
|
9 |
To encourage HEIs
to develop human resources capacities |
Advise African
HEIs on how to develop human resource capacity;
Organise regional
training in ICT and support services;
Form an advisory
working group to negotiate software licensing. |
|
10 |
|
Develop
connectivity standards for African HEIs;
Encourage
resource sharing among African HEIs;
Encourage African
HEIs to use connectivity to compete on the global higher education
market place, for example through the formation of partnerships,
networks, consortia, etc. |
These strategies with their action plans are useful to all HEIs in
South Africa and Africa to make use of and to become part of this
initiative. “African universities have to run very fast to avoid falling
very far behind” (Kim, 2002). This is perhaps a good starting
philosophy. The dynamic nature of ICT will be taken into consideration in
setting time periods in view of the rapid development in the field.
7. CONCLUSION
Various aspects of ICT capacity building for HEIs in Africa were
discussed. These institutions must develop further, using ICT and
integrating it into teaching, learning, research and development and
support systems. The digital divide can be transformed into digital
opportunities if the emerging technologies are utilised to leapfrog into
the modern information society. The development of an ICT profile with an
ICT policy document should be viewed by any HEI as the first step. Useful
advice on using the maturity tool and applying the actions with a strategy
is the starting point. It is anticipated that New Zealand will gain from
the initiative by participating in the pilot projects in order to apply
improved frameworks for local benefit in a relative short time period.
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Prof H R Hay of the University of the Free State (South Africa)
was investigator and co-author of the draft research report from which
this paper was developed.
The project is funded by the National Research Foundation of South
Africa, Technikon Pretoria and Waikato Institute of Technology (2003-2005).
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Copyright © 2004 Christo Potgieter & Marlien Herselman
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