2005: The Year of the Digital Campus
Kim Jones,
T.H.E. Magazine,
Dec 24, 2004
I don't have a lot of faith in these predictions, despite their pedigree (the author is the V.P. of Education and Global Research at Sun Microsystems). Writes the author, "the educational landscape is transforming into a 'digital campus' - an information-rich and seamlessly connected environment that brings the world to a student's fingertips and lets the student move freely about the globe." Well maybe one day, but not next year. The emphasis on 'campus based non-campus learning' is misplaced. Universities may be providing greater access (or "anytime, anywhere access") - through wireless, for example - but only on campus. Portals are so 1998. Systems integration is (and will be) big, but ultimately, not worth the cost - and I cannot stress enough how big a mistake a "single unified architecture" would be (diversity is what wins, not monoculture). Digitization of content has been going on for some time now. Wireless systems, single sign-on and enterprise back-end. All campus based. Big deal. My prediction: a rough year for Sun as its business plan is based on income from institutions with a declining revenue base.
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