The Digital University - Building a Learning Community

Ben Shneiderman The turbulence generated by the integration of information technology into higher education provokes more conversations than the weather. The hot winds of hyperpromises and the cold front of angry skeptics are clouding the judgment of administrators, faculty members, and national planners. A clear forecast is not likely to appear until implementations are in place and thoughtful evaluations are conducted. This edited collection points the way towards more clear thinking by presenting detailed reports about promising projects and a hint of the thoughtful evaluations that will be so important in the coming years. Multi-level evaluations will be necessary for developers to refine their user interfaces, for professors to adjust their teaching, and for administrators to understand how university life is being changed. The changes implied by the digital university are nicely categorized by the Dearing Report's four areas of activity: teaching, research, systems support, and administration. First generation collaborative software tools are already being applied in all four areas, and they are likely to become more sophisticated, integrated, and ubiquitous. Evaluating the impact of these tools in each area will be a prime occupation for several decades.