Educational Institutions Must Align Technology and Pedagogy to Ensure Successful IT and Faculty Governance, Says New Research From Info-Tech Research Group

News provided by

Jul 06, 2023, 13:33 ET

Effective use of technology in education requires intentional collaboration between IT, institutional leadership, faculty, and students, according to new research from the advisory firm.

TORONTO, July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Hybrid learning is proving to be here to stay across multiple industries. This shift has revealed previously unrealized gaps in educational technology that must be addressed as the future of education also continues to trend hybrid. However, technology and pedagogy are often siloed because the reporting structure for IT and education faculty are largely independent of one another. To improve collaboration, IT must integrate with institutional bodies through governance. Technology leaders seeking to deliver solutions to meet faculty needs and develop the capability to support pedagogy can find data-backed guidance and support in a new research blueprint from Info-Tech Research Group.

An educational technology ecosystem spans a range of technologies and services, but IT usually views the educational technology ecosystem according to its capabilities, as outlined above. (CNW Group/Info-Tech Research Group)

"Siloed operations tend to thwart effective provision of instructional technologies and undermine the educational mandate of the institution," says Mark Maby, research director at Info-Tech Research Group. "The transformation of learning spaces is bringing IT closer to the instructional priorities of the institution, so IT's focus must be to introduce technology to promote flexibility in instruction."

The firm's latest industry resource describes common obstacles IT leaders may face when adapting governance to align educational technology with faculty needs, highlighting two primary challenges:

Key academic stakeholders may not understand IT processes, yet their involvement in governance for educational technology is required.
Local IT have their own priorities for educational technology that may be at odds with enterprise-level IT.

Guidance for IT leaders can be found in the research-backed resource, including solutions to address the above issues. The solutions are outlined below:

Creating an IT advisory committee and/or working group for educational technology charter: Involve multiple stakeholders in governance for educational technology, review and identify the governance responsibilities, identify participants and responsibility cadence, and draft the purpose statements and goals of the group(s).
Using Info-Tech's customizable charter templates complete with examples of purpose, goals, and responsibilities:

Info-Tech Research Group reminds IT leaders that committee and working group membership should offer wide representation while still being selective. If more individuals are involved than is required or if the responsibilities of the group do not match the participants' skillsets, knowledge, roles, and abilities, the group risks being ineffective. Therefore, the firm's research recommends that IT leaders select only those whose attendance is critical to ensure efficacy.

To access the full research resource, download Adapt Governance to Align Educational Technology With Faculty Needs.

For more information about Info-Tech Research Group or to view the latest research, visit infotech.com and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For more than 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and over 200 IT and industry analysts through the firm's Media Insiders program. To gain access, contact [email protected].

SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group