Seton Hall University is best know for following Abilene Christian University (ACU) into the mobile learning space with their iPad and Android tablet pilots in 2011. Having had the opportunity meet with several Seton Hall faculty at ACU Connected conferences while I was at ACU I know first hand that the user experience and using technology to enhance learning was a top priority for these people at Seton Hall. This is why the Converge article which points to the Seton Halls Windows 8 pilot and the primary reason for giving up on the iPad and Android pilots as device management was so disappointing. The Associate CIO’s statement:
The enterprise deployment and support features just aren’t there in the other two platforms like they’ve existed in Windows for so long.
confirms that when Information Technology (IT) management and deployment issues become the top priority for a platform deployment you can be certain that the users needs, in this case the faculty and students, are no longer the drivers for change. In addition to management issues the article does also points to the institutions desire to run Microsoft’s One Note which only runs on Windows. Once again this is unfortunately and another indicator that IT management needs are driving this move because the free and cloud based application Evernote is not only a viable substitute for One Note it is actually an upgrade.
Having worked in the role of a CIO and other IT management capacities I can appreciate the convenience that working with well established Windows based deployment tools can offer but I need to remind everyone that when it comes to building an effective learning environment the needs of the IT department should not override the needs of the learner. IT should be supporting the learner (which includes the faculty member) and should be striving to provide an infrastructure where the learner can seamlessly do what they need to do with their own iPad, Android or other mobile device. The learner/consumer has spoken by making the iPad the most popular and transformative network device we have seen in the history of information technology. Its popularity is based primarily on the fact that you don’t need the “dark arts” of the IT department to install software or even configure the device to work or you don’t need to take a course to use it–the iPad is intuitive and it just works. While I can’t yet comment on the Windows tablet yet, many years of experience with Windows has confirmed that there is nothing intuitive about Windows and huge IT departments are necessary to support this platform.
The moves that Seton Hall are making are troubling but not that surprising. We have seen Higher Education IT departments influence platform choices in the past. When the early Learning/Course Management Systems (CMS or LMS) were being developed in the late 90’s it didn’t take too long for the management, deployment and support issues to become the drivers of change. When you factor in the consolidation of the LMS industry by companies like Blackboard we now have some of the best “walled gardens” every built that most faculty would much rather not use. The command and control model so useful for IT departments and offered by the Blackboards of the world not only limits innovation and change it limits learning.
In contrast the iPhone, iPad and related IOS devices as well as Android devices that students choose on their own and most often come to school with are simply tools that these leaners have chosen to help enhance their learning. I have repeatedly stated that the best technology is invisible and simply enhances the experience without drawing any attention to itself. The best technology is also the technology that that average person will set up on their own and use on a daily basis. The best technology for higher education is what faculty are willing to use on a daily basis and what they and their students have to chosen to use on their own. The bring your own device (BYOD) model of technology deployment is what the iPad and related IOS devices have established. This is the technology strategy that can enhance learning.
Unfortunately for Seton Hall and many similar institutions issues of command and control will trump user preference and usability.
For another perspective on the perspective of command and control model of technology deployment verses the BYOD model review the SAP Business Innovation article: Will Prosumer Tablets Beat The iPad In The Enterprise?
