[AISWorld] CFP: ECIS Disruptive digital innovation and the reconfiguration of Higher Education

[Sam Lubbe]

·        Title of the workshop:       Disruptive digital innovation and
the reconfiguration of Higher Education
·        Workshop organizers (incl. contact details):
Prof Rembrandt Klopper (+27218514496; rklopper at gmail.com); Prof Sam
Lubbe (+27183892441; sam.lubbe at nwu.ac.za); Prof Jan Meyer (+27183892095;
jan.meyer at nwu.ac.za); Prof Nehemiah Mavetera (+27183892143;
Nehemiah.mavetera at nwu.ac.za) 
·        Theme of the workshop: The workshop will outline the current
input of IT/IS to the reconfiguration of tertiary education worldwide.
·        Format of the workshop (incl. duration): One day, presenting
papers by contributors that fit within the theme of the workshop. A
panel discussion to be held at the end.
·        Justification for being ECIS pre-conference workshop
(suitability to ECIS audience):
Current bricks-and-mortar universities are increasingly affected by
emerging and converging forms of disruptive innovative technology like:
Ø  simulation;
Ø  nanotechnology;
Ø  games technology;
Ø  tele-presence;
Ø  tele-immersion (geographically separated sites collaborating in real
time);
Ø  e-mail – this has already altered faculty/student interactions; and
Ø  on-line teaching and learning systems.
Lafferty and Edwards (2004) argue that digital technology will
transform the intellectual activities of research universities, and how
they are organised, financed and governed. The technology could drive a
convergence of higher education with IT-intensive sectors such as
publishing, telecommunications and entertainment, creating a global
“knowledge and learning” industry. 
Christensen’s Theory of Disruptive Technologies predicts that
mainstream organisations and industries can be made obsolete by new
technologies that change the whole paradigm of the educational
industries in which they operate. Mainstream organisations such as
universities respond to the demands of current customers, especially
their top end students by upgrading their technology. While this may be
required or desired by top end students, it is often to a level
considerably above that required by the average student. Often the
newcomers end up with even bigger markets than the original companies.
At this stage, the newcomers become mainstream and the cycle starts
again (Lafferty and Edwards 2004).
Several alternate models are appearing, although which disruptive
approaches will become the successful ones is not yet clear and we need
to address this. Some models for the virtual university include the
following:
- Michigan Virtual University – a broker of educational products from a
variety of institutions;
- University of Phoenix – offering a complete array of university
offerings, without the physical overheads; and companies creating online
universities and selectively outsourcing the various components.
Moore (2002, p. 44) puts forward some current models of collegiality,
the cornerstone of universities, based on open-source models and a
sharing of knowledge and information:
- Knowledgeware. MIT/Stanford collaboration on Open Knowledge
initiative (http://web.mit.edu/oki/) aimed at developing a learning
management system and providing “Web-based tools for storing, retrieving
and disseminating educational resources and activities”. 
- Courseware. MIT’s OpenCourseWare – instructional materials available
free on the Web (http://web.mit.edu/ocw/) and
- MERLOT (www.merlot.org/home.po) Web available “knowledge objects”
that have been evaluated for quality.
What this workshop intends to do so to discuss how technology can
create a modality of research. In addition to observation, theory and
experimentation, we can now add simulation, nano-technology, game
theory, etc.. Researchers can use virtual reality simulation of remote
archaeological sites and materials, scientists analyse massive
distributed datasets. New organisations, “collaboratories” (dispersed
networks of researchers and laboratories) may have already been created –
supporting the claim that new organisational structures will develop.
Scholarship in general is moving from the individual, specialist scholar
to multidisciplinary teams of scholars.
Sources:
Lafferty S and Edwards J: Disruptive technologies: what future
universities and their libraries? Library Management, Volume 25 · Number
6-7 · 2004 · pp. 252-258
Moore, A.H. (2002), “Lens on the future: open-source learning”,
Educause Review, Vol. 37 No. 5, pp. 42-51.
 
·        Names of the program committee (initial list):
Rembrandt Klopper (Chair); other members: Sam Lubbe, Jan Meyer,
Nehemiah Mavetera, Jan Kroeze, Frans Mosetja.

• Plan for proceedings and publications/journal special issue: A
special edition of Alternation (an inter-disciplinary scholarly journal
on the Department of Education’s list in SA) may be published on the
theme of disruptive innovation in global higher education after the
papers had been reviewed and formatted in the correct format and pages
fees had been paid.
• Target audience and Expected attendance (historical data may help
here): All academics that plan to stay in academia for a while
• Planned acceptance rate: All papers that meet the ECIS and
Alternation requirements (for Alternation see alternation.ukzn.ac.za)
subject to special workshop limitations.
• Schedule for the workshop (deadlines etc.): 
Call for proposals for papers: 1 December 2014
Notification of acceptance: 15 January 2014
Final papers due: 30 April 2014
• Special equipment needed (assume projector and screen + flipcharts
will be available): Nothing special
Vrywaringsklousule / Disclaimer:
http://www.nwu.ac.za/it/gov-man/disclaimer.html 
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