Episode 23: : Building an Agile, Interoperable Higher Education Ecosystem Powered by Data Standards & Industry Collaborations
If you have ever had a job or gone to school anywhere, you have likely experienced the downstream effects of a data silo.
In simple terms, a data or technology silo simply means that a piece of software does not communicate with other programs. There is no exchange of data; every interdepartmental process requires human intervention to fill the gap between platforms. Data silos emerge for a variety of reasons. Some people choose new platforms based on personal preferences from previous roles. As organizations grow, new departments that require new technologies appear. Perhaps someone saw something cool at a trade show that filled a specific business need and subscribed on the spot.
Silos are detrimental to businesses—they decrease productivity and efficiency in business processes within and across functions. Data from disparate systems can paint an inaccurate picture of the real situation. It is no different in higher education systems.
In this brief Q&A, you will learn more about Mark Leuba’s experience as a tech leader. He’ll share insight on higher education trends and obstacles, and how his nonprofit organization, IMS Global Learning Consortium, supports digital transformation by breaking down data silos.
Q: What are your thoughts on the state of higher education today?
It is a great time to be in education. There are a lot of exciting things happening in support of learner success. We are in a state of experimentation. The way we think about the cost and benefit of traditional education is changing. Employers and industries demand the types of skills that historically are not taught in a formal education context.
For example, we are experimenting with the concept of “deconstructing the degree.” The overwhelming percentage of learners in higher education today are working adults. The traditional two- or four-year college experience is incompatible with professional schedules, family obligations, or financial difficulties. We are trying to perfect the idea of supporting Bloom’s taxonomy by offering as close to a tutoring-type relationship as possible, to help learners achieve their professional goals.
I think we will see a multi-pronged approach that leverages AI to better relate skills frameworks to a learner’s achievements and performance in real-time on a recurring basis.
Q: As we move toward a more learner-centric education model, what challenges should we anticipate?
In traditional sage-on-stage learning models throughout history, we have often seen one “sage” with a relatively small handful of learners. This person would have a close understanding of how learners were doing, and there may have been a support network within the peer group. It has often been a successful instructional model.
The primary constraint in trying to replicate this model in today’s dynamic circumstances is its inability to scale. We are trying to replicate the benefits of that type of hands-on, personalized attention at scale. For the last decade or so, adaptive learning and personalized learning have been a significant part of the conversation in the education sector, but it is still a work in progress—there are relatively few examples of it working.
Our greatest challenge is our goal: to identify what a learner knows and where the gaps are, then help the learner fill those gaps with the best methods available—and to do this at scale.
Q: How does IMS Global help educational institutions transform their technological strategies?
Data silos, disparate platforms, and multiple vendors exacerbate technological obstacles in institutions of higher education. It is not uncommon for leading research institutions to develop and implement radical new technologies while internal student information systems have not been upgraded in years.
Because education is in the middle of extensive experimentation, institutions need to work together with edtech suppliers toward a mutual goal: to empower institutions of higher learning to select and combine the right tools and resources that offer better learning experiences and learning outcomes. At the very least, they must be able to upgrade components of systems and individual platforms to support the institution’s larger goals and strategies. IMS Global is a non-profit organization whose mission is to facilitate this kind of digital transformation.
Our open standards provide a common language to exchange data between systems, so individual components can be replaced or upgraded over time without having a detrimental impact on the overall ecosystem. Open standards also support transparency. Many vendors offer technologies with proprietary components, making it difficult to change; open standards allow leaders to control an institution’s technological future and avoid vendor lock-in.
Lastly, IMS Global works on a variety of initiatives, from digital credentialing to learning data, analytics, and assessments. Today, there are thousands of vendors and software companies that meet our standards for interoperability. The technology that is best suited for any purpose is always changing, so we offer support for startups too. Our integrated, flexible approach to creating a digital ecosystem allows for responsiveness to the world we live in.
To take a deeper dive into Mark and Kiran’s thought-provoking conversation, listen to the full podcast episode.
After listening, connect with Mark Leuba on LinkedIn and Twitter @MarkLeuba.
Learn more about IMS Global Learning Consortium on LinkedIn, Twitter @LearningImpact, or by visiting IMSGlobal.org.
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This episode is brought to you by N2N’s Illuminate App, the iPaaS for Higher Education.
About N2N Services
Founded in 2010, N2N is committed to serving educational institutions and helping them figure out how to serve their students, faculty, and staff using the most innovative technologies and solutions available in the marketplace. Over the last decade, N2N has served over 300 academic institutions and enabled their student success journeys.
N2N Services Inc. is a leader in enterprise application integration and strategic advisory services for higher education, At N2N, we are committed to providing the highest quality solutions and collaboratively building student-centric solutions.
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