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Summary of  Technology-enabled Learning and Future of Learning in Higher Education

The two main challenges faced by universities in the future are the challenge of globalization and of the digital revolution.

Studying abroad is becoming more popular as students enjoy learning new languages and about new cultures, and having the chance to make friends internationally. Many of them are educated domestically but there are still surprisingly few who are traveling abroad. It’s also worth questioning the future of online learning, and to what extent this will replace conventional lecture-based learning. My view is that for many young students, lecture-based learning is still going to be the experience they want. I think they will still wish to go to the campus, but clearly, there is an opportunity for a massive expansion of online courses as well. The digital revolution may cut out the ‘middleman’, replacing the traditional university degree “with various online courses that will have the various security systems for assessing your performance and displaying how far you’ve got on your online course” adding that “you will put it straight onto your LinkedIn profile”.

Education sectors across the Pacific are changing rapidly. The region is witnessing significant growth in postsecondary participation rates, and an overall shift in the focus of sector development efforts from access to quality. At the same time, Pacific countries are undertaking major reforms to their telecommunication sectors, and many have begun developing their national information and communication technology (ICT) policies. By 2021, all major Pacific island countries are expected to get their submarine cable connections installed and operational, signaling a rapid increase in connectivity rates across the region[1]. These developments imply a huge shift both in terms of demand for human capacity, and the need for cross-sector collaboration to capture the full range of benefits that ICT can produce in the education sector. If managed effectively, sector developments in the areas of ICT and education can strengthen the region’s most valuable resource its human capital. The central reason for implementing any information and communication technology for education intervention is, ultimately, to provide better learning opportunities for students. To this end, ICT for education supports stakeholders ranging from teachers and students to policy makers in planning, developing, managing, and delivering improved education programs and resources. ICT for education interventions include 

(i) establishing and leveraging ICT networks, to share information and support collaboration

(ii) (ii) using software, hardware, and connectivity to collect and analyze data, to manage the education sector and its institutions more efficiently; and

(iii) developing and using educational materials, such as digital learning (e-learning) programs and digital knowledge repositories, to improve teaching and learning outcomes, and support research activities.

The University of the South Pacific (USP) was the first higher education institution in the region to establish its own satellite communication network (USPNet) [2]. The network connects USP’s campuses across its 12 member countries and benefits from exclusive access to Australia’s Academic and Research Network. USPNet started as a regional network to support USP in delivering education services to its member countries and campuses. In its first iteration, it supported USP’s governance, administration, human resource management, financial services, teaching and learning, and research. However, in recent years, USPNet has expanded to serve more than its original educational services mandate. USPNet now provides network services to support regional agencies in addressing issues pertaining to cybersecurity, climate change, and disaster management. Although USPNet provides access to regional organizations to support these functions, currently, it only shares access with a select few educational institutions. Pacific education leaders frequently cite the goal of establishing a Pacific knowledge hub, and it is now technically feasible to do so. USP is seeking to create and host a knowledge hub for the Pacific; one possible method for accelerating this process is to review the structure of USPNet to open access for other post-secondary education providers. Doing so may prevent costly and unsustainable duplication of efforts to establish parallel ICT networks, and increase the number and quality of learning opportunities for students in the region.