On March 14, 2008, I posted something in the Facebook’s UCM Network discussion forums about the lack of technological opportunities on the University of Central Missouri’s campus. Now, my ideas have evolved since then and I am currently scheduled to meet with a member of the IT department on campus tomorrow. There I will discuss what new tech-based programs are being implemented or about to be implemented on campus and possible future projects. Well, the Facebook discussion has gone from blah to blah. My latest post, I will quote here.
Wifi is great all around campus. However, the Help Desk does not officially support Windows Vista and has no instructions on connecting Vista machines to the wifi network. This I see as a mistake as more students adopt it with newer computers. There is also no support for Windows Mobile devices, a rapidly increasing market share in mobile devices, including cell phones.
Tuition at UCM increased by about 10% over the last financial aid reward year. You are telling me that about another $1200 per student covered installing wifi in the dorms? That comes out to about 10 million extra dollars over the next financial aid reward year. Yes, I realize this is a drastically simplistic POV, presuming all students pay out-of-pocket for tuition. Regardless, where is that money going?
If you can give me a detailed list of where every single dollar is going on this campus, then fine, I will shut my mouth about the piss poor technology opportunities this campus affords its students. Until then, I will keep on trying to get this campus into the 21st century.
To be completely honest, I am surprised at the lack of motivation or desire in this field. I would figure that most of the students would see and embrace new technologies and their possible applications in education.
No matter what your degree field is, the Internet, converging media, emerging technologies, along with a shrinking world is part of our future. Students at this institution need to realize that so many of the business models that are around today will either be gone or completely changed in our lifetime. Not to mention incoming freshman’s lifetime. It shouldn’t matter how much you pay for tuition, if you are being prepared for the future, you aren’t getting your money’s worth.
My goal is merely to help guide students into a changing and evolving world. If my fellow student doesn’t want that, I’m going to keep trying anyway.
I will NOT get discouraged. For the love of god, I can’t. This is IMPORTANT. I just know it is. I refuse to accept the fact that I am going to an institution that lulls its students into a false sense of security that things aren’t changing because they pay a low tuition rate. There have to be other students on campus that feel the same way. There has to be students who see the future in much the same way I do. There are so many changes that are just around the corner and many of the previous education and business models will be completely changed by them. Students who are there to live and breath on that cusp will come out the other side ready and more willing to embrace and understand that change.
My personal degree field is about to be changed forever in a way that so many people aren’t going to see coming until it is too late to do anything about it. Broadcasting is shifting in such a way that conventional television is look nothing like it once did. We can already see some of these changes happening. All of the major networks have their popular programming online. Hulu.com, YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, et cetera are just the beginning of a digital revolution. The turnkey moment is about to happen on February 17, 2009. The switch to digital over-the-air broadcasts will go down as a defining moment in broadcasting history. When the change happens, it won’t actually change a whole lot, but at the same time it will and has been changing everything. Most broadcasters already send out a digital signal as it is, but before the 02/17/09 changeover, the public as a mass whole wasn’t that aware of what was going on. Now, they are forced to be thrown into the thick of it. This will, VERY slowly, bring an awareness of change into the mind of the average viewer. Once this happens, things will change and change in ways that will only be foreseeable to those right there on the edge and ready to jump.
Now, I admit. I could be wrong. Conventional businesses could be around for another hundred years without drastically changing. I could be wasting my efforts and maybe I should be focusing on something more conventional.
I just don’t think so.
