Changing Cultures in Higher Education… the rise of a theme!

Springer just informed us (Dirk Schneckenberg and me) that our book „Changing Cultures in Higher Education“ which we published in 2010 has now reach more than 29.000 (!!) chapter downloads.  This is incredible and goes beyond any of our expectations. It seems to have hit the nerve if current higher education development.

Although technology in higher education becomes more and more mainstreamed, the question how to embed technology for teaching and learning into a universities‘ strategy remains in most cases unsolved, yet. This is exactly addressed in the book. More and more educational scenarios and learning landscapes are developed using blogs, wikis, podcasts and e-portfolios. Web 2.0 tools give learners more control, by allowing them to easily create, share or reuse their own learning materials, and these tools also enable social learning networks that bridge the border between formal and informal learning. However, practices of strategic innovation of universities, faculty development, assessment, evaluation and quality assurance have not fully accommodated these changes in technology and teaching.

In the book we present strategic approaches for innovation in universities. From basic underlying concepts to practical suggestion like carrer development strategies for favulty, incentive concepts and quality management strategies, the book tries to weave togehter the topics currently discussed in higher education strategic developments.

The contributions explore new models for developing and engaging faculty in technology-enhanced education, and they detail underlying reasons for why quality assessment and evaluation in new – and often informal – learning scenarios have to change. The book is a practical guide for educators, aimed at answering these questions. It describes what E-learning 2.0 is, which basic elements of Web 2.0 it builds on, and how E-learning 2.0 differs from Learning 1.0. The book also details a number of quality methods and examples, such as self-assessment, peer-review, social recommendation, and peer-learning, using illustrative cases and giving practical recommendations.

Overall, it offers a step-by-step guide for educators so that they can choose their own quality assurance or assessment.