Page 35 - Campus Technology, November/December 2017

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makes it much harder to offer a common experience and create an interoper- able infrastructure. We needed to standardize on the LMS to have what [Vice Provost for Academic Innovation] James Hilton at the University of Michigan has called “common gauge rails.” Canvas by Instructure was the LMS we chose for Unizin.
CT: Can size increase the consortium’s effectiveness?
Morrone: Yes, it can. In the case of Unizin, it’s exciting to see the variety
of institutions coming in through the state systems to contribute to the conversation of what we need to do in higher education. These voices — of people in all different roles within their own institutions, from academics, to librarians, to top-level administrators — inform the work of the consortium.
Think about this, too: As we grow, we can create data sets that can be put in the Unizin data platform, to support learning analytics and student success. In a sense, we can create the world’s largest learning research laboratory!
CT: So, consortia not only help institutions acquire cost-effective resources and access to standardized technologies — they give their members a chance to work on important issues and influence change.
Morrone: Yes! Sometimes our conversations are practical. Sometimes they are visionary. But we are creating a thriving community that works in the best interests of higher education.
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CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY | November/December 2017
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