Technology Implementation in Higher Ed: What do GRCC and Carnegie Mellon Have in Common?

On Friday I got a chance to pick the minds of two great individuals: Eric Kunnen of Grand Rapids Community College and Jay Brown of Carnegie Mellon.  The two might seem like they wouldn’t share too much in common, Kunnen is Coordinator of Instructional Technologies at an outstanding community college, and Brown is a Director of Marketing for Web Communications at a top research university.  However, both share a passion for the social web and edge technology… and aren’t afraid to pursue it.

You might know Kunnen for his well circulated GRCC blog, his visible involvement is edge uses of Blackboard, and his early and loud adoption of Coursefeed on Facebook (full disclosure, they are theoretically a competitor of ours).  Carnegie Mellon recently pulled off effectively riding an authentic instance of “viral content” – that rare combination of keeping the content ( “The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch) authentic, genuine, and “free” while integrating the phenomenon into their overall communications strategy.  CMU’s presentation at the AMA Symposium on Higher Education was, IMHO, the best example of rubber meets the road at the conference.

Equally as important to their passion is that their institutions and the leadership at them actively encourage them to experiment with utilizing new technology.  Brown described Carnegie Mellon as an “Entrepreneurial Atmosphere” that bled into institutional practices.  He had mentioned in his AMA presentation that the best angle in edge marketing is to just put stuff out there – if there’s no kickback, move on and get even more courageous. All campuses that get great attention for their use of technology, like our founding partner ACU, seem to have this sort of culture – a culture that’s shorter on conversation and longer on execution, and by nature experimental in its analysis of all things new.  As Kunnen put it: “We don’t want to sit around and talk about it meeting after meeting.  We just do it.”

This reputation for technological gusto rubs off as a “Je ne sais qua” factor.  However, the method is always the same: the institutions hire good people, give them or embrace an existing sense of mission, and let them do their job.

As someone who thinks about overcoming barriers to innovation in education, I commend Kunnen and Brown and their institutions for living on the edge.

5 Responses to “Technology Implementation in Higher Ed: What do GRCC and Carnegie Mellon Have in Common?”

  1. christian louboutin June 12, 2009 at 7:01 pm #

    This reputation for technological gusto rubs off as a “Je ne sais qua” factor. However, the method is always the same: the institutions hire good people, give them or embrace an existing sense of mission, and let them do their job. I garee with you.

  2. happyeveryday July 13, 2009 at 2:56 am #

    hello,your blog is interesting.
    welcome to my page!

    tiffany jewellery

  3. winter123 July 24, 2009 at 7:25 pm #

    This way, you can limit your audience. This is crucial for the 95% of higher education that still think that being .tiffany bracelets
    tiffany necklaces
    Tiffany Co. diamond necklaces such as Sliver Necklaces, Heart Necklaces, Beaded necklaces and Chain necklaces, select from a wide variety of Tiffany Rings
    Tiffany Bracelet

  4. pass4sureuk August 21, 2009 at 12:46 am #

    Pass4sure is a short cut for the IT candidates to get their certifications. Cisco, Microsoft, IBM, Sun, compTIA, HP, etc, are Pass4sure鈥檚 main vendors. Discount codes & Points for gift, these two promotions show appreciation for its customers鈥?long-term contribution. As an international website, Pass4sure is working at the Affiliate Program for its further development
    The Most Popular Vendors List :http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-825.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-825|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/MB2-632.html' rel=”nofollow”>MB2-632|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/70-642.html' rel=”nofollow”>70-642|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/640-816.html' rel=”nofollow”>640-816|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-691.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-691|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/70-431.html' rel=”nofollow”>70-431|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/70-236.html' rel=”nofollow”>70-236|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/N10-004.html' rel=”nofollow”>N10-004|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-812.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-812|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/70-432.html' rel=”nofollow”>70-432|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/350-029.html' rel=”nofollow”>350-029|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-533.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-533|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-515.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-515|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/640-822.html' rel=”nofollow”>640-822|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/000-078.html' rel=”nofollow”>000-078|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/VCP-310.html' rel=”nofollow”>VCP-310|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/N10-004.html' rel=”nofollow”>N10-004|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-515.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-515|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-901.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-901|http://www.passforsure.co.uk/642-524.html' rel=”nofollow”>642-524|!

Leave a Reply:

Gravatar Image