Introduction

 Background to this report 

The CHE has established a Task Team to investigate the size and shape of the South African Higher Education system. Part of the work of that team entails making recommendations on size and shape that will ensure that the country’s higher education system is effectively able to support the country’s socio-economic development and to deal effectively with the many pressures affecting higher education systems around the world. This discussion paper aims to contribute to that process by exploring what roles information and communication technologies (ICTs) might play in sustaining an effective and relevant higher education system in South Africa. 

This paper has been developed at the same time as the Task Team has released a discussion document outlining various strategies for streamlining the shape of the South African higher education system. We are aware that many organizations have submitted, or are intending to submit, responses to this document and its proposals. Our intention is, therefore, not to engage these proposals directly, as any analysis of this kind will inevitably become quickly outdated as the debate progresses. Rather, we have sought to engage directly with the following questions:

•       What are the potential applications of ICTs and how will these applications affect the size and shape of higher education?

•     What possibilities and pitfalls do these applications hold for South African higher education?

•     What are the implications of the above for government policy in higher education?

Although the term ‘ICTs’ is growing in use and some common definitions are emerging, we believe it is important to begin our discussion by presenting a description of how we have used the term itself.

 What are Information and Communciation Technologies? 

Information Technology

Understanding the term ‘information and communication technologies’ (or its acronym ICTs) needs to begin with how the term technology itself is used. As Williams notes, this term derives from 17^th Century use of word to describe ‘systematic study…or the terminology of a particular art’. Over time, the word came to be increasingly associated with ‘practical arts’, finally leading to a ‘familiar modern distinction between knowledge (science) and its practical application (technology), within the selected field’.[1] 

This modern distinction still holds, but has taken on very specific (some would argue overly narrow) application in most circles when integrated into the composite term ‘information technology’. Most definitions of this phrase make specific reference to electronics and computers, and this certainly holds for most people’s understanding of the term. We do not wish to debate the merits of this reference, instead choosing to present a definition of information technology that we believe is useful for the purposes of this paper:

Electronic technologies for collecting, storing, processing, and communicating information. They can be separated into two main categories:(1) those which process information, such as computer systems, and (2) those which disseminate information, such as telecommunications systems.[3]

Thus, this paper does not seek to discuss all technology in terms of its educational application, although many of the comments made will be applicable to all technology. Instead, we aim to focus explicitly on those technologies described by the above definition. 

The definition above would appear to cover both information and communication technologies, raising the question of why the additional composite term has grown in use recently. Although there may be many reasons for this, it is no doubt, in part at least, to make more explicit that the term does actually also cover those technologies covered by category (2) above, a point often missed by people using the term ‘information technology’. In addition, though, we believe that this new term has emerged to reflect the growth in technological convergence of information, communication, and broadcasting technologies. This trend is, therefore, worth exploring briefly.

Technological Convergence

In terms of a dictionary definition, convergence is described as ‘movement towards or terminating in the same point’.[4] In itself, this provides an obvious enough definition, but it requires further explanation in terms of its relevance to technological trends. One simple description of convergence provides a useful starting point for understanding the concept from a technological perspective. In brief, convergence may be described as:

The coming together of two or more disparate disciplines or technologies. For example, the so-called fax revolution was produced by a convergence of telecommunications technology, optical scanning technology, and printing technology.[5] 

This description is helpful because it provides an illustration of a completed process of technological convergence, which in turn helps us to separate the general concept from its application to a specific process of technological convergence currently taking place. 

From the perspective of this report, however, the term ‘convergence’ will be used to describe one particular process of technological convergence. This can be summarized as follows:  

"In information technology, convergence is a term for the combining of personal computers, telecommunication, and television into a user experience that is accessible to everyone."[6]

A more detailed analysis of the implications of this might be the follows: Convergence is an on-going process which entails the coming together of the following:

•     content from the audiovisual and publishing industries;

•     potentially separate physical infrastructures (such as those supporting broadcast television or telecommunications services) able to carry similar sorts of information at increasingly lower costs;

•     the interactive information storage and processing capabilities of the computer world;

•     the ubiquity, improving functionality and ease of use of consumer electronics.[7] 

Convergence is, however, by no means a commonly agreed concept. The European Commission Information Society has, for example, recently completed a Green Paper process on convergence, in which the following was reported:

Some comments suggested that it was unclear exactly what the term convergence represents. For others, convergence defied definition. Yet others predicted a degree of divergence in terms of the range of content and services offered…views on the pace of developments were…cautious. There was wide recognition of the reality of convergence at the level of technology and network infrastructures. But most agreed that this did not mean that convergence of either markets (in terms of the players involved) or services would automatically follow. Convergence was seen as an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary process. 

There were clear differences between sectors as to their perception of the extent and speed of these developments, but there was the broad acknowledgement that convergence, however defined, was at an early stage and characterised by uncertainty, in particular about the level of demand there might be for such services. These differences were also reflected in the many of the examples offered as to how converging technologies are influencing both the business world and our everyday lives, many of them based on the growing popularity of the Internet. One important feature in this context was the degree to which new services offered users the possibility to customise and control the information and services received. 

An important distinction between developments in the work environment and the home was recognised. Many considered that developments at work would be driven by the Internet, electronic commerce and PC-based activities, and would have an impact on home-use. On the other hand, and despite the increasing take up of computers in the home, digital television, offering entertainment and information, was seen by some as the predominant platform in the home for the foreseeable future.[8] 

It is not the purpose of this paper to debate the merits of convergence, but it is necessary to be aware of the above discussions. Most importantly, we believe that the lengthy excerpt provided above is a reasonably accurate summary of the current situation in South Africa. In particular, we believe the following points are worth noting:

•     Convergence is an evolutionary not revolutionary process;

•     At technology and network levels, convergence is already a reality; and

•     There is lack of clarity about how much demand there might be for services in a converged technological environment.

Our discussions below will draw on these three points as appropriate. As importantly, though, our use of the composite term ‘information and communication technologies’ is intended to incorporate those technologies evolving from the process of technological convergence. For us, therefore, it incorporates the full range of broadcasting technologies, particularly as these technologies are creating global opportunities for exponentially increased transfer of digital data.[9]

Eroding a common misperception

The above descriptions provide clear boundaries around the concept of ICTs. Despite this, however, it is also worth noting a common misperception about ICTs. When discussing ICTs, many people tend to anthropomorphize the technologies by describing them as if they have innate abilities to perform essentially human functions. This tends to occur most commonly at the individual user level, where computer users often describe computer problems in terms of what the computer has ‘done’ (‘the computer deleted my file’ or ‘the computer won’t send my e-mail’). This process of personification is easily understandable, particularly given that most users know so little about the technicalities of computer operations and programming, that the technologies and their applications are not yet ‘mature’ and hence often very unstable, and that we have become increasingly dependent on well-functioning computer systems in so many areas of our lives (even if we have no direct access to computer infrastructure ourselves). 

This tendency does, however, pose a very serious danger when transported to the realm of organizational or national policy-making, as it can leave policy-makers feeling disempowered by technological discourse. For example, one of the questions raised in preparing for this paper was ‘what impact are ICTs having, or likely to have, on the size and shape of South African higher education?’ Of course, the answer is that the technologies themselves will have no impact. This point may sound somewhat banal, but it is fundamental to everything that follows in this report. ICTs themselves have no intrinsic capacity for action, and hence cannot impact on anything. Rather, people all around the world can and do apply ICTs to perform a wide – and growing – range of tasks. These applications are, however, only as effective and creative as the people who implement them, so negative and positive outcomes of ICT use are intrinsically linked to how people use them. ICTs may create opportunities for doing things in new and different ways, but only people can actually harness these possibilities. 

At a national or organizational level, however, this is problematized by the reality that reflections on the impact of ICT cannot be limited to how ‘we’ use those technologies. The way in which other people, other organizations, other countries use ICTs is as likely to have an impact on us as how we use the technologies. This has become particularly relevant because one of the most important ways in which people have applied ICTs has been to build massive, interconnected telecommunications networks that span the entire world and allow for transfer of data from anywhere to anywhere else (at a price, of course). Although there is much debate about how this is actually affecting societies around the world, there can be little doubt that it significantly increases the potential for what happens elsewhere to have an impact on South Africa and for international organizations to expand their sphere of operations into South Africa. This is most obviously seen in how global information flow affects currency prices and stock market values, as investors all around the world are able to respond faster (although not necessarily more intelligently) to news affecting their global investments and re-channel those investments based on the news they hear. We will return to the educational issues raised by these possibilities throughout this document. 

It is this dimension of ICT use that predominantly leads people to conceptualize ICTs as a phenomenon that has its own impact, because we are not the agents of many of the changes ushered in by ICT use. Regretfully, this notion of ICTs as agents of change is pushed relentlessly by technology marketing campaigns that seek to perpetuate these myths. Buying into this representation of ICTs is, however, very dangerous because it leads to poor quality planning, based on fear of the consequences of not ‘jumping on the technology bandwagon’. Most commonly in education, it can lead planners to believe that the most urgent priority is to invest in technology equipment and infrastructure (which also coincidentally happens to be the easiest activity in the short-term). This type of technology-driven planning still dominates most educational technology projects in South Africa, and its successful implementation resides on a false assumption that, if one simply puts technology infrastructure in place, it will be used (which, in turn, is based on the false belief that ICTs themselves have capacity to initiate change). There is an extensive catalogue of such failed educational technology projects in South Africa that, taking this approach, have seen technology infrastructure fall into disrepair or that have failed because ineffective use of the infrastructure prevents sustainability. 

There are, however, notable examples where the application of the technology to solve a specific problem or perform a particular function has had remarkable success. The most obvious example of this in South Africa has probably been the massive growth of ‘pay-as-you-go’ applications for cellular telephony, which have seen telecommunications technologies penetrate markets that had previously been regarded as unreachable and hence marginalized. 

The points above are possibly the most important to make in relation to managing the size and shape of higher education. On the one hand, South African higher education cannot simply behave as if technological developments are not occurring nor can it not respond to the challenges of how to use ICTs effectively, because to do so is to leave the higher education system vulnerable to ways in which other organizations in South Africa and elsewhere in the world are using the technologies to change their patterns of operation (we return to this theme in the second section of the report). On the other hand, efforts to respond to these challenges cannot be about the technologies themselves, but should rather focus on working out – through trial and error – what applications of the technologies are most effective in South Africa, and particularly most effective in helping the country reduce gross social inequities. By extension, higher education policy needs to ensure that the South African policy environment supports this exploration, and that we do not allow fear of the unknown to dictate the terms of this exploration. Unfortunately, though, this approach requires significantly more thought and planning than simply purchasing and installing technological equipment, and hence tends not to be favoured in South Africa, where the demand for immediate policy solutions is so great. Although it is no easy task, this simplistic approach to integrating technologies into higher education systems must be avoided, because it is very costly and damaging in the long term. 

This paper seeks to contribute to achieving these goals by exploring possible applications for ICTs and how these might shape the country’s higher education policy environment. We begin this by reflecting on ICTs and higher education systems in broad terms. We believe that this is important because so much debate on use of ICTs in higher education focuses exclusively on their teaching and learning applications, although this is only one dimension of their potential functionality.

 What is an appropriate starting point for the discussion? 

Having noted the above points, it is worth reflecting briefly on where policy discussion on integration of ICT applications into higher education should begin. Conventionally, it tends to turn immediately to discussing teaching and learning applications. Thinking about ICTs to support teaching and learning is, however, a false starting point, as it assumes effective underlying systems that manage and administer that education. Thus, the first set of considerations must examine how to use ICTs to improve the functioning of higher education systems themselves, as this is the most fundamental component of achieving education redress and expanding access (whatever teaching and learning strategies are finally used to provide education itself). This starting point is not, however, simply about management and systems. At heart, it is, in fact about the effective implementation of the core functions of higher education. Effective use of ICTs in the domain of teaching and learning flows much more easily when systems have already integrated effective use of ICTs into their managements and internal communication systems. Without this base, use of ICTs to support delivery of education to learners will always be unsustainable. Therefore, we begin our discussion with the systems of higher education themselves and how they relate to ICTs.  

 Footnotes 

1] Williams (1983). Keywords. London, Fontana. 315.

[2] Gunton (1993). Dictionary of Information Technology. London, Penguin. 150.

[3] Onions (1987). Shorter Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford, Clarendon Press. 418.

[4] (1999). Convergence - ZDNet Webopedia Definition and Links. http://www.zdwebopedia.com/TERM/c/ convergence.html, 19/10/1999.

[5] (1999). Whatis.com, Convergence Definition http://www.whatis.com/converge.htm, 19/10/1999.

[6] ISPO (1999). Public Issues Arising from Telecommunications and Audiovisual Convergence. http://www.ispo.cec.be/infosoc/promo/pubs/exesum.html, 14/10/1999.

[7] Society (1998). Summary of the Results of the Public Consultation on the Green Paper on the Convergence of the Telecommunications, Media and Information Technology Sectors. http://www.ispo.cec.be/convergencegp/ gpworkdoc.html, 19/10/1999.

[8] A practical discussion of various educational technologies, their educational applications, and the extent of their penetration in South Africa is attached as Appendix One.

[9] A practical discussion of various educational technologies, their educational applications, and the extent of their penetration in South Africa is attached as Appendix One.