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Purpose: This paper seeks to examine the emerging role of the Senior Academic Technology Officer (SATO) in higher education. It aims to consider two existing templates for this professional role derived from mainstream information management and information technology: the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Characteristically, CIOs and CTOs might be expected to have different appetites for creative destruction. The paper seeks to focus on the match between a SATO's own appetite for radical technological change and innovation--that is, for creative destruction--and that of their institution. The paper concludes with some observations concerning role design and appropriate recruitment and selection criteria for SATOs in higher education. Design/methodology/approach: The paper informs its discussion with a micro case study and the outcomes of a virtual anecdote circle comprised of 20 senior academics, administrators, and educational technologists from higher education institutions in Asia, Australia, North America, and the UK. Findings: The research suggests that the preferred model for a SATO is closest to that of a CIO with a leaning towards innovation and change. However, the paper finds that a SATO's personal appetite for creative destruction may be in conflict with the institution's culture, norms and values, resulting in poor outcomes for both. In order to avoid extreme mismatch the paper recommends a realistic approach to the recruitment and selection of SATOs that is aligned with the organisation's tolerance for innovation and change. Research limitations/implications: The paper contributes to the body of research-based literature concerning the strategic management and development of professional scientific and technical staff. Originality/value: Given the strategic importance of SATOs to ICT-driven transformation, university leaders will require evidence to formulate appropriate human resource and performance management strategies for these key academic-related/professional staff. The paper brings together evidence from a highly informed group of stakeholders with active interests in the field using a virtual anecdote circle.

We report upon implementing blended self-managed action learning (SMAL) within graduate and postgraduate courses in digital entrepreneurship. In four out of five cases, we found that SMAL was highly motivating to our learners and integrated well with a blended and flexible approach to learning. We report a case where a SMAL set broke down due to the presence of a charismatic learner who was visibly biased against SMAL and questioned its utility from the outset. We suggest that the risk of similar breakdowns might be managed by developing a questionnaire to pre-assess participants' readiness for action learning and increasing the level or support during SMAL set meetings. While SMAL did not give rise to independent action learning sets after the courses, we were surprised and encouraged to find that learners instigated independent virtual learning networks, which flourished for up to a year after the courses. On the basis of this experiment we suggest that blended and fully virtual SMAL are worthy of further investigation in higher education and beyond. (Contains 1 table.)

Purpose: Small and specialist inter-disciplinary conferences, particularly those relating to technology enhanced learning such as International Conference on Information and Communications Technology in Education, provide valuable opportunities for academics and academic-related/professional staff to report upon their research and development activities, including their insights into teaching practice. However, the existence of such conferences is now under threat due to a global shift towards quantitative research assessment exercises, which favour bibliometrics, such as citation counts and impact factors, over peer review. The purpose of this paper is to contextualise the discussion by describing the nascent qualitative research assessment in Australia and its implications for small conferences. It also aims to present heuristic strategies to ensure that publications are recognised by quantitative research assessment exercises. Design/methodology/approach: The authors draw on a wide literature base as well as their experience as academics, conference organizers, professional developers, and researchers to describe the changes to the culture of research assessment and research management and their observed implications for small and specialist inter-disciplinary conferences. Findings: Conference organizers and scientific committees should consider several strategies to maximise bibliometric impact of conference papers. These strategies include: transparency in reviewing processes; building alliances with peer-reviewed journals; considering boutique "by invitation" conference formats; and publishing papers which are indexed and standards based. The authors also point out that small and specialist conferences should leverage their communities of practice to facilitate publication and research opportunities and thereby increase the tangible benefits of participation. Originality/value: This paper is valuable to conference organizers and participants who are adjusting to a culture of bibliometrics. This paper highlights key issues as well as suggests strategies to improve impact values. (Contains 1 table and 2 notes.)

Purpose: Educational technologists make significant contributions to the development, organisational embedding and service provision of technology-enhanced learning (TEL) environments, which are key enablers for mass access to flexible higher education (HE). Given the increasing centrality of this role, it is advocated that institutions investigate sustainable career structures for educational technologists. This paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach: The arguments are evidence-driven by the small body of research literature describing the role of educational technologists and contextualized by the experiences as academics and leaders of TEL projects in HE, including managing educational technologists. Findings: The roles of educational technologists are very diverse, requiring competencies in educational leadership, both management and technical. Their career paths, backgrounds, legitimate powers and organisational locations exhibit considerable variation. Research limitations/implications: University leaders require evidence to formulate appropriate human resource strategies and performance management strategies for educational technologists. Further empirical research to analyze current issues and future trajectories relating to their aspirations, career structures, legitimate power, management and organisational contexts is proposed. Originality/value: Given the strategic importance of educational technologists to information and communications technology-driven transformation, university leaders will require evidence to formulate appropriate human resource and performance management strategies for these key academic-related/professional staff. This paper brings together relevant literature for the first time, generates recommendations for further research and policy discussion. (Contains 4 notes.)

Purpose: This paper aims to provide context for papers in this special issue on Australasian e-learning. The paper aims to examine the background to Australian flexible and transnational education and to evaluate the educational and intuitional flexibility of three typical products of the Australian educational software industry. Design/methodology/approach: The history of Australian distance education is summarised and drivers for flexible education are presented. A model of flexible educational software is introduced with three dimensions: educational, institutional and support/training. Three educational software products are informally reviewed using this model to establish that the current generation of Australian educational software offers significant educational and institutional flexibility. Findings: The three examples of Australian educational software rate highly in both educational and institutional flexibility and also offer excellent support. Research limitations/implications: The existence of hot spots of educational technology innovation in relatively isolated areas such as Perth and Tasmania warrants further investigation. Practical implications: The Australian educational software industry produces extremely flexible products with excellent support that are worthy of consideration by international customers. Policy makers in Australia are alerted that current policies in ICT off shoring and the Australian Research Quality Framework (equivalent to the British Research Assessment Exercise) may threaten this industry, which contributes to sizable exports in transnational education. Originality/value: The paper brings the flexible nature of Australian educational software to light for an international audience. (Contains 1 note.)

Purpose: To show how a combination of hard and soft project and change management methodologies guided successful in-house development of a campus-wide information system. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of the methodologies and management structures that guided the development is presented. Findings: Applying a combination of the dynamic systems development method, rapid prototyping, PRINCE 2, Checkland's soft systems methodologies and change management helped to develop a product that met user needs, offered value for money and was delivered on time. Practical implications: The case study shows that the advantages of formal governance brought by PRINCE 2 can be retained in a softer environment where user needs generate work packages and stage gates. Originality/value: There is widespread evidence that more than half of all IT projects fail and that the softer people issues are essential for success. The paper presents an example of fusing softer approaches with formal governance. It should interest program and project managers, senior sponsors, software developers and usability specialists. (Contains 4 figures, 3 tables and 5 notes.)

Societal expectations of higher education (HE) have changed significantly in the past quarter century without equivalent increases in funding. These changes leave a shortfall between the outcomes HE is expected to provide, the experiences it aspires to offer, and those it can deliver. This shortfall has contributed to HE's McDonaldization (Ritzer, 1996). Although flexible delivery and technology-enhanced learning are common strategies to narrow this shortfall, I argue that they can actually increase its breadth. I apply Simons' model of levers of organizational design to show how HE can effect cultural changes to help to transform this shortfall into an entrepreneurial gap, thus offering HE a possible future beyond the golden arches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the adoption of electronic learning (e-learning) in higher education which was driven by the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICT). According to the authors, e-learning refers to a family of approaches to education ranging from enhancing face-to-face teaching via an independent resource-based learning that are mediated and supported via ICT. They mentioned several factors that drive higher education to adopt e-learning and associated ICTs. The authors also provide an overview of the papers discussed within the issue which pertain to e-learning and educational technology.

The extent to which opportunities afforded by e-learning are embraced by an institution can depend in large measure on whether it is perceived as enabling and transformative or as a major and disruptive distraction. Most case studies focus on the former. This paper describes how e-learning was introduced into the latter environment. The sensitivity of competing pressures in a research intensive university substantially influenced the manner in which e-learning was promoted. This paper tells that story, from initial stealth to eventual university acknowledgement of the relevance of e-learning specifically to its own context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]