Changements et évolution des universités conventionnelles sous l’influence des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC): le cas du contexte universitaire nord-américain
This research is regarding the increasing use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Higher Education, within conventional universities as well as open and distance education, and focuses on its institutional, educational and technological implications for campus-based and distance programs. The research was undertaken throughout fifteen Canadian universities in which twenty-four directors and experts, working in teaching and learning centres, were interviewed.              For the institutional aspect, the research relied on the Kershaw & Safford's Open System Communications Net (1998, 2001) theoretical framework that considers the universities' structural and function change in the digital era. The research results confirm that conventional universities are in a period of transformation due to the use of digital technologies; and, that blended learning courses, bimodality, virtual universities, universities using diverse models and universities operating with artificial intelligence, will be the models with high-growth probability during the next decades in North America.              Regarding the educational aspect, the research used a theoretical perspective pertaining to Garrison, Anderson & Archer Community of Inquiry Framework (2000) reviewed by Vaughan & Garrison (2005) and Garrison & Arbaugh (2007) that advocates a cultural change in University work, based on three levels of presence. The research results indicate the importance of elements related to teaching presence, cognitive presence and social presence, as the model suggests. However, the recurrence- at the three levels of presence- of some indicators the interviewees mentioned led to conclude that the CoI model has some interchangeable indicators within its categories. Furthermore, some categories frequently mentioned by the respondents should require a greater consideration. That is the case of the “Group Cohesion” category.              Finally, with respect to the technology employed, the theoretical framework used Olapiriyakul & Scher's Content Design and Development Model (2006) that postulates that the technological infrastructure for university teaching must be both instructional technology and student learning technology. The research results reveal that educational reasons are not necessarily the ones for which universities make the decision to apply ICT to teaching; and, because of that, the technology used may not have been chosen for its learning benefits. This observation led to the interviewees describing opportunities for the development of the next generation of learning technologies applicable to conventional universities.
Information and Communication Technologies E-learning Open and Distance Learning Blended Learning Virtual Universities Bimodal Universities Conventional Universities Canadian universities Changes Evolution