Abstract
Information technologies are an indispensable part of modern business, education, and personal lives. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown everybody around the world the insufficiency of available information technology infrastructures and the importance of establishing strong infrastructures for citizens from all backgrounds and geographic locations. The challenge has been especially hard for educational institutions because very few were truly prepared for an emergency transition to distance education. This chapter aims to explain the main components of a modern university information technology infrastructure and offer guidance in establishing a strong infrastructure for sustainable quality education.
TopHardware Infrastructure
On-campus infrastructure is the fundamental side of a digital campus. Over the years, hardware, software, and other informational technology (IT) services have improved tremendously, and there are many options available to choose from; therefore, decisions towards computing infrastructure are not always straightforward. When making decisions, IT managers should consider the current IT needs of the institution, future plans that require technology, the number of available/potential users, and so on. These factors are unique to any institution and should be identified based on a thorough needs analysis involving all academic and managerial units of the institution. Due to the uniqueness of the solutions, only general information on available options will be presented in this chapter. Basic components of a campus hardware infrastructure could be listed as server infrastructure, and network and internet infrastructure.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Online Meeting Tool (OMT): A web-based application that allows for live interactions between the participants. In addition to teleconferencing (i.e., two-way video communication), such tools usually offer facilities including live chat, file transfer, survey, and breakout rooms.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI): A system that allows users to connect computer systems at work/school over the internet and have a desktop environment identical to local computer. This kind of system are often used to access network-licensed software and leverage computing power of institutional systems from a distance.
Server Computer: A computer system that is designed to provide various services to client (i.e., user) computers.
Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM): A protocol that enables content creators to organize instructional materials and create re-usable content packages. SCORM also allows for interactions between learning management system (LMS) and the materials such as acquiring course taker’s name and returning assessment results to the system.
Cloud Computing: Cloud computing refers to distributed online computer systems that are offered as various services (from data storage to web servers) to corporate and individual users.
Virtual Private Networking (VPN): A network protocol that enables a client computer to access network resources through another computer (i.e., proxy). VPN is often used by universities to provide access to digital library subscriptions when students or academics are off campus.
Virtualization: A technology that allows users to create virtual computer instances within a computer system. Virtualization is an important part of any modern computing infrastructure due to its ability to create multiple computer instances within a single physical system and improve effectiveness by allocating just-enough resources to each system.
Experience API (xAPI): An advanced protocol developed to extend Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). xAPI enables course designers to acquire richer data about students’ activities within the digital learning environment.
Client Computer: Client computer is a technical term for any user device that is used to connect various services offered by other systems such as an internet database.
Learning Management System (LMS): A web-based system that allows course designers and instructors to organize instructional materials and provide various forms of interactions between course-takers and instructors. Through an LMS, instructors can make announcements, communicate with students, create discussion boards, share assignment details and collect students’ work, and track students’ progress throughout the system.
Learning Analytics: A practical field of study that aims to analyze the increasingly complex data generated by the students’ activities within a digital learning environment to offer instant analysis, progress monitoring, and guidance for all stakeholders of learning.
Plagiarism Detection System: A software that is designed (a) to compare turned-in assignments and various forms of academic works to an extensive database of published works and internet resources, and (b) to create a similarity index. Such software is often web-based and provided through a subscription agreement.
Online Proctoring: A system or sub-system that is designed to prevent and identify dishonest behaviors in synchronous online examinations. Such systems often utilize hardware (e.g., webcam) and software components to track the testtakers through the examination session and create a report of suspicious activities to guide the testing authorities.