When they informed me that a benefit of the award was the opportunity to present some comments about the changing higher education information technology environment, they emphasized that I would have nine, plus or minus two, minutes on the conference program. This limit reminded me that the average short-term memory of adults is seven, plus or minus two, items. This obscure fact, from a cognitive science course taken many years ago, led to my selection of seven observations as the foundation for these remarks. Remembering them will not ensure your success, but might help explain why the world of campus computing is such a wonderful circus.
Dogs are more fun than computers.
One of the great things about computing in higher education is that it is fun, at least most of the time. This fact causes trouble for some of us because it is common to become totally absorbed with a project, to lose interest in other endeavors, and to suffer burnout. The individuals who succumb to this trap often fit the stereotype illustrated by the joke that information technologists are people who are good with logic and numbers, but who do not have enough personality to become accountants. One of the unintended side effects of the World Wide Web is the alarming number of hours that many of our students spend in unproductive cyber-surfing sessions. Becoming completely engrossed in computing can become a real problem.