Have you given any thought to what would happen to the advising profession if higher education went completely digital? I read an article from the Chronicle News blog today which was discussing the increase in online course participation as well as the increased recognition of it within catalogs. Reading this made me think about the shift that may take place within academic advising once more coursework moves from the traditional classroom setting to the online realm (which I firmly believe will happen).
Things I think we need to consider as this shift occurs:
1. Advisors need to make themselves aware of web 2.0 applications and their uses in the new digital university (e.g., blogger, delicious, flickr, facebook, twitter, linkedin, and youtube to name just a few).
2.Distance education presents us with a whole new world of privacy issues and concerns.
3. How do we advise students in regard to online coursework when many of us have never taken an online course.
I'm sure that there are many more things to think about and discuss that I haven't listed here, but the most important thing is to recognize that the shift is happening. I don't believe that institutions in the traditional sense will ever completely disappear, but they will fundamentally change. Especially with the difficult economic times we are currently facing, students don't need to sit in lecture halls to learn basic material when they can gain the same type of experience online. Rather, more time and money can be invested in higher level courses which include experiential components.
We need to start the conversation about this topic. There is much to be learned.
