Moving the Innovation in Education, Forward

Rolando R. Garza, Ed.D., Director, Center for Academic Technology – in the Division of Academic Affairs, Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Dr. Rolando R Garza is the Director of Academic Technology in the Division of Academic Affairs at Texas A&M University-Kingsville in South Texas. His role in the institution is to introduce innovation in higher education by implementing distance learning programs and developing innovation in on-campus and academic classrooms. He also moves academic scheduling forward and represents the A&M system at the Council for Academic Technology. His role also includes ensuring the dynamic change of higher education. In an exclusive interview with Education Consulting 2023, Dr. Rolando R Garza shared his valuable insights on innovation in the ed-tech space.

What are some of the major challenges and trends impacting the education consulting space today?

Currently, the challenges lie in institutions needing more funds, and the cost of the digital innovation space is increasing. To mitigate this issue and improve the situation, we need to focus on creating innovative solutions on campus and hire more personnel to support the digital learning department and any universities seeking to develop digital programs for students. This is essential as COVID has changed the functionalities of education, especially higher education. We have to move campus innovation forward and consider the institution's staffing to support the digital learning division, as COVID-19 has changed the landscape of offices, especially in higher education.

As we pivot away from the pandemic, we need staff to support digital learning across institutions such as higher education departments or universities looking to create digital learning programs for students. Subsequently, we should also increase digital innovation in the academic space of a physical classroom.

Another challenge I have recognized today is that students in K-12 are accustomed to being familiarized with digital learning. As a result, more campuses are changing their learning methodologies to adapt to the new reality. Students are now submitting their assignments and homework on online platforms. Upon graduating from higher education, When those students graduate from higher education, such students will have corresponding expectations from their institutions, if not more. Universities have been around for years; some institutions have support to advance themselves technologically, and some are seeking alternatives.

What is the industry's future with the new technological transformations in the ed tech space?

Students will want to learn through different modalities. For example, Texas A&M University-Kingsville is a part of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and it plans to change the definitions of distance learning and introduce new ideas. In regards to our institution at a local level, we are a small part of the student learning ecosystem. The digital learning and education technology offices are a small part of an institution’s functions, and we support the ongoing change. We are a part of the disruptive academic change that impacts students' approach to learning today. The different types of modalities, like hybrid and online learning, are educational disruptions, and we are part of a change impacting how students learn today.

When I went to school, we didn’t have innovation in education. If you go into a physical classroom, you see rows of desks that have not changed in over a hundred years, but the innovation around those desks is changing. We are changing the physical classroom, around the desks, to a space to support active learning and adapt different learning modalities.

“The different modalities, like hybrid and online learning, are academic disruptions, and we are part of a change impacting the way students learn today”

We are considering the changes that students need and are also considering different changes in modality. It is important to remember that faculty in these spaces must undergo training to facilitate instruction in the changing physical classroom effectively. They must be taught how to teach in them. We are looking at the emergence of different ideas; administrative leaders in charge of education technology must ensure these ideas are implemented. We must collectively speak with campus leaders, deans, and faculty to execute this change.

Again, we are just a small part of the evolutionary change in the ecosystem, but it's an effective change.

What are some of the projects or academic programs you have been involved in, and how have technological elements aided in these projects’ success?

One of my roles in the institution is to innovate the campus spaces, and pre-COVID, we had a process in place. We introduced innovative changes in the classrooms, met deadlines, undertook construction activities, we ordered and purchased technology. We initiated everything as a cycle of evolution of change on the campus. COVID-19 has caused many businesses to order building technology at a much higher level. There has been an increasing supply and demand, and as a result, this technology has been back-ordered for months, causing delays in campus evolutions.

I often get asked what I can do to move the campus forward. It’s accredited to my team, who work with campus leadership and gather insights on changing the campus, and me. Right now, we are addressing issues pertaining to the student dealing with retention and physical attendance, as students express their need to come to class and want to learn differently. In connection with the previous question, it’s our role as administrative leaders in education technology to pay attention to how students learn in these new spaces. In addition, we should also adapt to new environments that can potentially change the industry concerning teaching methods.

My team and I are in-tune with current trends to keep the campus moving forward. Currently, Chat GPT is garnering attention, and we have to consider how this will change the educational landscape again. The idea goes back to technology and infrastructure; we have to keep the classroom's mission at the forefront of everything we do.

No matter what happens around the buildings created, the new online programs, the new technology, the new cameras, the new digital innovation, the mission-critical is the academic classroom, especially in my leadership role. The classroom spawns learning, which generates the relationship between its design and students' development.

We have to build a university for what our students want today and include students' voices in everything we build.

Would you like to share a piece of advice with your fellow peers and emerging leaders working in the industry?

To new upcoming leaders, think about the core mission you are doing for students, the faculty, and the school's staff.

My role helps students first, and leaders in these roles should keep up with their demands and simultaneously have to keep staff motivated to move forward and make technological changes in the classroom. Educational technology surrounds them, whether it's a digital keyboard, projector, or digital screen, and these tools support teaching. When this is provided to the faculty and students, the environment is going to keep evolving, and digital innovations are going to help drive the campus forward.

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