Democratizing the Use of Technology in Education

Dipesh:
Hello, welcome to another episode of Tech In EdTech. Today, we have with us a very special guest, David Morales. David is the CIO at Western Governors University. David, welcome to the show.

David:
Thank you so much, Dipesh, for having me. I'm happy to be here.

Dipesh:
Great, um, you know David everybody's heard about Western Governors University. I think you guys are doing a phenomenal job in terms of imparting digital learning how you know why don't you start with an introduction about yourself how you got into education and you know just in general. How have you been the last few years?

David:
Fantastic. I'll be happy to do so um so I'm ah, by trade, I'm a software engineer. I've been doing technology for almost twenty years. I've had the opportunity to work for some government institutions or agencies and I had an opportunity to work for big retail companies - Fortune One, Walmart and doing technology focus on customers making sure that the technology is enabling the customers to do the best. Some customers may be shoppers or some could be scientists. I've had an opportunity to work for ah, government agencies that were focused on supporting local scientists. Also, now have the opportunity to change the lives of several individuals by bringing them the path of opportunity through education and helping students. Um, I've done so much in software engineering that my background went beyond software engineering to infrastructure because I'm a firm believer that if you're going to do software you really need to understand the infrastructure your software is running in. So I've had an opportunity to actually build a private cloud for the previous company that I worked for with a great group of engineers. So I learned a lot about infrastructure and I apply that in those principles as we bring technology to bear to make sure that we have that availability for those consuming the technology.

Dipesh:
Great! I think that's wonderful. So David one question that I have, and I see your profile and your career path. How is the move to IT tech? How do you see this as the technology space different from the previous roles that you worked on? And more importantly, given the last few years, how do you see that changing? What is the difference that you see and what is the similarity that you see in your current technology domain compared to your previous roles?

David:
That's a great question Dipesh. Let me tell you and I'll be extremely honest to you - as I joined the higher education environment, 1 of the things that I learn quite rapidly was that the industry is just not up to part to other industries in which I've been involved in. Meaning that, I'm sorry, the technology has not ah grown as much as has grown in different areas and there is still a lot of room for collaboration across. A technologist to improve the industry. What I mean by that is there's a lot of lack of open source projects. There's a lot of a lack of understanding of what a big infrastructure or architecture or design of your software can do so we're trying to change that. As I joined WGU (Western Governor's University) we are 100 percent laser-focused on helping our students be successful. We want them to win. The only way for us to win is if they do well. So we have been in working with other institutions, working with government agencies, working with companies, big companies, into changing the technology so we can serve the students better and we have started several open-source projects. We are having coalitions of big groups, of networks, to start thinking more about how can we not only improve higher education but the technology that enables that higher education. So a lot of work to come, but I am so enthusiastic about the work that we've done and that I see the industry going towards.

Dipesh:
Great what I find so interesting about the open source - and we delve into that a little bit later - is that you know the open sharing because I think it's not a zero-sum game right? I mean the more you share the better everyone gets at this and more importantly, the biggest beneficiaries of these of this collaboration are students and that's, I think, that helps just everyone. So my questions to you is that how do you - and western governors has been, you know, one of the things that I like is that you've been online since the inception - Um, so you were, in a way, better prepared for what happened in the last year year and a half and what has continued to happen. However, what did you see as an impact? Like, did you see a certain growth in your scale and how were you able to manage that? Can you just give me ah an idea of what happened in the last year since the pandemic broke out how, and as I said you were better prepared, but how did you tackle some of those areas and how did you ensure that student experience improves and you know they are able to get what they want to get?

David:

I'll be happy to. I would say that um at WGU using technology is the backbone for our students learning and truly solving ah through the Competency-based model that we serve. We also solve for the time management and everything that comes in ah ah, a whole view in an online approach of learning. So I would say that yes, since its inception, WGU has been an online University and we've been learning a lot through the almost 25 years that we've been supporting students. Um, that has helped us serve them better through these changes. We see an increase of opportunity more than than changes or challenges during this crazy pandemic time we see more as ah, opportunities to better serve those students to ah better um collaborate with other groups or institutions into serving those that are in need to change that path. We see opportunities for a lot of people that were impacted through this pandemic and perhaps lost their jobs. They are looking to upscale their skills they're looking to improve and obtain better Jobs. So this is a great opportunity for us to deliver that education that they're looking for through any device anytime and and anywhere right? So if any we see this pandemic accelerating the roadmap to innovation to deliver. Education for those that are looking for that opportunity.

Dipesh:

It is great and I cannot agree more there. David, I think those were some fantastic points. One of the things that always, you know, Um I'm amazed by, is the scale that you have, the number of students that you have, and I do see a lot of efforts in personalizing experiences for that scale. And it's not an easy task. So how do you manage to get there? Like you have a huge student base but you work on personalizing experiences for them and that's that's a challenge that a lot of people in the industry are and grappling with. So what are the things that you do in order to get there of how do you make learning personal for all these students?

David:

That is a fantastic question. Let me tell you the very first, the first thing that comes to my mind as you were ah ah posing your question is that I am extremely lucky and blessed to be working with such great talent. From our academics group to our operations group to our marketing, all the different groups that we're working together to ah help our students. We really care about the one so Matter. Of fact, one of our cultural beliefs is 1 by 1 - meaning we care about the personalization needs for every single student because we are from believers that um talent is universal - opportunity may not be, and we want to serve all the different types of ah ah, students that are out there that we can help and assist so we work and our academics group is always trying to reinvent how we personalize for every single student which then translates to the education to the technology that supports that education. Ah, to the point that we are are planning and actually working already in bringing artificial intelligence to help us with a progressive persistent profile that will enable us to understand the uniqueness of our students, their background, where they're coming from. How can we enable those that have historically been underserved? And make sure that they have that um opportunity that everyone deserves so we are investing. You know that's a university. Our precedent is keen on making sure that we focus on the 1 and we personalize to the point that we're investing in new technology and in open source projects and specifically managing that data that enables that personalization path for every single 1 of our students I must confess that is not necessarily easy, but it is definitely worth it because we can see the the value and the success in our students when we tailor that education to that individual.

Dipesh:

Got it and you know and as I mentioned it's not an easy feat, especially at the skill that you're looking at so I think that's, I'm pretty sure, there's a lot of effort that goes behind that just to ensure that students get what they deserve. You mentioned Open Source in one of the previous answers that you also highlighted that here we talk a little bit about in terms of how are you you collaborating providing this work with source and what are the things that you see what the promises that you see by being there by doing that kind of activity.

David:

So we are as a technology group in most technology areas and industries will tell you that we use open source in many different or from many different perspectives. Um. Why, because we believe in the power of a community and building software to be better across more talented engineers is always better than just to have 1 group of individuals trying to sell for everybody. Having the opportunity to open-source also enables the personalization of how you consume that software so you can focus on the ah community you're trying to serve. As I mentioned earlier I have seen that in the technology or education or edtech in the educational technology I see a lack of ah, working together as a community to build products that will enable the better service of our students, and we in that at WGU we are actually about to launch our very first open-source project in the coming month in which we are going to employers, we are going into other institutions to say hey we're working on a product, we believe about this product such that we invested in building the product and to his first face. Let me put the code out there for everyone to utilize it because at WGU we're not only about us being successful. We want everyone to be successful so we help our students and ah come in and make it better help us make it better, help us improve it. Ah. I am extremely happy to say that because we are a non-forprofit organization and I feel strongly about this, we are focused on the right things which is helping those communities helping those students be successful and truly have that um proximity to that opportunity, we are happy to say hey this is working well for us, let me put it out there so number 1, you can't take advantage of it; and number 2 you can help us make it better. Yeah, we do have amazing individuals helping us make that product better, but we still feel that ah the more the merrier. Right? The more people that can help us make products better and we are always constantly looking for opportunities of synergy across other technology groups other technology companies out there that are doing work in the educational industry to figure out how we can work and achieve more, better. Not only for WGU, but for the for the industry because the end result is helping our students.

Dipesh:

That yeah, and that's that's a great point I think 1 of the things that that I've/we've seen is the rise in the demand for upscaling and rescaling by employers I mean not just not just people not just individuals. But also employers who are keen on upscaling, continuing to skill their their workforce helping them get better. In fact, I was talking to somebody at Udemy the other day and 1 of the things that they mentioned was how they are getting learning on different devices. Going beyond traditional web and mobile. Um, you know, let's say Alexa or even TVs so I think that trend that I see of learning everywhere and now that you mentioned the open-source and collaboration I'm very excited about this sector and I'm very excited about what the future holds. So. yeah, I think that those are some very good points. Thanks David.

David:

I'm so happy you mentioned that Dipesh. Sorry that I interrupted you there for a second if you mind I'll add to to your thought process to double to you 1 of the things that attracted me to WGU was the vision of our Chief Academic Officer as well as our President about how to how we want to serve our students I think everyone is going through this digital transformation right? And for us at WGU, when I joined WGU I can tell you yeah since inception, it has been an online university our intention is to be any time anywhere and through any device. So being more digital right? We are changing as a society. We utilize our mobile phone for everything now we talk to devices and the devices will follow our our commands right? We are constantly evolving as a society. So the actual education technology has to evolve as welt to take us to where our and our students of the present want to be. So we are working so hard and making sure that we're mobile-first, that we are able to stream, that we're able to reach to our students anytime anywhere we're actually working on this - the Future, what we call the “next-generation experience” because we really are wanting to deliver for our students through now you go to your TV and you're capable of of accessing content there. You're able to do it on your mobile. You're able to do it on on devices that you speak directly to. So we're we're working on that is it's a great thing that you brought that up because I think that everybody should be going through this digital transformation to serve our society now we are very ah ah, technically inclined to consume the services through mobile devices or more than just our computer sitting in front of us.

Dipesh:

I yes, absolutely and you know I was was giving this example I was talking to my wife the other day we have a 3-year-old he talks to Alexa better than we speak between ourselves. So I see that I see the future generation getting comfortable with these other devices. You know. Comfortable with laptop mobile but they are getting comfortable with Alexa you know with the smartwatches with the tv so I think you're so right about that. Um, and and and that's great to see that you're working on and that because I think the future of learning that anytime anywhere. So anywhere is what he spoke about. I also see any time as let's say a trend is ah a technology trending right now you don't have to wait for six months to get that knowledge about that technology. You can get the knowledge of the technology may be tomorrow you know so the rate of getting the knowledge out is also improving so any time and anywhere in the truest sense of the term, I think I think I'm very excited about that future.

David:

Yes, yes, indeed that imagine us getting to a point in which as a student you're always in the run right? Specifically, if you are working full time and you're also going to a university to obtain a better degree or a higher degree. You. Imagine a world in which you just talk to your device call it Alexa call it Siri call it Google and say hey make sure you download my next reading assignment because I'm flying and automatically we have that ready for you and you have to not to worry about oh I need to go to the mobile application, go into the content, press download and then have it ready for me now. We want our students to go through this seamlessly such that enables them to achieve more within the timeframe they have so yeah, great. Great time to be in technology and then also in education.

Dipesh:

Absolutely now we spoke about really good things they will I think some amazing trends and these are not trends anymore than they are actually work being worked on at this point in time but let me talk. Ah, let me ask you that you know obviously all of this doesn't come with its own sort of challenges or you know what do you see, what could be the challenges may be that you know you see when you're building on that and what do you think how can we as an edtech community or you - how do you plan to work up those, are there any particular areas that you're mindful of or you're seeing at are those are on your radar?

David:

Um, there are. I would say the very first 1 is um or the challenges that I'm facing the first 1 it would be the talent the talent that we need to come in and help us build this technology and this new path to delivery of our services to our students. Um, as as a country I think that we are going through a hard time in finding all the ah the technologists that we need to do all the changes we are planning to do that is 1 and then the second 1 I would say that is, mostly focused on our students is how can we move as fast as we can to deliver for them so they can continue to accelerate their education such that enables them to obtain ah better return of their investment. And in investment, I not only mean financial but also of time and everything there is so how can we manage all this go faster while at the same time build the talent that is gonna build it? I think those are the 2 main challenges that we're facing. And if there was a third one -how can we and specifically in education technology - How can we start having communities or start getting momentum across different organizations for all of us to start working together and deliver that technology that is required for all the students no matter if you're a traditional university or if you're competency-based university how can we empower as as a community of higher education looking for that technology - how can we all work together and embrace a model in which we deliver for our students altogether - those would be the main job.

Dipesh:

Yeah, yes I think you really hit the name of that by the the talent I think everybody is seeing that and that kind of impacts some of the other areas that you mentioned right? Like lack of talent also leads to slow down of execution. So yeah I think I hope we are able to get and you're able to surpass that challenge but those are some great points. Now you know we spoke about the future in some bit but when you see the future of ed-tech veorall you know, just you know before you mentioned is there anything at a particular trend that you seen. You mentioned anytime anywhere are there anything else that you've seen the tech moving in moving towards.

David:

Um, I dream of a future in which our students um see obtaining education not only ah, something that they need to invest time but something that is so easy to access through the technology they have at their fingertips that we all of us are constantly continuing to increase our knowledge and and our education and continuing to do better and getting closer to those opportunities that education definitely brings to all of us. Um, I think that a lot of the technology that is out there is enabling us to get there. My dream is how can we make that happen faster because there are so many communities out there that for whatever reason are not able to obtain the  path towards the opportunity that is brought to you by education; that we need to accelerate this as fast as possible. So, I guess a specific trends anytime anywhere through any device is pretty much what I see.  Utilizing data, AI to enable the personalization of those students but my dream is to make it happen faster and better for those students because there's so many populations of there that I have been historically under serf that they do to serve the best we can offer to make this happen faster.

Dipesh:

Absolutely, and I think technology - the biggest to win for technology is to be able to help these people so your future doesn't depend on the zip code variable and I think that's I would, in my opinion, I think that is the biggest win for technology.  Because everything that we do in education so somewhere revolves around that. So I think that was those are some great points David. It was great talking to you.  Do you have any parting comments for your peers, you know your students anything that you'd like to share.

David:

I would say to my peers out there. Um, we must remain focused on our students and it's so interesting that I say our students I was talking to some individuals in a conference and they said why do you keep saying our students are you teaching? Are you a teacher I said no. But I  am part of a university and I am part of enabling the students to be successful. So to all my peers, we must remain focused on helping the students and we must continuously improve the technology that enhances the student experience. So we ensure that they complete their their path towards success. Um, my call would be for my peers like yeah, let's just continue to stay focused. Let's continue to deliver on that Technology. We can definitely enable people that haven't had a chance to obtain this education through technology. And to the students out there Um I would say hey we're working to enable you to be Successful. We are trying our best but I've learned through my experience that the best ideas always do come from those consuming that technology. So don't shy away from sharing your your ideas about what do you see that this technology could help you do better or what changes you want to see in that technology and start dreaming of that state and let us know. Let us help you get there because we are here to support you.

Dipesh:

This fantastic David this is it was great having you I think you shared some amazing insights. Thank you so much for joining me today and and it was great talking to you. Thanks.

David:

Thank you so very much my pleasure.