BizEd

NovDec2010

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From the Editors Don't Tweet for Me, North Korea North Korea has a Twitter account. Now, there are two terms you don't expect to find in the same headline. When I first read that news story, it took a moment for it to sink in. The account was created August 12 at www.twitter.com/uriminzok ("urimin- zok" means "our people" in Korean), and it now has more than 10,000 followers. Not surprisingly, the tweets from Pyongyang don't veer into frivolity—they are focused solely on nationalistic concerns. The same is true for content on North Korea's newly cre- ated YouTube channel. But the fact that the regime is tweeting and YouTube-ing at all seems like a milestone. We all know that technology has changed us, but North Korea's 140-character missives make it abundantly clear that the way we work, interact, and even think is being inescapably altered. Technologies viewed as novelties five years ago, and as luxuries just two years ago, are now taken for granted. What does this mean for business schools? We explore that question in this issue. First, we talk to two managers at Google about how the tech titan is working with higher education to design better products for learn- ing. We learn how Virginia State University is forgoing printed materials for electronic textbooks and course documents in its core curriculum, and how Pepperdine University and IE are developing their own best practices for blended learning formats. This issue also includes an article on London Business School's efforts to prepare students to lead virtual teams, as well as perspectives on what pro- fessors should know about using social media and teaching online courses. Finally, we talk with Shai Reshef, founder and president of the University of the People, the first tuition-free, online global univer- sity. Reshef envisions a world where the Internet will make a college education possible for every individual, no matter where they live and no matter how disadvantaged their circumstances. The stories of the educators and institutions featured here are just a sampling of the ways that technology is transforming higher education. But schools must actively develop pedagogies to harness it appropriately, these educators say. Only then will learning be enhanced, not overwhelmed, by everything the latest mobile and collab- orative tools have to offer. I'll write it again, just to see the words in print: North Korea tweets. And while those tweets are unlikely to start a revolution any time soon, the technologies that make them possible are a different story. Whether they support social networks or smartphones, crowdsourcing or cloud computing, Twitter or tablets, these tools will be an integral part of the world that's waiting for business students. It's a world that I'm sure will be generating amazing news headlines for years to come. ■ z 6 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 North Korea. T witter . RAQUITA HENDERSON

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