The 361° Model for Transforming Teaching and Learning with Technology

leges and universities have invested heavily in information technology in the belief that it would enhance learning and enrich the student experience. Several recent highprofile reports and articles, however, argue that most investments in technology have not paid off. In their study “Thwarted Innovation: What Happened to e-Learning and Why,” Robert Zemsky of the University of Pennsylvania and William Massy of Stanford University argued that the proliferation of technology has done little to improve teaching or learning at most colleges and universities.1 Others have pushed the criticism further, arguing that technology has actually hurt teaching and learning in many courses. Part of the reason for this pattern of failed investments is the absence of positive role models and clear best practices. Amidst the many stories about promising opportunities or the failures of promise, few concrete models have been offered for how technology can positively enhance teaching and learning. This absence of highly visible successes and best practices increases the sense of frustration and concern and leaves institutions without a lodestar. Some institutions, however, have approached technology carefully and strategically and are successfully transforming teaching and learning. DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, offers one story of success. Several years ago, DePauw faculty, students, and staff recognized the potential of technology to enrich learning and grasped that DePauw’s historic mission as a liberal arts college required graduating students prepared to succeed and thrive in a broadly digital culture. Consequently, DePauw established the goal of becoming a national model for using technology for Transforming Teaching and Learning with Technology