There are a noticeable lack of degree opportunities focused on the leadership side of school technology. Here at CASTLE, we're dedicated to remedying that deficiency. To that end, we recently launched a new graduate certificate, Master's degree, and Ph.D. in School Technology Leadership here at the University of Kentucky. The courses for these programs are 100% online and are taught by the CASTLE directors and other faculty from around the world.

This leads to the age-old question: Why does it take higher education so long to respond to the needs of its clients? Many much-needed preparation programs are in short supply. Even when they are offered, not all students can or want to spend x years on campus. When we think about graduate programs in education, we know that teachers and administrators are busy professionals, often have very specific needs, and only may be able to engage in coursework at non-traditional times. As we look at universities' increasingly global reach, adequately meeting the needs of local, national, and international educators becomes exponentially more important (and challenging).

John Dewey said, "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Today's life is technologically-suffused, digital, and online. Universities need to push their own comfort levels and meet students where they are, all while providing a stellar and useful learning experience. Traditional brick-and-mortar universities are changing but not fast enough. In the end, the consumer's (student's) voice will dictate what programs are meeting the needs of the market and the student.

Image credit here.