iPad and the Risk of 'Sustaining Innovations'

The risk of the iPad for higher education is that the device will prove a “sustaining innovation” in learning technology. Sustaining innovations, as explained by Michael Horn in his amazing talk at the 2009 EDUCAUSE ECAR Symposium, increase the quality of the service or product but also drive up the cost. Higher education has been moving through cycles of sustaining innovation, where improvements in facilities, amenities and technology have increased the fidelity of the campus experience while simultaneously driving costs (and tuition) faster than inflation. More…