International Herald Tribune Quotes Jordan On Technology And Business Education

John Jordan, executive director of the Center for Digital Transformation, is quoted in an article on the use of technology in business education.

John Jordan, executive director of the Center for Digital Transformation, is quoted in an article in the International Herald Tribune on the use of technology in business education:

"Almost all schools offer discrete majors, such as marketing, accounting, finance, and operations. 'These are separate silos, and you need something to bring them together,' says John Jordan, executive director of the Center for Digital Transformation at the Smeal College of Business of Pennsylvania State University. IT is the ultimate assimilator because technology affects everything business does.

"Technology is not only being woven into classroom content, but it is also a conduit and tool for higher education in general. Distance-learning institutions based on the Web are the most obvious example of IT delivery capability. As Jordan points out, however, 'online education is not synonymous with distance learning.' It is normal for brick-and-mortar campuses to use university online networks to distribute assignments, course syllabuses, collateral materials and often—but not always—exams. Jordan says that large on-campus institutions such as Penn State University need to put part of their curriculum online to supplement what professors and legions of teaching assistants can't do: give large numbers of students hands-on exposure to certain kinds of modeling tools, for example."

View the complete article online.

REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Victoria Fryer in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or mediarelations@smeal.psu.edu.

Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, management and organization, marketing, risk management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.