University library as disseminator force of the educative innovation. Strategy and institutional policy at Universidad de Alicante

Abstract

In this paper, I will discuss how educational innovation at the moment is based on the technology and the contents, that is, on the Computing Services and the University Libraries. I will also set out how these university services must be updated to meet these demands. In a previous article I argued that technology was the driving force of the current educational innovation, so I will not get into it now. In this article I will defend the role of university libraries as revitalizing and disseminating forces for this educational innovation, based on the information and communication technology and using precisely these technologies. I am talking about educational innovation, not about research in education. The technology and the library, based on the scientific progress, can educational innovation come true, supported by the pedagogical studies and models. This article is structured into two main blocks and a final section. The first block will deal with the dissemination of educational innovation, trying to fit three pieces: defining the concept of technology enhanced learning, arguing in favor of open knowledge and finally outlining the library of the digital university. In the second section I will discuss the policy and corporate strategy of the University of Alicante about these aspects in the last five years, detailing five lines of work: the Institutional Repository (RUA), the OpenCourseWare (OCW-UA), the Portal Audiovisual and other sites in the cloud, the fragUA and the Computer and Informational Skills (CI2). I will finally reflect on all this and I will present a kind of conclusions.