Conclusion
Difficult economic times have meant that students have had to make increasingly difficult decisions
on choosing courses and providers, paying for university fees, moving or commuting to study for
courses, and gaining the skills that improve their employability prospects. With almost ubiquitous
access to the internet, easily accessible educational resources, and unprecedented levels of flexibility
offered by impressive computational ability in mobile devices, students have access to a wider
variety of educational sources and providers than ever before, will increasingly be expected to take
ownership of their own learning. Students may also be driven towards informal learning via third
party providers to gain the skills demanded by employers, putting a greater strain on universities
already suffering from financial restraints in the post-recession funding environment. Therefore,
there has never been a more important time for universities to evaluate the services and
technologies they can provide to students.
The revolution and uprooting of university education that technologies such as MOOCs promised
does not seem to be a reality in the near future. This may change as third-party firms provide more
sophisticated online courses, BYOD offers students the opportunity to simulate campus life more
effectively etc. However, Universities currently stand to benefit from the technological possibilities