After a well deserved break and perhaps a bit of indulgence over the holidays, we are now back to the books and looking ahead at what 2013 has in store for education.
With a landmark year for education technology behind us, now is the time to harness the momentum and drive innovation forward in 2013. So as we slither into the year of the snake, here are four high impact trends worth watching:
Transition to hybrid learning: With online courses on the rise, educators will experiment how to best integrate them with traditional teaching methods. This year schools and universities will hone in on the most effective formats for learning in the digital age.
OK, we all see a lot of college-ranking lists -- everything from top technical schools to top party schools -- but most recently with the explosion of technology in higher education a new list has debuted, named the Most Connected Colleges. The listing, launched by U.S News & World Reports, is the first-ever ranking to honor schools that have successfully applied technology to improve the connections between students and educators.
We were excited to see Maine’s Bowdoin College rated right at the top of the list! Among many tech initiatives, Bowdoin College engaged Cisco to help extend a reliable and secure wireless network throughout its campus with indoor and outdoor access.
The partnership, dubbed 4-VA, includes members from George Mason University, James Madison University, University of Virginia and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The 4-VA’s goals are admirable and ambitious: To make higher education more affordable, expand the number of degrees awarded in the state and strengthen member institutions--individually and collectively.
Almost a year after inception, the consortium has made serious headway on its mission to revolutionize Virginia’s higher education system through collaboration technologies. This is a great video on the program:
How’d they do it’? The crux of its success was the ability to leverage resources across all four campuses. With Cisco TelePresence, members can easily share instructional and academic resources via high-definition, real-time video that creates a life-like setting. Read More »
As President Barack Obama preps for his second term in office, we’re look out for what technology trends will matter most for government agencies and video technology has made the list.
Over the next four years we expect to see collaborative technologies, like Cisco TelePresence, transform the federal workplace. As businesses continue to adopt video technology and social platforms as a way to encourage efficiency and collaboration, the public sector will follow suit.
President Barack Obama has been reelected as the 44th president of the United States. And while he may still be holding on to his treasured Blackberry, most of us are more interested in what technology trends he and his administration will pursue to make public sector agencies smarter, faster and more efficient.
To solidify his commitment to furthering technology, Obama made mention of it in his victory speech:
“But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future; we want our kids to grow up in a country where they access to the best schools and the best teachers. A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation. With all the new jobs and new businesses that follow.”
So looking at Obama’s track record and guarantees, what should the public sector have its eyes on? Take a look at the four technology trends identified by many as likely second-term priorities: Read More »
