Classroom Standards, Ratings, & Certifications: Where to Start?

This originally appeared in the January Issue of AV Technology Magazine:

 

In the world of educational technologies, the discussions about classroom standards and standards implementation are like an unprepared contractor—always yapping about finishing the project but tough to get nailed down. Many of these discussions are open-ended and constantly evolving, coming to under-defined conclusions. Most technology managers agree that standards for campus-wide classroom technologies are essential to efficient, economical and useful spaces. As I have previously discussed, technology standards reduce the training time for faculty, manage expectations of faculty and students, keep student experience consistent, ease budgetary strain and, perhaps most important to technology managers, reduce the cost of and time required for equipment maintenance and downtime. There is no doubt that classroom technologies are a large investment. The need to define and calculate the successful use of the space is essential. To help develop campus-wide standards for most effective and efficient technology rich learning environments, there are a number of guidelines, ratings, and association standards that can be considered. – Read more here.