Ed Tech Blog
The NY Metro area Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) recently coordinated a panel discussion called “Higher Education Builds To The Future.” They invited three campus and facility planners/ managers from prominent private NYC universities, including New York University, Fordham University and The New School, to discuss new building construction, building renovations and technology installations that they are working on to attract new and retain existing students. While the morning conversation was very helpful for the architects, engineers, designers and consultants who were present, I think that some of the information I came back with is also interesting to technology managers and facilities managers across the country.
It is worthwhile to note the challenges that other colleges and universities are experiencing and how they navigate those challenges. Being able to share information and possibly generalize those ideas to help you develop a solution to similar problems is valuable. It is also one of the reasons why peer-to-peer events such as (my very favorite) CCUMC conference and its frequently utilized list-serve are so popular and continue to offer consistently worthwhile content and communication. It isn’t about manufacturers or service providers telling you what challenges [they think] you have and how they can help solve them- it is about those IN YOUR POSITION explaining and showing how they are finding solutions to these challenges that they are faced with daily.
Here are some things that stood out to me as important ideas from this SMPS event:
- Security is a key stakeholder in ALL building considerations. Now this may sound obvious, but according to the panel this was not necessarily the case ten years ago. While campus wide student, faculty and staff security has always been a priority, the level at which security has a voice in building construction and renovation has...
Read more: 5 Insights from a Panel of Higher Ed Facilities Managers
picture from http://processofliving.com/2013/01/23/21st-century-classroom-design/A piece from my full length article in SEEN (southeast education network) winter edition titled: Designing Modern Classrooms, Step 2: The Modern Classroom As It Influences Learning and Behavior
Contemporary classrooms should be active spaces. Meaning that instructors focus class time on collaborative and practical application exercises as well as individual work or lecture centered periods. An active learning room can be designed as if there is no front or back of the room; round work tables or movable desks and tables oriented in circles or semi-circles are placed throughout the room. White boards and displays (or projectors and screens) can be situated on the outside walls next to the group work tables. Each area should have connectivity and power for laptops or tablets This layout allows smaller groups of students to work together on course curriculum and help each other through problem solving and comprehension. The technology and ease of connectivity offer immediate research opportunities, sharing information between students and instructor.
Being able to bring chairs or tables together creates an environment that is more open to discussion and interaction. This flexibility changes the dynamic of the students and teacher. It creates a welcoming environment to share ideas...
Now that the summer projects are (hopefully) coming to a close and regular term classes are back in session, you can review what you and your team were able to accomplish in just two short months. Whether it was standard room maintenance, general room upgrades, building renovations or new construction projects, there’s a lot to be done for a technology manager between May commencement and fall semester. Considering the scope of what had to be accomplished and the incredibly short timeframe in which to get it all done, many AV and IT teams choose to outsource some of the installation work.
Outsourcing temporary labor may help ease the burden of your team, but it doesn’t come without its headaches. In reality, you are increasing the size of your department by not just a little bit. You have more people to work with and more people to supervise. Your existing processes may be overlooked or overridden as a result of THEIR existing processes. Hopefully you have a few (or less) choice vendors you work with who are familiar with your campus, your standards and your guidelines. But technicians come and go and the learning curve may be greater than you anticipated.
Read more: 10 Questions Tech Managers Should Ask After Hiring Outsourced Installers and Integrators
Charging stations are popping up all over campuses. It’s no wonder why when you consider that the average US college student brings 2-3 mobile devices to campus. This number is likely to continue to rise in the coming years. While laptop computers are the most common of these devices, smartphones are a close second and tablets a quick growing third.
Just as students expect colleges to offer wireless internet connection across campus (why not, my local coffee house has free Wi-Fi) they also expect convenient and usable locations to charge their devices.
FSR has developed a variety of solutions for charging mobile devices in classrooms, libraries, lounges, study areas or wherever power may be needed (this is in addition to accessible power in our table boxes.) Our charging products family includes:
Power/ Charging Tilt Up Box (TB-CHRG)
Want the charging station to be clutter free and easy? Add a handy USB charging board to remotely power up to 6 USB chargers with one power supply!
If you’d like to try any of these products out for an upcoming project, please let...
The last time you visited your library, what were you there to do? It may have been to hear a professional development speaker, participate in a book club, bring your child to a “mommy/ daddy and me” group. I was recently reading an article focused on the evolving role of today’s libraries and started considering all the new library conformations I have seen touring campuses across the US for the past 18 months. The required book “warehousing” space (i.e. racks) for libraries has been reduced as a result of digital/ e-books (and e-lending) and the availability of resources on demand at home, school, Starbucks via the internet. Although I have seen many different definitions and uses for modern library spaces, I can summarize all of my experiences into one statement. Libraries are no longer for individualized quiet study, they are becoming community hubs. Nowhere do I see more evidence of this than in the rapid proliferation of makerspace areas.
Makerspaces are defined areas populated with technology, textiles, hand tools and resources to encourage hands on activities like designing, building, collaborating and communicating. Think of it as a hybrid tech lab and mechanic’s work bench. Very often, in addition to computers,
Read more: Makerspace: A New Campus Community Hub of Innovation AV Should Be Prepared For
It’s hard to find good help these days. Employees just aren’t loyal anymore. Why can’t they just do what I tell them to do. We often hear these complaints within our organizations. But this isn’t exclusive to corporate America. Educational facilities have the same employee challenges that other businesses experience. In fact, in our ed tech world, some of these challenges may run deeper because of the training necessary to get a staff member “schooled” as a technician, designer, or installer of equipment and projects for which there is little or no formal schooling.
How can you encourage employee engagement without compromising the rest of your team? How can you get more long-term productivity and loyalty out of your staff?
Discover what motivates (your) people: Discovery can be hard work and time consuming. But since your departmental productivity and project timeliness rely on your team, discovery is a worthwhile journey. Motivation isn’t always money. It could be growth potential, professional development opportunities, vacation time, a defined career path, recognition. Whatever “it” is, understand that it can be highly individualized. Don’t just observe your employees but ASK them what is important to them. Listen, outline, and then act on it. Motivating...