Ed Tech Blog
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Just a few days ago, Apple announced the specs for its new iPhone 8 and anniversary edition iPhone X devices. Apple’s product announcements are typically highly anticipated, with many speculating about new features and technological advancements months before the formal release. This year’s event, however, seemed to have a grander, more excited energy swirling about it. The iPhone X (the ten year iPhone anniversary edition) was purported to have technology embedded that even Maxwell Smart couldn’t fathom. [Yup, I just totally impressed my Baby Boomer colleagues with that one]
Well, the official announcement, as mentioned, happened a few days ago. But the energy surrounding it hasn’t subsided. All you have to do is find any publication, website, supposed apple addict on twitter and you’ll find someone talking about it- Face ID. This facial recognition software allows a used to unlock his/her phone by simply looking at it. The 3D image processing is smart, meaning “the Bionic chip controls a Neural engine which handles up to 600 billion operations per second so it can “learn” when a user is wearing sunglasses, a hat or even grows a beard.”
I admit, even for a non-apple junkie- this is exciting, interesting and a bit creepy. But what was really an exclamation point in this whole spec reveal was that both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X will be QI (wireless) charging compatible. Why? Well, walk into most schools or onto any college campus and you immediately realize that the clear majority of students carry Apple products. In fact, one study I read claimed that about 80% of college students use Apple products on campus (whether it is an iPhone, laptop, watch or iPad).
In 2013 students brought an average of 2.5 devices to campus. In 2015 that average increased to 2.7...
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From Inside Higher Ed. News, May 13, 2017The past few years have proven challenging for many colleges and universities across the country. Historically, college enrollment is inversely related to the economy; as our economy (job market) improves, some colleges and universities may be seeing as much as 2-3% decline or more in enrollment. Post-secondary education is a competitive market. Where non-profit schools once spent 2% of their tuition revenue on recruiting, today many are spending 5-10 times that- a trend that began gaining steam before declining enrollment.
Schools have also been investing more in student retention. Amenities like apartment style dorms, mixed use buildings, prolific and accessible technology, community building events, gaming centers and high-end athletic facilities are used to lure students on to campus and keep them coming back. It was easy to justify these expenses when enrollment was climbing during the recession. Now, some of these projects may be held or cut as enrollment continues its trending decline.
There are, however, some areas of post-secondary education which are still growing and for which colleges and universities are spending money. Health Sciences, medicine, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) disciplines are seeing an increase in interest and...
Read more: College Enrollment is Declining … But There Is Opportunity
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This post was originally written for Private University Products and News (www.pupnmag.com)
Until recently the cost of large flat-panels for classroom use was prohibitive, making projectors the preferred presentation technology for most colleges and universities. Now, as monitor prices continue to drop, schools are questioning their traditional or standard classroom technology. Both projectors and flat-panel displays (monitors, LED displays, TVs) are strong choices for specific types of classroom configurations, each providing benefits that can only be considered when the primary use of the room is well-defined.
Cost vs. Image Size
Above 70”, projectors offer a better value of product cost for image size. That means, in auditoriums, large classrooms, multi-purpose rooms, etc. a projector is more often the preferred technology. In smaller classrooms, conference rooms, group study spaces and in specialty environments, the cost of a flat panel is low enough and the quality is high enough that they become the best option. When calculating the total cost of ownership of a projector (TCO= product, accessories, maintenance over the lifecycle of the product), which will include screens, filters and lamps, we find that projectors are still less costly than 70”+ monitors. Simply put, when comparing cost and screen size, projectors...
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The technology behind Virtual Reality is coming into its own. Students are becoming increasingly more familiar with a maturing VR through video games and inexpensive (read: accessible) tech like Google Cardboard. Now, as interest increases, many educators want to know how VR can be useful as a learning tool in the classroom.
VR as a means to promote collaboration and teamwork– allow students to problem-solve in safe and secure (and unique) environments. VR gives teachers an opportunity to engage students in any type of situation from paleontology digs to courtrooms to boardrooms and in space. Not only will students learn how to work as a team in real-life (or not so real) circumstances, but these opportunities can help promote work-force readiness in a similar manner as in-field experience.
VR gamifies curriculum– A hot trend in education now is gamification of course material. The benefits are becoming clear- increased interaction, increased engagement equals a direct correlation to retention and comprehension. Gamifying content through VR allows otherwise theoretical concepts to be manipulated into [virtually] practical knowledge. Gamification can also harness competitive personalities in a motivating and productive way.
VR for safety– Complex and potentially hazardous concepts can be staged, risk-free in...
Read more: 6 Tips to Encourage Adoption of Virtual Reality in Your School
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A version of this post was published at Systems Contractor News (www.avnetwork.com)
The Takeaway: Yes, I am starting backward, but I think you need to hear this. You’ve heard it before but, like moving a big machine, our industry takes time to adjust and seems to need some coaxing from time to time. Here it is: we are very poor educators, marketers and ambassadors. Wait, let me clarify that before you jump to the comments section to defend why we have some of the best cheerleaders of any industry (you rabble-rousers know who you are)…
I was given the privilege of presenting, as an NSCA Ignite! Ambassador (learn more here), to two high school business classes- a total of about 40 students. These classes include mostly junior and senior students. They are the students that COULD alleviate industry wide hiring challenges. Yes, some of them mentioned they want to be a chef, fashion designer, or hospitality manager. So I spent a bit of time explaining how technology impacts each of those seemingly non-related fields because, overall, they are a group we know we should be targeting.
Not surprisingly, when asked what audiovisual and commercial technology meant to them, the...
Read more: Changing the Dialogue: Ignite-ing Interest in AV and Commercial Technologies
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Guest post written by Mario Maltese. Reposted with permission from AQAV at aqav.org.
What is “Third Party Commissioning?”
In legal terms, the word “party” refers to a person taking part in a transaction or contract. An AV Company engaging in a contract with an AV Buyer forms two parties in the contract. When the AV Company completes a battery of tests themselves (using the AV 9000 Commissioning Checklist) intending to certify what they just installed as being compliant with that contract, we call that “First Party” commissioning. It is similar to an internal audit. Personnel specifically trained in the tests, with the required instrumentation, should perform the tests and that personnel should not be the same personnel who installed the system.
When the AV Buyer uses its own trained and equipped personnel to perform the AV9000 Commissioning tests that is called “Second Party” commissioning. Many organizations that have the specialized personnel and instrumentation resources to do this have done so.
When the AV Buyer brings in a disinterested party, one not part of the Project Team who designed or installed the AV system, one who simply applies the AV9000 Standard to gather the evidence of compliance (or non-compliance), that...
Read more: Third Party AV9000 Commissioning – The Obvious and the Not-So-Obvious Rationale