disruptive technology initiatives

4 innovative technology initiatives on campuses today


What technology initiatives are colleges and universities proud of?

As the school year gets underway across the nation, many institutions are launching new technology initiatives and programs designed to improve teaching and learning.

Educators love to share their successes, learn from the success of other institutions, and they also love to share lessons they learned along their journey.

eSchool Media and Xirrus have teamed up on the Innovate to Educate Awards to give a national platform for educators to share what they’re most proud of in their colleges and universities. Here, we’ve highlighted the successes of four awards program applicants. Want to apply for the awards? You can do that right here.

[Editor’s note: This is the first part in a series featuring Innovate to Educate applicants.]

A. Harry Moore School-New Jersey City University
Wendy Thompson, Demonstration Teacher
One of the university’s top technology initiatives:
“This past year the A.Harry Moore School students, faculty, and New Jersey City University Doctoral Candidates created an iBeacon project celebrating the 85-year history of the school as a Jersey City landmark. As the first school in NJ to apply pingable technology in a five story structure, this innovative application of technology allowed students to explore historical artifacts fostering a connection to the community. Utilizing mobile technology and the Locly application students enhanced their technology skill base by producing descriptive video content linking the past to the present.”

(Next page: STEM and robotics competitions, 3D modeling, and more)

University of Cincinnati
Ming Tang, Associate Professor
One of the university’s top technology initiatives:
“We applied various computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) in the studio course to teach topics from 3D modeling, performance analysis, and digital fabrication with Computer Numerical Control (CNC) milling. We also taught scripting and use algorithm methods to generate design solutions. As educators, we must encourage economic considerations of material during the fabricating and assembling process.”

Lawrence Technological University
CJ Chung, Professor of Computer Science
One of the university’s top technology initiatives:
“We created a competition with various categories called Robofest. Its primary focus is the learning of STEM subjects together with computer science through autonomous robotics.”

Cogswell College
Soma Mei Sheng Frazier, COG: The New Face of Literary Publishing
One of the university’s top technology initiatives:
“COG: a multimedia literary publication staffed by students in my ENG299HA course – a hybrid course meeting on campus once a week, and in the ether the rest of the week. This hands-on, project-based course provides undergraduates with the nuts and bolts experience of running an international literary publication. Though they comprise the editorial staff, COG is not a venue for student work. Instead, the staff solicits content from writers, artists and luminaries. Beyond poems and stories, COG features an audio broadcast called Cogitate, hosted by public media giant KQED’s flagship show producer Irene Noguchi, and a video series of video game and literature reviews by Chris Baker, former WIRED Magazine Angry Nerd (who has ostensibly undergone anger management, yet still rants in his COG reviews). Students’ production tasks include manuscript selection, editing, layout, promotion, audio engineering, videography, vendor/printer and contributor relations, event management and adjudicating first-round literary contest submissions.”

Apply for the awards here.

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Laura Ascione

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