Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eCampus News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

Navigating email security within the complexity of higher education

A review of email encryption, data loss prevention and how they protect your institution and your reputation.

email-security-institution

As long as sensitive information and the Internet are around, it seems that cybercriminals and hackers are never going to stop finding new targets.And unfortunately for the IT managers and administrators of higher education institutions, cybercriminals have begun to set their sights on universities.

In recent months, the University of Chicago, Auburn University and UC Berkeley have all reported data breaches exposing the information of thousands of current and former students, employees and administrators.…Read More

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The state of campus Resnet in 2015

State of Resnet Report reveals all departments must work and communicate with IT to implement cost-effective, student-demanded services.

resnet-campus-ITA recent report reveals increases in funding, bandwidth, and outsourcing as universities race to meet students’ Wi-Fi and Resnet needs. However, it also highlights a deepening tension between the desire to serve students and the reality of demand outpacing network resources.

The finding are part of the Association for College & University Technology Advancement’s (ACUTA), in partnership with the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I), comprehensive 2015 Fourth Annual ACUTA/NACUBO/ACUHO-I State of Resnet Report, a survey of 450 colleges and universities measuring variations in on-campus residential student network policy, as well as focusing on IT and business issues affecting Resnet now and into the future.

Funding up from previous years…Read More

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Higher-ed gets a new transatlantic network for collaboration

Research scientists get “ultra-fast and robust network” across the Atlantic Ocean.

network-atlantic-researchAt the Internet2 Global Summit today, the partners in ANA-200G and ESnet announced a new agreement that aims to improve the resiliency of what the partners say is the world’s fastest inter-continental network for research and education.

ANA-200G is a fully resilient 100 gigabits per second (100 Gbit/s or 100 billion bits per second) network that traverses the North Atlantic Ocean and helps support today’s most advanced, data-intensive research and education applications.…Read More

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Why research success might depend on a pipe dream

With an upgraded 100G connection to Internet2, research scientists at the University of Connecticut aim to remain competitive with colleagues at other R1 institutions.

internet2-research-universityIn January, the University of Connecticut upgraded its Internet2 connection from 10 gigabits per second to 100G. The connection, made possible through a partnership with the Connecticut Education Network and the state, is intended to keep the university on the cutting edge of research and better positioned to compete for grants and scientists.

“As you can imagine in today’s world of big data and research that depends upon large data sets, many schools are upgrading to 100G to accommodate their researchers’ needs,” said Paul Howell, chief cyberinfrastructure security officer for Internet2. “It’s becoming the normal type of connection for research communities.”

Today, about 280 major research universities are members of Internet2, along with approximately 45 regional networks that serve thousands of other educational organizations, including community colleges and libraries. It’s essentially a private high-capacity, high-speed network, allowing researchers to bypass the commodity internet where traffic can suffer from slowdowns and bottlenecks.…Read More

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State’s universities getting fast and furious internet for collaboration

Arizona’s Sun Corridor Network announces two 100 gigabit connections to Internet2.

fast-internet-ArizonaTo better foster research collaboration between universities, Arizona says internet speed needs to get fast & furious.

The Sun Corridor Network, Arizona’s high-speed research and education (R&E) network, is now providing 100 gigabit per second (100G) connections to Internet2, for academic researchers at Arizona State University (ASU), Northern Arizona University (NAU) and the University of Arizona (UA).

The two Internet2 connections—one located in Phoenix and one in Tucson—aim to benefit Arizona’s public universities by facilitating high-performance, data-intensive research and collaboration among peers at national institutions to enable discovery, knowledge and information sharing.…Read More

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Net neutrality gains FCC approval

Vote ensures internet remains open, equally accessible through net neutrality policy

net-neutralityIn a momentous decision for the future of the open internet, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on February 26 approved net neutrality regulations to oversee online traffic and ensure internet service providers treat all legally-flowing content equally.

The 3-2 party-line vote prevents service providers from, for instance, charging websites for faster data speeds to customers. The vote regulates internet service providers in the same manner as public utilities, with a stricter set of regulations to make sure all customers receive equal service.

“There are three simple keys to our broadband future,” said FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in a statement. “Broadband networks must be fast. Broadband networks must be fair. Broadband networks must be open.”…Read More

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Why higher education should care about Net Neutrality

Broadband for education expert gives four reasons why the FCC’s decision about Internet service is a human rights issue.

net-neutrality-rightsOn February 26th the world, as we know it, will either come to an end or we will have the second coming of the messiah.

Why? Because later this week the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will vote to reclassify broadband Internet service as a telecommunications service, rather than an information service, under Title II of the Telecommunications Act—a decision which will have a significant impact on education.

With a handful of exceptions, the policy wonks and industry pundits have taken binary positions on the regulation of the Internet, but there is more at stake than the Washington politics and beltway posturing: mainly, the issue of education as a basic human right and how the regulation of the Internet may affect those rights.…Read More

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Must-have capabilities in a campus network upgrade

Illinois State University discusses what’s needed to support thousands of devices; faculty collaboration

mobile-network-illinoisA new network is helping one university connect more than 30,000 mobile and wireless devices to boost collaboration in academic programs.

Illinois State University, which has begun deployment of a campus-wide Aruba 802.11ac-based network, says the gigabit Wi-Fi infrastructure will help securely connect the mobile and wireless devices being used on campus and allow faculty to incorporate a wide range of education technologies.

The implementation began as a response to complaints about coverage—a similar problem facing many institutions across the country.…Read More

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