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.

Ed-tech heavy hitters talk collaboration at EduComm

Higher education will focus on video technologies in coming years, EduComm speakers say.
Higher education will focus on video technologies in coming years, EduComm speakers say.

Decision makers from Cisco, Microsoft, and Google said higher education’s movement toward collaboration-friendly technologies would rely heavily on video communication, and one official had advice for faculty who stand against moving toward nontraditional, digital learning: retire.

Representatives from three of the biggest players in the education technology field spoke to about 800 college IT officials June 8 at the annual EduComm conference in Las Vegas, where attendees gathered for dozens of daily sessions covering the latest in school technology. The conference ends June 9.

Ian Temple, director of Cisco Global Education, joined Obadiah Greenberg, head of Google Apps for Education, and Cameron Evans, Microsoft Education’s chief technology officer, in a discussion about how video and cloud computing can connect educators to their teachers and peers.…Read More

Ed-tech officials: Video will make schools more ‘efficient’

Retaining good students was the top priority for K-12 and college administrators.
Fifty-three percent of school officials said they would buy video technology in the next year.

More than half of education technology officials in K-12 schools and higher-education institutions said they would buy video technology in the next year to make their schools “more effective and efficient” and better prepare students for the workforce, according to a new survey from technology giant Cisco Systems.

The survey results, compiled by Washington, D.C.-based research and polling firm Clarus Research Group, come seven months after Cisco bought Tandberg, a leading video conferencing company. Observers expect Cisco’s purchase—which initially was snubbed by Tandberg stockholders, who balked at the $3 billion bid—to make the company one of the leading video providers in schools and colleges.

While 53 percent of administrators and school technology officials said their institutions “are likely” to buy video equipment sometime in the next year, more than eight in 10 survey respondents said technology plays a role in “improving how students learn,” with 82 percent agreeing that education technology will play a “large role” in “helping prepare students for the workforce of the future.”…Read More