What to See at Campus Technology 2017

If you are traveling to Chicago this month to convene with other higher education IT leaders at CT2017, here are 8 sessions worth attending.

• By Rhea Kelly
• 07/03/17

This month, the annual Campus Technology Conference kicks off in Chicago (July 17–20), bringing together higher education IT leaders for an exploration of technology's role in campus administration, infrastructure, teaching and learning, and more. Here are eight highlights not to miss:

Faculty Development: Lessons Learned and Innovations Ahead (WS3)
In a hands-on workshop, Virginia Commonwealth University's Gardner Campbell will offer tactics for faculty development and supporting sustainable and effective change on campus. (See our recent interview with Campbell: "Informing the Mission for Institutions of Higher Learning.")

A Framework for Getting Value From Your Institutional Data (ILP2)
James Kulich, director of the Masters in Data Science Program at Elmhurst College (IL), will explain how the CRISP-DM data mining standard can help ensure predictive modeling efforts will yield effective change and institutional value. I saw Kulich speak about IT change a few years ago at Educause, and his session generated a lot of valuable takeaways — this time around is sure to be equally interesting.

Planning for a Career in Higher Education Technology Leadership (CIO3)
Those aspiring to C-level positions in IT won't want to miss these insights from Joy Hatch, vice president for technology at Fort Hays State University, who will cover shifting to a leadership mindset, building skills and experience, forging a career pathway and more.

Terraforming the Academic Terrain (TLD3)
Experts from the University of Arizona's Strategic Alternative Learning Techniques Center will share apps and tools that help students with learning and attention challenges succeed. Topics will include audio note-taking, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, mind mapping and study/research apps.

Toward a Smart Campus: Implementing an Internet of Things Infrastructure and Applications (ITD5)
Learn how Western Michigan University Libraries developed an Internet of Things environment to facilitate prototyping and implementation of IoT applications and services — and the challenges faced along the way.

Making the Most of Multimedia (TLD5)
Looking to incorporate video lectures, interactive modules, audio/video assignment feedback and other multimedia tools in your courses? A team from the University of Cincinnati will explain how to create more engaging course materials with audio, images and video.

Enterprise Mobile Apps: Buy or Build? We Chose Build (IMN3)
A frequent speaker on mobile, makerspaces, ed tech trends and more, Kyle Parker, senior software engineer for developing technologies at Ball State University, will delve into his institution's experiences with mobile app development

Closing Keynote: The Age of Em: Work, Love and Life When Robots Rule the Earth
Resist the urge to skip the final keynote: Robin Hanson, author of The Age of Em and associate professor of economics at George Mason University, will explore a future dominated by artificial intelligence technologies. His ideas run the gamut from virtual reality, wealth inequality, death and immortality to teleportation, religion, war and love. Plus, Gardner Campbell will join in to consider the takeaways for higher education.