SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Viewpoint
Gone in 60 Seconds
By Will Craig, CTS-D CDT, Elert & Associates
Projector theft from classrooms is a sensitive subject with campus instructional technology professionals. Everybody knows it’s a problem, but nobody wants to talk much about it. There are understandable reasons for this – talking about security precautions can make them less effective, detailing steps taken by successful thieves tells others how to do it, and it’s downright embarrassing to answer administration and student questions about “losing” tens of thousands of dollars of equipment.
Unfortunately, even campuses that have taken active security precautions may find that their efforts come up short – not because of bad planning or failure to purchase precautionary hardware, but because the hardware itself is not securely installed, attached, mounted, or wired.
When I visit clients’ classrooms and see the security precautions they have taken, one of the first things I consider (and share with them) is “how quickly could someone take this projector?” Alarmingly, in most cases, even with active security measures in place, the answer is less than 20 seconds...
Read Complete Article | Send Comment | Back to top
News & Product Updates
Education Department Student-Record Database Would Ease Privacy Concerns
Grover J. Whitehurst, director of the Institute of Education Sciences (the research division of the U.S. Education Department), announced that the Institute is developing a database that would track students’ progress through college while protecting their privacy...
Read more
McGruff Bites Internet Crime
There is a new player in the fight against cyber crime...
Read more
Middle Tennessee State Initiates Virtual Flipchart System
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) has installed a shared digital “easel” system on campus that enables students to share data and information in any format on screens resembling paper flipcharts...
Read more
Case Study
Arizona College Serves Remote Students with Rich Multimedia
By Linda L. Briggs
Serving quality educational experiences to remote students is a challenge for many colleges in the U.S. Advances in multimedia equipment, video conferencing solutions, and high-speed delivery are making that task easier, but still not without challenges.
Just ask Rich King, director of multimedia at Central Arizona College (CAC) in Pinal County, Arizona, just outside Ph'enix. The college faced the considerable challenge of delivering top-notch educational opportunities to its students in the very rural communities that populate the large county in central Arizona...
Read Complete Article | Send Comment | Back to top
Tech Notes
Reader Response
We want to hear from you!
What d'es "smart" classroom technology mean to your campus? Share your viewpoint, experiences, and questions with your peers by writing to us at [email protected].
Send Comment | Back to top