Mastering Mobile Security

By Joseph C. Panettieri

Is your most vital information walking out the door or sneaking off campus? That’s the question you must address in the age of mobile computing. A decade ago, most university information was safely protected in data centers or tucked away on departmental servers. But e-mail, FTP software, USB thumb drives, smart phones, notebook computers, and other mobile devices mean your data is always on the move.

Sure, mobile technology and ubiquitous networks improve productivity and keep us all connected. But they also introduce new security challenges that universities must address. Consider this startling piece of information: More than 2.6 billion mobile devices now access online services, yet only 30 million of those devices have basic security safeguards in place, according to McAfee, the antivirus software maker.

Without proper security, mobile devices are easy targets for worms, viruses, and so-called robot (“bot”) networks. Hackers increasingly use bot networks to launch massive attacks against eCommerce Web sites – potentially targeting your online tuition payment or fundraising/financial development systems. How can you defend your mobile systems against such threats? There isn’t a single magic bullet solution, but the path to mobile security involves five basic steps for success...

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Carnegie Mellon Harnesses Google Earth for Tele-Tourism

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is one of the beneficiaries of a $285,000 Pennsylvania government grant to use Google Earth to support “virtual tourism” in the state...

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Consider a Calling Center on Your Campus?

It may be possible that too many people have too direct of an access to many of your campus' administrative offices, causing staff to handle many calls that could less expensively have been answered by such a center...

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The Internet as a Resource for News and Information about Science

This recently-released report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project explores the increasing tendency of Americans to use the Internet to research science topics, as well as related new items...

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At U Richmond, Remote Classroom Support Cuts Costs

By Linda L. Briggs

One of the challenges of multimedia classrooms can be supporting them in an efficient, cost-effective manner. After all, each element you add to a classroom means another piece of equipment that can fail.

At the University of Richmond, a private liberal arts university in Virginia, Director of Telecommunications Doug West has put 65 multimedia classrooms on the university network for remote access and support. The effort is saving the university significant time and money, because the vast majority of calls can now be handled remotely, without dispatching a technician to the classroom...

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Advanced Teaching Technologies

By Joseph C. Panettieri

Most educators work in brick buildings and the physical world, but Ed Dieterle prefers a virtual alternative. Dieterle is an advanced doctoral candidate and researcher at Harvard University. His current focus is the River City Project, a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) that’s similar in look and feel to The Sims, a popular online simulation game from Electronic Arts. If you were to “visit” River City, you’d discover that it is an interactive computer simulation of a river town, based in the late 1800s. But it’s more than that: The system combines digitalized Smithsonian artifacts with an inquiry-centered curriculum – all to engage middle and high school students. “The idea is that you ‘step through’ a computer screen and move into a virtual space,” says Dieterle. “You control an avatar. You’re participating and collaborating with other people. And you’re communicating with peers.”... (Campus Technology)

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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].

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