Campus Technology

Sponsored by CDW-G

With a new administration taking over in Washington D.C., educators and technologists alike are redoubling their emphasis on 21st Century Campus. In the world of higher education, this means a renewed commitment to familiarizing students with the hardware, software and services that can prepare them to meet challenges of the new millennium. Most 21st Century Campus initiatives also are designed to help students develop the ability to communicate, collaborate, think critically, utilize media to gather information and incorporate awareness of the world around them. To prepare for the campus of tomorrow, we all must act today.

TAKING THE PLUNGE: One school’s experience with unified communications

Unifying communications in the higher education ITcomputing environment isn’t easy, but it sure can be worthwhile. According to the “2009 Unified Communications Tracking Poll” from CDW-G (www.cdwg.com), technologists at colleges and universities are finding that unified communications (UC) increases productivity and reduces operating costs across the board.

It’s also easier to manage than a bunch of disparate systems.

So says Chet Strebe, CIO for Information Systems and Instructional Technology with Northcentral Technical College (NTC) in Wausau, Wis. Since the early part of this decade, Strebe has engineered a UC deployment that is actually still growing.

Four Tips for Better Unified Communications

It’s no secret that technologists across industry sectors are unified in support of Unified Communications (UC). After decades of approaching voice and data communications as separate silos, a growing number of CIOs now are taking a more centralized approach. According to a late 2008 survey by Gartner (www.gartner.com), 82 percent of respondents were planning a new facility or deploying a program to include component technologies for unified communications.

According to the “2009 Unified Communications Tracking Poll” from CDW-G (www.cdwg.com ), the story is slightly different in higher education. While technologists at colleges and universities are finding that unifying communications over one platform increases productivity and reduces operating costs across the board, there are some unique attributes to UC implementations in that space:

Click here to listen to the 21st Century Unicomm Podcast

For more information, go to: www.cdwg.com/highereducation

Resources for the 21st-Century Campus

These resources are provided to give you fresh perspectives on the meaning of 21st-century learning, the role of technology in facilitating the teaching of 21st-century skills, and the relevance of these skills as students are prepared to enter the general workforce.

Listen to more 21st Century Podcasts