Opinion
- Strained Relations: Reconciling Software Incompatibilities
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9/27/2007
After what seems like quite some time without having much to address in way of "incompatibilities," I recently found myself coping with a couple of real problems that were affecting my productivity in an important volunteer role that I play. At the same time, I made a decision to go along with the recommendation of my employer's IT staff that guarantees me some learning curve issues, along with likely incompatibilities.
- Converged Security: Can Ex-Cops, Propeller Heads, and Bean Counters Make Nice?
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9/14/2007
A growing trend in the corporate sector is to more closely integrate or even merge the oversight of information security, physical security, and fiscal security. Is this trend relevant to higher education? What can we learn from corporate experiences?
- The Collegiate Tech Effect
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9/13/2007
What if you could access a really detailed study of students that focused directly on their use of and attitudes toward information technology? What if part of the study was a survey of nearly 28,000 students from more than 100 institutions, and the results were sliced and diced not only by gender but by institutional Carnegie class? Sounds pretty useful and interesting, eh?
- The Fox and the Hedgehog
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9/6/2007
There's a business management principle known as the "hedgehog concept." The whole thing apparently comes from a Greek poet, Archilochus, who wrote: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Okay, so right away I think, "I want to be a fox!" But, no. Apparently, in the business world, the thing to be is a hedgehog.
- One More Year, and 'The Technology is [Still] the Easy Part!'
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8/30/2007
One of the more challenging parts of working within a higher education institution, especially (but not only) in the information technology arena, is coping with what the students "bring with them" to campus.
- Hacksaw Cuts Road Warriors
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8/10/2007
How much danger can USB flash drives represent to data security? In some cases, considerable.
- The Calm Before the Calm?
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8/9/2007
August is a time of calm for most in the education community. But our students are out there interfacing with the world and getting ready to bring back all sorts of things with them to our campuses when they arrive in the fall. Are we ready?
- Back in the Petrie Dish, but for How Long?
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7/26/2007
Think back a few days. Do you perhaps remember awakening in the middle of the night, totally creeped-out, as though there were something ominous slouching through the darkness....
- Admissions of Guilt
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7/19/2007
One of the discussions I have been in for the last week or two has been about the growing use within academia of MySpace information for what verges on "official" purposes.
- The Pilgrimage to a New Collaborative Learning Environment
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7/17/2007
While CLEs are tools they are also much more than tools; they are tools that are developed, maintained, and financed by an evolving community of investors, educators, and software developers.
- Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Cyber Heart?
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7/13/2007
Universities don't become headlines because a $2,000 computer is hacked or lost. They become headlines when sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, and medical information is stolen. In terms of liability, the asset is not equipment; it is information.
- Prescient Postings
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7/12/2007
Does the Internet predict the future? Are bloggers and wiki posters psychic, delivering news before it happens? Or are traditional media outlets like newspapers and television just getting scooped and refusing to accept that news can occur before they report it?
- Mapping Out the Future of Campus Maps
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6/28/2007
A recent question posed to the college and university webmasters list, UWEBD, asked the list subscribers to share their latest expertise and stories about the production and publication of campus maps. Not surprisingly, the ensuing discussion was enlightening. I'll share some of it here.
- Campus IT Collaboration Evolves
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6/21/2007
Are folks in higher education inherently more collaborative than people elsewhere? As someone who has spent most of his adult life in and around the Academy and views higher education as a good thing, and as someone who views collaboration as a good thing, my "working conclusion" default is that people in higher education are indeed inherently more collaborative than others. On the other hand....
- Forms and Function
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6/14/2007
In life, we all encounter redundant, taxing, and seemingly purposeless forms. At your campus, do your forms serve a purpose? When you ask your users for information, is it information that you actually need? Actually use? Or are you wasting your users' time and needlessly causing frustration?
- Star Power
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6/11/2007
Always forthright and fascinating, Internet2 guru Ken Klingenstein (director, Internet2 Middleware and Security) makes no bones about the many issues IT pros will grapple with as US campuses move into an increasingly connected, globalized, digital environment.
- Disaster Recovery: Personal and Up Close
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6/8/2007
As we move into what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts as an above normal Atlantic hurricane season, this month's column will focus on a little considered aspect of disaster recovery, personal business continuity.
- It's Not Easy Being Red
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6/7/2007
Uh oh, he's going to get all political. Nope. This has nothing to do with red state versus blue state, despite the political season. Nor has it anything to do with communist red, despite the current news about relations between the United States and Russia.
- Raise Your BI IQ
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6/1/2007
Marco Cestaro is the data warehouse administrator in Information Technology Services at Ithaca College (NY). Here, he offers a 10-point checklist to guide your institution's BI strategy.
- Augmenting Reality: Measuring It First
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5/31/2007
When advanced technologies for handheld devices start to take off in the United States, the primary location of their first, most intensive use is going to be on or near college campuses. It's not just me. Google thinks so and in fact might be causing that to happen.
- Summer Snapshot
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5/17/2007
Year after year, teaching, learning, and associated technology challenges shift and evolve as campuses change and the world changes, too. But two things never change: 1) Campus technologists want to help guide their schools to positions of institutional leadership and competitive edge, and 2) Campus technologists are understandably interested in advancing their careers--especially as more and more CIOs join presidential cabinets.
- A New Dimension in 'Printing'
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5/17/2007
What's a 3D Printer? If you already know, then you are probably like my editor, who wrote to me: "I freaking love those printers. The first one that comes down below $1k, I'm buying. I don't care that I have no use for one."
- It's All About Risk
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5/11/2007
The recent shootings at Virginia Tech have focused public attention on the safety of students on our campuses. Just how safe are they anyway?
- Survey Said ...
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5/10/2007
I look forward each year to the EDUCAUSE annual Current Issues Survey Report. There is always something new and interesting, be it the ways in which the survey instrument itself has been shaped to reflect the association’s view of the field or in the results of the survey.
- Instructional Strategies for Blogging
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5/9/2007
While the notion of "finding individual voice" is not new to the learning process, technology such as blogging has presented a unique opportunity for teachers and students to work intentionally at this process. The notion of individual voice, however, is difficult to manage and evaluate.
