Education IT News For VARs — December 23, 2013
In the news, the school security equipment demand is expected to grow, Common Core standards drive technology upgrades, and mobility and BYOD is becoming more important at higher education institutions.
Survey Reveals Demand For School Security Equipment Growing
A Security Info Watch article provides comment on the recent IHS survey that forecasts growth in the demand for security equipment in schools. IHS projects the market will read $634 million in 2013 and will grow to more than $720 million in 2014. The article quotes Blake Kozak, senior analyst at IHS who says events such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy “force schools to review existing policies and create threat assessments as well as new policies and procedures.”
Common Core Standards Driving Technology Upgrades
As schools adopt and implement Common Core standards, their technology needs change. A westsideconnect.com article shows how one school district defined and implemented its new tech tools. A Thousand Oaks Acorn article tells how another school district has decided to boost its IT staff.
BYOD In Higher Education Facilities Growing, All Policies Not In Place
An Education Dive article reports Sprint Higher Education conducted the 2013 “Mobility in Higher Education Survey.” Sprint asked CIOs about smartphone use and bring your own device (BYOD) policies at their schools. Key findings of the report include that only 24 percent of institutions have BYOD policies, but 74 percent say mobility and BYOD has increased in the past year. The CIO’s biggest concern with BYOD is security.
App Facilitates Library Use
The Tulsa City-County Library has developed a mobile app that enables users to scan a book’s barcode and see it the library owns a copy, access eBooks, and submit an application for a library card.
Education IT Talking Points
A Silicon Valley Business Journal article lists the five biggest challenges in education technology. Salman Khan of Khan Academy begins the list with expanding access to education, touting the possibilities of online courses. Andrew Ng of Coursera says the second challenge will be to improve mobile interfaces to bring those courses to students without easy access to computers. They round out the list with motivating students to complete massive open online courses (MOOCs), melding MOOCs with the classroom, and finding acceptance for MOOCs as job credentials among prospective employers.
Forbes contributor Peter High of Metis Strategy says the field of education technology is in its infancy, but it is growing fast. He says rising costs and changing needs are resulting in creative solutions, such as MOOCs.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Education IT Resource Center.