Multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) are gaining momentum as the latest and greatest learning tool in the world of education technology. How does one get started with them? How do they work? This article shares 13 secrets from immersive education experts and educators on how to have success in implementing these new tools and technologies on…

Everyone seems to have a different definition for "Web 2.0," but most people agree the phrase describes a second generation of web-based communities and hosted services that aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing between users. Technically speaking, these new technologies include blogs, wikis, folksonomies…

When it comes to getting the most out of IT, the majority of two-year schools face very real challenges. For starters, community college budgets are generally smaller than those of most four-year schools. Then, of course, there's the issue of refresh: Because students come and go every two years, there's the expectation that schools will…

There's no question that in airports, train stations, and student unions alike, digital signage solutions have become efficient and effective ways of communicating important information directly to broad bases of users. The solutions are affordable; they're eco-friendly; and they're growing in popularity every year. Still, particularly in the…

By this time of the year, springtime rituals are blossoming like begonias, and that's true for higher education, too. Students move inexorably toward the end of another year; professors get ready for summer session; and in campus technology departments, CIOs and other decision-makers furiously set their plans to purchase hardware and software for…

Not that many years back, portals were nothing more than splash pages from which users could click on links to navigate a school's web-based resources. Today, however, they are much more: single sign-on gateways that easily enable users to do everything from pay tuition and view transcripts, to purchase parking permits, and sell used books. Still,…

In this article, the author offers six best practices for physical and data security convergence. These are: (1) assess the cable plant; (2) choose wisely; (3) be patient; (4) engineer for high availability; (5) test the converged network to make sure it works; and (6) don't forget the humans.