Podcast Series: Innovations in Education

Explore the full series of eSchool News podcasts hosted by Kevin Hogan—created to keep you on the cutting edge of innovations in education.

The Future of Canvas

Drop the company name Instructure on the average educator and you may get a blank stare in return. Now mention the company’s flagship product Canvas and be ready for a flash of instant recognition. Founded in 2008, Instructure reports having more than 6000 customer organizations with more than 35 million users around the world in both K12 and higher education.

I had the opportunity to attend InStructure Con23 in Denver last month—the company’s first user conference since the pandemic—and met many educators, partner companies, and senior leadership including Chief Product Officer Shiren Vijiasingam, Ryan Lufkin, Vice President of Global Strategy, and CEO Steve Daly. We hit on a number of topics that will affect the way educators and students teach and learn, including post-pandemic behaviors, student security, the pursuit of equitability and education, and the future of hybrid learning. Plus of course, AI, AI and yes, a little more AI. This was the first Innovations podcast recorded in person, but it certainly won’t be the last.

Steve Daly
Ryan Lufkin
Shiren Vijiasingam

More Highlights from InstructureCon23:…Read More

EDUCAUSE 2010 follows top trends in campus IT

EDUCAUSE will bring leading campus technology leaders together.
EDUCAUSE will bring leading campus technology leaders together.

EDUCAUSE 2010 kicks off on Oct. 12 in Anahein, Calif., and will give higher education IT leaders a chance to learn from successful practices and share their own thoughts and ideas on what makes for truly successful technology management on campus.

A panel session on open-source strategies will encourage respectful dialogue across divergent perspectives and experiences in discussing the promise and risks of open source and the strategies employed by technology leaders with diverse approaches.Speakers include John E. Kolb, vice president for information services and technology and CIO at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and John F. Walsh, associate vice president of enterprise software at Indiana University.…Read More

Providing standardized technology for equal student experience

Student with Laptop (300)With the school year at a close, university administrators have a new class of arrivals to look forward to in the fall, and with that a new set of technology dilemmas for campus IT staff.  That was the problem I faced as director of network services at Salve Regina University until we introduced a student laptop program to provide standardized technology for our faculty and students.

Salve Regina was chartered by the State of Rhode Island in 1934, founded under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Mercy as an independent institution built on Catholic educational traditions. The school has grown over the years and now enrolls 2,600 students from 42 states and 17 nations.

The laptop program began as an option for students, but without ensuring all students have an equal technology experience, we lacked the ability to facilitate on-site support, provide a ubiquitous wireless network, and assure consistent student experience and capabilities. By outfitting our campus with standardized technology, including Hewlett-Packard notebooks, desktop PCs, printers, servers, and storage systems, we were able to infuse technology into the academic experience and grow the laptop program into a mandatory experience so all students could benefit.…Read More

New electronic devices could interest schools

The Skiff eReader is among new technologies with implications for education.
The Skiff eReader is among new technologies with implications for education.

New netbooks, tablet computers, and eBook reader devices, as well as fresh developments in television and even a wireless tether to keep cell phones from getting lost, are among the technologies being unveiled this week at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas–technologies that might hold interest for schools and colleges as well.

Small and inexpensive netbooks have been among the most popular computers during the recession, wooing schools and consumers alike with their portability and prices that were often below $400. Now, with the economy improving, computer buyers will be asked to open their wallets to new styles of computers, including some costing a bit more.…Read More