Solutions aim to ease ed-tech deployment

Bretford's new Juice power system is an easy way for schools to connect up to eight computers to a single outlet.
Bretford's new Juice power system is an easy way for schools to power up to eight computers from a single outlet.

Flexibility was a key theme at the 2010 InfoComm conference in Las Vegas, North America’s largest audio-visual (AV) technology show, where a number of companies demonstrated products intended to help schools deploy education technology more easily.

With more than 60 years of experience in designing furniture that helps students learn, Bretford showcased a number of solutions aimed at simplifying the integration of technology into the classroom. These included laptop carts that can intelligently sense how much power is needed to charge the units and deliver just enough power to meet these needs, as well as a clutter-free system for delivering power to as many as eight computer workstations from a single electrical outlet.

Bretford also unveiled a first-of-its-kind lectern with a built-in, 40-inch flat-panel display on the front, designed to highlight speaker information or reinforce key lecture concepts, and it announced a contest in which it will give away more than $17,000 worth of classroom furniture to one lucky school.…Read More

New system combines classroom audio, emergency alert

A new system could help campuses respond to emergencies much quicker.
A new system could help campuses respond to emergencies much quicker.

A new classroom product that combines sound amplification, lecture capture, and emergency alert capabilities in a single system could have a big impact on the safety of K-12 and higher-education classrooms.

The Safe Security system, from Panasonic and Audio Enhancement, features a button on a microphone worn around the instructor’s neck that, when pressed, sends a silent alarm to a school’s central offices and to administrators. Once alerted, school leaders have access to a live video feed courtesy of a networked camera inside the classroom, as well as to the audio feed captured on the microphone, and they can immediately assess what type of emergency is occurring in the classroom.

Jeff Anderson, president of Audio Enhancement, said many teachers wear wireless microphones around their necks as part of standard classroom audio systems, and incorporating a built-in security alert system was a logical next step.…Read More

How colleges can drive traffic to their web sites

Colleges should closely track their web site's "bounce rate," Joly said.
Colleges should closely track their web site's "bounce rate," Joly said.

Digital marketing guru Karine Joly told a group of college technology officials that it’s time for them to stop relying on gut instincts when devising ways to increase web traffic and start relying on data that can attract prospective students online.

Joly spoke during a June 8 session at the annual EduComm conference in Las Vegas, where 800 campus IT officials and staffers attended workshops and keynotes addressing the latest in education technology. The conference ended June 9.

Joly, founder of Higher Ed Experts, an online service offering professional development, released a survey in May showing that three out of four university IT officials said they spent fewer than two hours a week on web site analytics, or studying their school’s web site traffic, including who is visiting the site and which search words guide them to the site.…Read More

Video technologies will abound at InfoComm 2010

 

Video technologies such as Cisco's telepresence will be a main conference focus.
Video technologies such as Cisco's telepresence will be a main conference focus.

InfoComm 2010 will showcase integrated display, projection, audio, conferencing, lighting and staging, digital signage, and communications system solutions, June 9-11, 2010, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Marthin De Beer, senior vice president of Cisco’s Emerging Technologies Business Group, will deliver the first InfoComm keynote address on June 8 at the Las Vegas Hilton.  De Beer’s address will cover how leveraging video as the means to collaborate and share information on any device, any place, anywhere, anytime gives businesses competitive and cost-saving advantages.…Read More

LEDs light up InfoComm 2009

School administrators, teachers, and professors were among thousands at the InfoComm audio-video conference in Orlando June 15-19, where technology vendors unveiled the latest in digital signage hardware and software and LED projectors that could prove energy and cost efficient.

Projectors powered by LED (Light Emitting Diodes) technology, rather than the traditional lamp, have displayed longer life and usually require less maintenance than lamps, which often need replaced.

Some companies have introduced LED ultra-portable projectors, which weigh less than 4 pounds apiece, but LED projector costs have proven prohibitive during the current recession, according to an industry report published in March by Insight Media. The report said that lamp projectors could remain popular because they are more affordable, especially for schools and universities that have seen operating budgets slashed in 2009.…Read More