Higher education institutions have had to accelerate their technology usage and investments to better Engage students, ensure Accessibility for all, and to more effectively Assess knowledge and progress, while keeping their data secure. This virtual event will showcase essential ways universities and colleges can embrace technology effectively to improve the student experience in this new blended learning world and address how the decision-making process needs be fast and inclusive to meet market demands.
As a result, Fierce Education is producing “Higher Education: Technology- Profiles in Success, Fall” on Oct. 21, an online-only event for higher education executives, leaders, faculty and IT decision makers. For more information go here.
Agenda:
Opening Keynote: Technology Transformation: Navigating the New Decision-Making Paradigm
The business of higher education is rapidly changing and the way decisions are being made and how technology is being used and implemented is moving fast. With improving student engagement at the core in this new blended learning environment, universities and colleges need to make sure all stakeholders have a voice in the technology and tools being implemented including faculty, administrators and even students. This collaborative process is a paradigm shift for higher education but essential to the successful deployment of new technologies to better the student experience, support instructors and ensure the competitiveness of each institution.
Speaker: Laura Niesen de Abruna, Provost, York College of Pennsylvania
Session 1: Tech Tips: Improving Student Engagement and Assessment
Higher education leaders and instructors have had to take a crash course and embrace new technology tools to better reach and engage their students including through social media. Some got it right, however, many have not. Students are much more receptive to learning via social media platforms, if they are used correctly—from Tik Tock to Instagram to LinkedIn. Assessment and analytics tools are key to measuring progress along the way. Meanwhile, colleges and universities need to ensure any new technology tool can be easily integrated with its LMS without disruption to the system or opening security issues.
Speaker: Justin Nguyen, Founder, DeClassified Media
Session 2: Connectivity: The Backbone of Accessibility and Equity
Higher education institutions are embracing the latest connectivity technology to build a fast, secure, and easy-to-access network to ensure equal access for all students and faculty. Next generation network strategies from Private Wireless Networks with LTE or 5G technology to boost bandwidth speeds or Wi-Fi 6, accessibility is the cornerstone of every campus IT infrastructure. Blended learning is here to stay and all universities and colleges need to ensure they have the proper connectivity solutions to meet the needs of their entire education community—whether they are on campus or not.
Speaker: A. Reza Jafari, Chairman and CEO and Founder of e-Development International
Speaker: Jake Stine, Principal Architect, AT&T Business, Public Sector
Session 3: Security: Protecting University and Student Data from the Network to the Endpoint
Many colleges and universities have had to accelerate the rate of their technology adoption during the past 18 months. They have added tools, applications, opened their networks and further embraced cloud computing technology in an attempt to be more accessible to both students and faculty. However, this rush to deploy has left many higher education institutions vulnerable to phishing and other cyber security attacks. The fact is colleges and universities are now a prime target for malicious hackers. Higher education institutions need solutions and processes that consolidate their bloated software stack to protect its data and ensure student privacy.
Speaker: Jeff Neyland, CIO, University of Texas at Arlington