Information technology (IT) is an essential part of modern education. The roles and contributions of technology to education have been thoroughly documented in academic and professional literature. Despite the benefits, the use of educational technology systems (ETS) also creates a significant impact on the environment, primarily due to energy…

Technology is a critical component in the success of any high-functioning school district, thus it is important that education leaders should examine it closely. Simply put, the purpose of a technology audit is to assess the effectiveness of the technology for administrative or instructional use. Rogers Public Schools in Rogers, Arkansas, recently…

School business administrators have long recognized the need for a workable data recovery plan regardless of cause. Yet many have not reassessed their current data backup and recovery capabilities, perhaps because they have not experienced a catastrophic failure. There are three reasons school business administrators may not realize or recognize…

Mobile technology is a favorite discussion topic among senior IT leaders and higher education administrators. Mobile is the future for content delivery. Colleges and universities need to establish a strategy now and make the decisions necessary to take advantage of this communication opportunity. In this article, the author recommends making…

Many university officials recognize the need to upgrade their older analog video surveillance systems. In a 2010 survey by "Campus Safety" magazine, half of university respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the quality and coverage of their current video surveillance systems. Among the limitations of analog closed-circuit television…

The word "architect" calls to mind a designer of buildings. An architect's job is to develop a structure to fit the client's needs, some of which are conflicting (or seem to be). When it comes to designing a campus network, IT infrastructure architects have a similar function. Like a building architect, an IT architect must develop a…

The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education shares the Governor's concern about the need to prepare students for the 21st century economy. Technology has the power to enhance students' learning, engage them, and ultimately prepare them for the competitive world beyond school. In order to prepare students for their future in this increasingly…

In 1995, Gonzaga University embarked on a project to implement a university-wide information system. The search for an "out-of-the-box" solution began following an attempt to build an integrated data management system in-house. In 1994, Gonzaga decided to look at commercial solutions to its database management problems. With the blessing…

Virtually every academic department in an institute of higher education requires Web presence as a critical component of its information technology strategy. The problem of how to leverage the World Wide Web and build effective and useful departmental Web sites seems to have long been solved. Yet browsing academic Web sites from around the world…

Budgetary constraints are almost a constant challenge confronted by academia. In the case of small colleges and universities, these constraints become even more pronounced when these institutions enhance their programs to meet the needs of their constituents. While in some cases program enhancement might simply be accomplished by hiring new…

Good information security does not just happen--and often does not happen at all. Resources are always in short supply, and there are always other needs that seem more pressing. Why? Because information security is hard to define, the required tasks are unclear, and the work never seems to be finished. However, the loss to the organization can be…