Posts by Mark Dempsey
Ten Things We Learned at HI-TEC
I spent four days at the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference (better known as HI-TEC) in Chicago recently. In between my usual administrative duties, I was able to attend seven conference breakout sessions that covered a variety of topics, from program development and best practices to the basics of cloud computing and cyberforensics. Below are…
Read MoreThe internet of things, city-sized
Elizabeth Halweg at Fox Valley Technical College in Wisconsin alerted us to a fascinating, forward-looking webinar provided by Cisco on “Smart Connected Communities.” This 90-minute webinar, intended for Cisco Academies and led by Cisco executive Jared Danaraj, explores how the networked “internet of things” concept can be applied to entire communities. That is, the internet-of-things…
Read MoreGetting industry involved
An engaged business and industry executive group forms one of the cornerstones of the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) strategy for strengthening IT/convergence programs across the country and addressing that industry’s workforce gap. Relying on a “BILT” (Business and Industry Leadership Team) to help steer curriculum makes sure students graduate with in-demand skills. The National…
Read MoreWorking Connections preview
If the days are getting longer and the temperatures hotter, then it must be time for Summer Working Connections. Just like last year, the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) is hosting or supporting three separate Working Connections events with the hope of offering professional development for over 150 IT instructors from schools across the country. …
Read MoreThe power of the portfolio
More and more, the members of the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) National Business and Industry Leadership Team (“BILT”) are stressing the value of IT/convergence student portfolios. At a recent quarterly BILT meeting, this topic came up again. BILT members seem unanimous in their belief that student portfolios are an essential element of a…
Read MoreSTEM continue to boom through 2020
One of the National Convergence Technology Center’s (CTC) sister ATE Centers, the Mid-Pacific Information and Communication Technologies Center (MPICT) alerted us to a new report from the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). This report looked at strategies to improve the computer science pipeline. While the focus was on strengthening K-12 curriculum, creating new pathways, and…
Read MoreReinventing the classroom
A recent Wired cover story by Joshua Davis explored how a neglected elementary school class in Matamoros, Mexico has been transformed through the determination of a single teacher willing to employ new strategies. The article covers familiar ground, listing flaws in the current educational model: …the dominant model of public education is still fundamentally rooted…
Read MoreCalculating the cheapest time to buy airline tickets
If you’re like the staff here at the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC), then you may do quite a bit of traveling to conferences and workshops around the country. There’s a lot of frustrated mutterings and click-clacking of keyboards and mice here when the time comes to buy airplane tickets as we hunt for…
Read MoreInnovations conference by the numbers
Three of us from the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) attended the Innovations conference last week in sunny Anaheim, California. As usual, the conference exposed us to a number of perspectives and insights, covering everything from developmental bridge programs to digital platforms to new pedagogical models. Here’s a rundown of some interesting numbers we learned…
Read MoreA convergence congratulations
Dr. Timur Mirzoev from Georgia Southern University is an esteemed member of the Convergence College Network (CCN), a community of practice here at the National Convergence Technology Center. Timur is not only our “in house” guru on vmWare who frequently teaches in-depth vmWare professional development tracks at our Working Connections events. He’s also responsible for…
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