CCN (Convergence College Network)
A Look Into the Future of IT
Instructors from Convergence College Network (CCN) member schools recently enjoyed a special treat during the HI TEC conference in Portland, Oregon. NetApp – a multi-billion-dollar data storage and management company with 12,000 employees around the world – arranged a special presentation and facility tour at its new data center in Hillsboro, just 15 minutes west…
Read MoreRide ‘Em, NetRiders
We always like to hear about accomplishments of students from our Convergence College Network (CCN) member schools. Belicia Miraval Albornoz, an instructor at El Centro College in Dallas, send word to us about recent success three of her IT students had at Cisco’s NetRiders competition. NetRiders is an online interactive contest that utilizes Cisco’s web…
Read MoreWhat is the CCN?
The CTC (National Convergence Technology Center) focuses on four areas of Training, Leadership, Student Recruitment and Retention, and Community. Training involves professional development events and resources; leadership is our BILT where we work with business professionals to see the trends in needed skills and abilities they want to see in graduates and how we can…
Read MoreOutside-the-Box Marketing
One discussion at a recent conference call meeting of the Convergence College Network (CCN) involved creative marketing strategies. Every IT program needs to attract students and keep them enrolled, but there’s not always a surplus of budget money or marketing personnel available to help with those efforts. In hearing some of the clever ways our…
Read MoreCross-border Collaboration
Just last week, our very own PI, Dr. Ann Beheler presented at a technology conference unlike any other she has presented at in the past. What was so special about this conference, you may ask? Well, this particular event happened to be in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The Cybera Cyber Summit 2014 was a two day…
Read MoreHow to build a lab on $5 a day
At our summer CCN meeting, Bill Saichek of Orange Coast College, shared some of his secrets on how he was able to get a lot of equipment for his lab, without spending a lot of money. Some of his main strategies include: Acquiring the college’s older hardware Repurposing hardware to do things the manufacturers say…
Read MoreBringing administrators into the conversation
The National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently held its first-ever meeting for Convergence College Network (CCN) administrators. The National CTC has long led an active and engaged group of faculty members, but recently realized it may be helpful to create a new opportunity for discussion at a higher administrative level. The conference call/webinar meeting was…
Read MoreA tree grows in Texas
The Convergence College Network (CCN) began with the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) and just a handful of partner colleges. Back then the CCN was called the Mentored College Network. But as the CTC added more and more colleges, it became necessary to rethink the model. Rather than mentor each college one-on-one, the CTC…
Read MoreGrowing a flower, scaling a program
As part of an Advanced Technology Education (ATE) Center funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Convergence Technology Center (CTC) recently participated in an initiative called Synergy. It’s through that program that we learned tools and processes to scale our Mentored College program, which is now called the Convergence College Network. Through a…
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