Checking in from EDUCAUSE 2015

Hello from EDUCAUSE 2015! I’m checking in from Indianapolis to share a little bit about what has been discussed so far. Yesterday, I heard an excellent general session from Daniel Pink, had the chance to attend multiple sessions on everything from the affordability of course materials to the personalization of the student experience, and spoke to multiple educators and IT professionals about trends they’re seeing in the education technology space.

One of the biggest things that everyone is talking about this year is online learning. EDUCAUSE named e-learning and online education one of its top 10 information technology (IT) issues, and multiple sessions discussed how to best approach the trend. One key takeaway is how e-learning will help engage a new type of student, but presenters stressed that online learning is much more than simply putting your regular course material online—it is a new way of reaching students. I also heard in one session that online education must be both scalable and well-sourced to be successful. It is this insight from technology companies and educational institutions that make EDUCAUSE such a great show!

Building off of the concept of online learning was the much-buzzed-about topic of mobile device management. Data shows that students are on their phones more than ever, and educators are trying to figure out how to best harness mobile devices for use in their classrooms and how to integrate them into the curriculum.

And the undercurrent to both of these ideas is something that we’re passionate about here at Cisco: security. When EDUCAUSE presented their top 10 IT issues for 2016, information security was number one on the list. And for good reason – while the benefits from connected classrooms and e-learning are huge, this interconnectedness also greatly increases the risk of security breaches. Hacks of information in the education world often start from phishing scams, and schools need holistic and agile solutions to help secure their networks and protect their data.

That’s just scratching the surface of what’s being talked about here at EDUCAUSE. Other sessions covered everything from women in higher education IT to envisioning the future of the CIO to how the CIO can collaborate with faculty and administrators to optimize education technology. The Cisco team and I are looking forward to another full day of learning here in Indiana, and will be sharing much more about our key takeaways in a wrap-up blog post after the event concludes. If you’re at EDUCAUSE this year, stop by booth #1302 to say hello to our Cisco team, and make sure to follow along on social media using #EDU2015 and #CiscoEDUCAUSE!