The industry-wide emphasis on cloud computing has created a new focus in Information Systems (IS) education. As the demand for graduates with adequate knowledge and skills in cloud computing is on the rise, IS educators are facing a challenge to integrate cloud technology into their curricula. Although public cloud tools and services are available…

This is the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Association for Educational Communications and Technology (HKAECT; see http://www.hkaect.org/). The silver anniversary annual meeting will be held at the University of Hong Kong December 8--10, with the theme of the conference being "Communication and Education: New Media, Knowledge Practices, and…

In today's high-pressure IT world, almost every opportunity comes hidden inside a problem. And when it comes to "greening" a data center, the problems can be especially daunting, given institutional inertia, budgetary concerns, politics, and more. For CIOs looking to notch up a win with a leaner, greener data center, the key to success often lies…

In many ways, specialized computer labs are the black holes of IT organizations. Budgets, equipment, employees--even space itself--are sucked in. Given a choice, many IT shops would engage warp drive and escape their gravitational pull forever. While Captain Kirk might have looked to Scotty for a fix to the problem, colleges and universities are…

As computational modeling plays an increasingly central role in biochemical research, it is important to provide students with exposure to common modeling methods in their undergraduate curriculum. This article describes a series of computer labs designed to introduce undergraduate students to energy minimization, molecular dynamics simulations,…

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) seeks to foster a community that produces sustainable solutions in all facets of campus life: (1) teaching; (2) research; (3) service; and (4) administrative operations. The university strives to model the three tenets of sustainability (environmental preservation, economic prosperity, and social equity for…

Student computing is now mobile. For college students across the nation, convenient access to information--anytime, anywhere, on demand--has become not only a priority, but a necessity. To successfully serve the needs of this current generation of students, colleges and universities must recognize the trend and align services accordingly.…

Colleges are looking for ways to cut costs, and most students now own laptops. As a result, many campus technology leaders are taking a hard look at those brightly lit rooms with rows of networked computers, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to maintain. More than 11% of colleges and universities are phasing out computer labs or…

A decade ago, people wanting to practice "green computing" recycled their printer paper, turned their personal desktop systems off from time to time, and tried their best to donate old equipment to a nonprofit instead of throwing it away. A campus IT department can shave a few watts off just about any IT process--the real trick is planning and…

In the tug-of-war between researchers and IT for supercomputing resources, a centralized approach can help both sides get more bang for their buck. As 2010 began, the University of Washington was preparing to launch its first shared high-performance computing cluster, a 1,500-node system called Hyak, dedicated to research activities. Like other…

North Carolina State University may never build another computer lab. Instead the university has installed racks of equipment in windowless rooms where students and professors never go. This article describes a project called the Virtual Computing Lab. Users enter it remotely from their own computers in dormitory rooms or libraries. They get all…

Lourdes College is a small, private, coeducational commuter college located in northwest Ohio. In early 2009, the Lourdes College Board of Trustees ratified a new strategic plan promoting institutional strength and sustainability over the next six years. The desired outcome was to make Lourdes College a stronger, more vibrant, even more socially…

With classroom Internet access nearly universal in public schools and computers ubiquitous on every school and university campus, classroom furnishings have evolved to accommodate the machines so students can take full advantage of the technology. The desks, tables and other furniture that a school chooses for its computers will depend on the…

Educational institutions that wish to implement a specialized teaching laboratory often have a variety of obstacles to overcome. Some of these obstacles are related to adapting existing classroom infrastructure, building the laboratory, and meeting the demands for multiple-use classrooms to maximize the return on investment. In some cases, such as…

The Ministry of Higher Education in the Sultanate of Oman initiated recently a restructuring program for the General Directorate Colleges of Education aiming to replace the existing six colleges with more applied and highly IT assisted institutions. A particular emphasis is directed towards improving the learning methods by developing and…