While the numbers may not show concrete evidence of improved academic performance, there is a case to be made for implementing mobile devices in the classroom. Providing every student access to the internet opens a world of learning opportunities. Educational apps and web-based course content are just a few examples of the tools students can access via their mobile devices. These tools enable personalized learning, collaboration and increased engagement both in and outside of the classroom when utilized properly.

Mobile devices have great potential to improve learning when implemented correctly. The following article will discuss the common fears schools face when considering integrating mobile technology into the classroom, and most importantly, how to overcome these fears.

It would be an understatement to say mobile learning is on the rise in K-12 education. Thousands of schools across the country have given students access to mobile devices in order to expand their learning opportunities. For many, utilizing these devices in the classroom is a necessary part of students’ educational experiences.

According to an article written by Darrell M. West, founding director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings, 52 percent of students in grades 6-12 and 51 percent of school administrators believe that having access to a tablet computer is an essential component of their school.

While many schools have taken steps to implement 1:1 and BYOD programs to enable mobile learning for all students, there are still a large amount of schools across the U.S. that are hesitant to allow the use of mobile devices in the classroom.

There are numerous fears that stem from the thought of implementing mobile learning in K-12 classrooms; however there are also many strategies, technologies and tools available to schools that can help alleviate these fears and ensure mobile learning programs reach their full potential.

Fear #1: Distraction

“I think one of the things people are always worried about is if [the technology] is going to be a distraction in class, is it going to affect classroom management,” says Rich Nichols, director of technology at Perry Community School District. “[Teachers say], ‘I’ve got 25 kids in my classroom all on my computer, and I’m instructing so I can’t watch their screens. Are they going to be doing something they shouldn’t be doing that’s prohibiting them from learning?’”

Keeping students on task while utilizing mobile devices to learn can be tricky. When students have access to the internet, they have access to a sea of non-educational websites. Schools, however, can minimize the opportunities students have to access non-educational content on the web through content filtering solutions.

Content filtering solutions allow IT managers and tech specialists

in schools to block students from accessing certain websites. Solutions such as Comodo, an internet security provider, allow schools to manage their mobile devices, filter content and set policies for both school-owned and student-owned devices.

“Schools are responsible for making sure there are strict policies on blocking inappropriate material. The hard part about that is how does the school manage something they don’t own,” says John Peterson, vice president of enterprise product management at Comodo. “With technology such as Comodo, if a device comes onto the network, it is identified as a guest device and it is only allowed to access certain things on the internet. Some organizations call that a guest Wi-Fi solution, where the wireless network is partitioned off so that users have to go through this extra set of filtering before it reaches the internet.”

Comodo also allows IT managers to set policies on what applications can be used on devices, which has been difficult in the past since applications are stored on the device, not on the internet.

Furthermore, classroom management programs such as LanSchool allow IT managers to monitor students’ screens and know when they are navigating away from websites and programs they are supposed to be on.

Whether schools are looking to implement BYOD or a 1:1 pro- gram, it is important to know that there are numerous technologies available that can help minimize distraction in the classroom when students are utilizing mobile devices.

Technology itself, however, will not completely prevent students from becoming distracted on their mobile devices. It’s equally important that educators have a plan as to how they are going to incorporate mobile devices into their lessons plans and curriculum to maximize student engagement in device-based activities.

“The curriculum must be adapted to work in an interactive-student-centric style. When done right, these tools will make the learning experience more meaningful and engaging for students and do not just exist as another thing to distract them from the real work in front of them,” says Robert Detwiler, senior product director for InFocus, in an email response.

Fear #2: Security

Bringing mobile devices into the classroom, especially in BYOD environments, always poses the risk of schools’ networks being hacked or infected with malware. When students visit unsafe sites on their devices, they risk infecting the school’s network and even risk private data being stolen. These security fears are legitimate, but there are ways to minimize these threats.

Just as Comodo and other internet security providers allow schools to set policies that block students from visiting distracting sites, they can also block students from visiting unsafe sites.

“Creating policies on network access blocks adult material, online games and the spread of malware. So if users are visiting sites and they click on something, the school can ensure that those machines won’t get infected with a virus,” says Peterson.

Perhaps equally important as setting a BYOD or 1:1 network policy is teaching students digital citizenship and how to be responsible when searching the web.

“There’s absolutely a need to educate students on network security and the importance of it- what things they should be clicking on and what things they shouldn’t be clicking on and what the potential risks are,” says Peterson.

When students understand the risks and threats out there on the web, as well as the consequences of those threats, they are more likely to navigate the web responsibly.

Fear #3: Cost

K-12 school districts’ budgets are already tight, and implementing 1:1 programs are expensive. Many educators fear that the benefits of investing in mobile devices won’t outweigh the costs. While this has proven true for some school districts, there are thousands of school districts that have successfully expanded learning opportunities through the implementation of mobile devices.

The success of 1:1 and BYOD programs rely heavily on adequate planning and preparation. If schools don’t have a firm understanding as to how they are going to use the devices to improve learning and education, then mobile devices simply become just another material in the classroom.

“The cost of [mobile devices] is big. We spent almost $500,000 on laptops. That could be teachers, that could be facilities, so we have to understand that this is money that could be used somewhere else, so we have to know what we want to see out of it,” says Nichols.

It’s important for schools to take a look at the learning goals they want to achieve and how mobile devices will help them to achieve those goals. This may mean reaching out to other schools that have success- fully implemented 1:1 or BYOD programs and learning their strategies for leveraging the devices in the classroom. Educators should also take the time to figure out how often they will be looking to use the devices in the classroom. Just because students have access to mobile devices all day, doesn’t mean they have to be in constant use in the classroom.

“Our big philosophy here was to make sure that the teachers didn’t feel forced to have them be used every day. If it doesn’t fit [in the lesson plan], don’t use it,” says Nichols. “That’s been our mantra and I think that’s helped with the adoption process because people feel more comfortable.”

Schools can also consider starting with pilot programs for a specific grade or classroom, rather than an entire school. Starting slow with technology integration can help schools figure out any technical issues or challenges with the devices before spending a large amount of money on thousands of devices. Once the pilot program proves to be successful, then schools can consider implementing more devices.

Fear #4: Failure

Perhaps the most common fear school districts face when considering implementing mobile devices is the fear of failure. Will a 1:1 program or BYOD truly help students learn more? Will it truly enhance student learning?

“It’s difficult because statistically, the data doesn’t show any real academic gains from a 1:1,” says Nichols.

While the numbers may not show significant academic gains yet, 1:1 programs and BYOD are still relatively new concepts. Adjustments will continue to be made both in the tech world and inside school districts to help make these programs successful.

Integrating technology in classrooms is necessary to help students build the 21st century skills needed in the workforce. Coding, programming, and other STEM related skills are needed to keep up with a highly innovative and technical world. Without technology in schools, students will not have the opportunity to build on these critical skills.

The fact of the matter is, technology is not going away. It is a part of students’ lives whether it is being utilized for learning or not.

“The reality is, students, especially in high school, are already bringing in these devices to school,” says Detwiler. “It’s up to the school leaders to determine how to embrace the learning opportunities and online resources that the devices enable.”

While BYOD and 1:1 programs may not be right for every school, they have certainly opened up numerous opportunities for schools across the nation.

“I think right now, if we were to try to stop the 1:1 we’d have an uproar of teachers and students saying we need this. I think it’s now a need as opposed to something nice to have,” says Nichols.

Integrating mobile devices into the classroom is certainly scary, but when schools are adequately prepared and execute these programs successfully, 1:1 learning and BYOD have great potential to expand learning opportunities and help students’ build necessary skills to succeed in the classroom and beyond.

This article was originally posted in 2016.

The post Making a Case for Mobile Learning in K-12 Schools appeared first on My TechDecisions.

According to wccbcharlotte.com, hackers were able to flood these popular sites with so much traffic through the IoT that the sites simply couldn’t handle it, and were forced to shut down.

If a hack like this can happen once, it most certainly can happen again (and already has), so how can you protect your business and the solutions you provide your clients from getting hacked?

Tip 1: Best Practices Don’t Work

“Best practices were the worst thing that happened to cyber security,” said Theresa Payton, former chief information officer of the White House and founder and CEO of Fortalice Solutions, a Charlotte-based cyber security firm, at the 2017 PSNI Super Summit in Dallas, Texas. “Checklists don’t stop bad things from happening.”

While checklists and best practices have been implemented in tech departments and companies across the globe, they haven’t actually protected companies from cyber threats.

“We always talk about reducing risk, but things have actually gotten worse,” said Payton. “You have to ask yourself, since we’ve now had three attacks using the IoT, will you be ready?”

Tip 2: Implement Lessons that Will Make a Difference

Payton offered the following tips for protecting your company and your clients’ data.

1. What data and network information matters most? You cannot protect it all and you cannot treat every digital asset you have as the same, so companies must decide what is top priority when it comes to protecting their digital assets.
2. Identify your “POTUS” and “VP” assets. The President and Vice President are the White House’s top priorities when it comes to protecting the government. Make sure you know what assets and information represent your “POTUS” and “VP.”
3. Practice digital disaster. What if the worst happens? Replay the attack of Oct 21 and assume it was your devices attacked. Implement your digital disaster strategy, see how it works and make adjustments where necessary.

Tip 3: Use the White House Strategies As a Guide

Payton shared the top four actions taken at the White House to protect their network and data.

1. Admit all security is defeatable.  Payton said to think about storing your data differently, such as what you would do with your jewelry when you go away for vacation. You might hide it in a safe or drawer. Do the same with you data and store it in places that may be more protected from hacking than others.
2. Understand adversarial targeting. “Who would want to steal my data? Who would want to embarrass me and make my life miserable?” asked Payton. Companies need to identify who would want to get access to their data. Once that person is identified, Payton said companies should create a profile of them and share that profile with their security teams. “Go to your security team and have them act as if they are your company’s adversary.” Payton advised to not disrupt operations, but to try out this tactic to see how prepared your company really is for a cyber attack.
3. Be on the offensive. “This is vital with the IoT,” said Payton. “If a device is behaving badly, (Wi-Fi is connecting weirdly, etc.) [the White House] has permission to ‘kill first, ask questions later.’ Get that permission.” Payton warned, however, that companies need to be careful in doing this, as “it could make you wildly unpopular with your customers and executives. But it’s the difference between someone probing you and someone breaching you.”
4. Plan ahead. Don’t wait for an attack to happen to implement a plan. Develop a plan as to how your company would respond to a digital disaster and regularly rehearse that plan.

This article was originally posted on sister site Commercial Integrator.

The post Cyber Security Tips From a White House CIO appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Did Facebook come to mind? What about Uber? Alibaba? Airbnb?

Even if you didn’t name the aforementioned companies, it’s likely you’re familiar with or have even been a customer to these businesses at some point.

These companies represent the epitomy of what other businesses strive for—success and growth. But what made these businesses so successful, so magnetic? What has differentiated them from other start-ups, other innovative product ideas and offerings?

To put it simply, these four companies have challenged traditional business models and transformed the way people engage in commerce through the use of the cloud.

“All of these businesses have started to eat into traditional business models and reinvent the whole experience at lightning speed at massive scale,” said Julian Phillips, executive vice president of Whitlock, during a session titled “How the Cloud Is Transforming Business,” at the Whitlock Convergence Event 2016. “This [transformation] wouldn’t have happened with traditional IT technology. These business models are dependent on a mobile device connected to a cloud.”

Phillips pointed out that all four companies don’t own key assets. For example, Facebook doesn’t own its content, Alibaba doesn’t own its inventory, and Airbnb doesn’t own any buildings. These companies have challenged core traditional business models through the cloud, and Phillips says the rest of the business world better take note.

“These kinds of business models are starting to have a major impact…every aspect of what’s happening in this digital transformation is affecting your business,” warned Phillips.

Phillips said that companies need not only to start thinking about transitioning to the cloud, but also start thinking of the term in plural form, as there are many different “clouds” available.

“There are different cloud models and infrastructures that will not make you risk entering a public, insecure cloud,” said Phillips.

Whitlock is one company that has moved some of its business to “a” cloud. Its V-Series of virtual solutions for meeting rooms, endpoints, infrastructure, scheduling and streaming, are all in a cloud.

For businesses with traditional business models, transitioning to a cloud or clouds may seem daunting and costly, but Phillips says businesses need to focus less on the cost and more on what the cloud could mean for the future of their business.

“[For Whitlock] cost was a factor, but what was more important is it improved business agility, speed of implementation and deployment, and faster delivery of new features and functions. It’s not about the cost, it’s about the impact it has on our business,” said Phillips.

Phillips added that business agility and business productivity are the two factors businesses should look at most when looking to adopt cloud-based business models.

The cloud is certainly nothing new, but perhaps now more than ever it has become a necessary part of business, and companies are beginning to catch on.

According to Microsoft and IDC, greater cloud spending will exceed $500 billion by 2020.

“The message for us all is if we want to grow and have agility, then we need to look to the cloud,” said Phillips.

The post Growing Businesses Should Keep Their Heads in the Cloud appeared first on My TechDecisions.

From projectors to interactive displays, document cameras and digital signage, most college lecture halls and classrooms provide educators and students with AV technology to help improve the education experience.

As great as technology is for teaching and learning, there are, of course, some technical challenges that arise when deploying and implementing multiple types of technologies and systems.

Illinois State, for example, was recently challenged with finding a solution that would allow faculty to easily switch between different video sources in 320 classrooms.  In 2009, the University began implementing more tech systems into its classrooms, and wanted to ensure incident rates didn’t rise as more technology was installed.

The University found its solution in Kramer’s presentation switchers and scalers. After installing Kramer’s VP-728 9–Input ProScale Presentation Scaler/Switcher, VP-730 Presentation Switcher/Scaler, and VP-773A 8–Input HDMI & HDBaseT ProScale Presentation Switcher/Scaler with 2K support and audio power amplifier, Illinois State was able to convert all of the 320 classrooms to digital capabilities, while reducing system incident rates.

“As we ramped up our responsibilities, the number of times we had to go in and revisit rooms just kept dropping,” says Doug Smith, director, learning spaces and audio/visual technologies at Illinois State University. “The impact has been staggering.”

The Kramer switchers have allowed Smith to provide faculty with a standard set up and list of equipment for each classroom.

“[Faculty] has the exact same set up [in each room] where they can go from room to room and know what’s going to be there, such as a computer, document camera and the like, and Kramer has the switching core. We put a standard user interface in and they know that if they press ‘computer’, the magic happens and the computer shows up on their projector, and they don’t have to think about it,” says Smith.

Even though the number of rooms Smith and his team manage has skyrocketed since 2009, the incident rate has plummeted. Smith also says the Kramer solution has saved the University money on top of reducing incident rates.

“The product is rock-solid, the [Kramer] support is rock-solid and [the solution] saves me money every time I turn around,” says Smith.

The post How Illinois State Made AV Implementation Easy in 320 Different Classrooms appeared first on My TechDecisions.

How do you do it?

Sure, you could have the employee shadow you during the actual installation and have them learn from your own work, but it may be too risky to hand over any responsibilities to them when they are brand new to the technology.

You could try to teach them the installation process through images, diagrams and videos, but without hands-on application, this method can only teach a new employee so much.

Lucky for you and every other business out there, Microsoft has developed a virtual solution that is bound to transform the way employees are trained.

Microsoft’s HoloLens is a holographic computer that enables users to interact with high definition holograms in their own world, creating what Microsoft calls “mixed reality”.

Mixed reality is defined as the merging of real world and virtual worlds to produce a new environment where physical and digital objects can co-exist and interact.

The Microsoft HoloLens

“HoloLens is bringing forth a new medium, a new paradigm of mixed reality, where for the first time in our history, we have the ability to take the analog world and superimpose in it digital artifacts and create this mixed reality. You can be anywhere, from anywhere,” said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, at the company’s Worldwide Partner Conference.

With HoloLens, trainees can bring an extremely realistic holographic image of, say, a giant video wall, directly into an office, training facility, school, university, or anywhere else training may take place, and allows them to interact with the object to learn its functions, applications and other information needed to do their jobs.

“Mixed reality has proven to increase the speed and the quality of learning, and with Microsoft HoloLens, employees can experience realistic, 3D training at scale, integrated with their exisiting productivity tools,” said Lorraine Bardeen, general manager of Windows and HoloLens Apps & Strategy, at the Worldwide Partner Conference.

During this year’s conference, Nadella, Bardeen, and Arantxa Lasa Cid, program director of HoloLens Apps & Strategy, demonstrated just how the HoloLens will transform employee training.

The HoloLens is commercial ready and shipping today. Click here for more information.

The post How This New ‘Mixed Reality’ Microsoft Innovation Will Change Employee Training Forever appeared first on My TechDecisions.

The Singapore American School (SAS) is an independent, non-profit, coeducational college preparatory day school for students in preschool through grade 12.

The auditorium’s acoustics were extremely inadequate, leaving performers unable to hear each other on stage. Furthermore, it was difficult for the audience to hear instruments or voices during unamplified performances. With SAS offering a diverse curriculum in the performing arts and utilizing the auditorium frequently, the school needed to find a solution that would vastly improve its acoustics.

SAS aimed to find technology that was cost effective and flexible. The school consulted with Singapore’s Coda Group for a solution that would meet it needs. The Coda Group recommended the Meyer Sound Constellation acoustic system, the first of the venerable audio company’s advanced active acoustics systems to be installed in an Asian day school.

The Constellation system is built around a D-Mitri digital audio platform that hosts patented VRAS acoustical algorithms.

Acoustical ambience is captured by 38 microphones, and the enhanced acoustical response is delivered through via 200 speakers over the auditorium’s stage and audience, including MM-4XP self-powered, UP-4XP, UPM-1P loudspeakers, UPJunior and UPJ-1XP VariO loudspeakers, Stella-4 installation loudspeakers and UMS-1P and UMS-1XP subwoofers.

The digital audio new system also integrated seamlessly with a Meyer Sound direct reinforcement system provided earlier by the Coda Group that employs M1D line array loudspeakers and M1D-Sub subwoofers.

Spectrum Audio Visual of Singapore was hired as the systems integrator for the installation. The project proved to be challenging, as precise placement of the loudspeakers and ambient sensing microphones was critical to achieve the desired effect. The integrator also had to pay careful attention to cabling, as one polarity reversal among dozens of loudspeakers could cause confusion and lost time during the calibration procedure.

While placement of the loudspeakers posed a challenge to Spectrum Audio Visual, other aspects of the installation went smoothly due to the loudspeakers’ IntelligentDC technology, exclusive from Meyer Sound. With IntelligentDC, power for the amplifiers is delivered as DC voltage from a remote rack-mount signal distribution and power supply unit, so the integrator only needed to run a single five-conductor cable for balanced audio and power.

All of the loudspeakers in the Constellation system are self-powered, with amplification and processing built into the enclosure.

The Constellation system provided the school the flexibility it needed by allowing complete control of reverberation times as well as control of the balance between early reflections and late reverberations in addition to rebalancing frequencies within the reverberation envelope.

This allows for the custom tailoring of presets that, for example, can reinforce early reflections for greater speech intelligibility or accentuate bass frequencies in late reverberations for an enhanced “cathedral” effect. This enabled SAS to optimize the acoustics for any type of event or performance.

“Much as you can operate lighting to get someone’s attention on something, you can also change the focus of what they’re hearing,” explains Paul Koebnick, assistant theater manager and teacher at SAS. “Students responsible for sound operations can change the sound settings in the middle of a show.”

The Constellation system has enabled performers to hear others on stage clearly, and audience members no longer struggle to hear details of conversations or performances on stage.

Because the digital audio solution required no architectural changes to the auditorium, it also proved to be less expensive than drapes or resonant chambers.

Perhaps most importantly, the Constellation system has allowed students to explore the science of acoustics. The advanced digital technology that makes up the Constellation system offers an educational opportunity for students who are studying theater technical systems to develop and apply calibrated sound settings to different types of performances.

The digital audio system enables students to learn principles behind processor sound sampling and optimizing reverberation, helping them build an understanding of how acoustics affect the experience of drama, musical theater, and other types of performances.

“As a school, we have a bold vision to be a world leader in education, cultivating exceptional thinkers, prepared for the future,” says Dr. Chip Kimball, superintendent of SAS.

“Constellation allows us to be that world leader; it truly is the epitome of excellence. Our students and our staff are tremendous performers and talented individuals, and they work very hard to perfect their craft. The acoustic system shines light on their art. This auditorium is a special place; these kids are going to do amazing things in their lives.”

The post Digital Audio Shines Light on Singapore Students’ Talent appeared first on My TechDecisions.

It’s also safe to say that most people don’t hold retirement parties for old technology.

But, of course, there are always some exceptions.

The Lexington Herald-Leader recently reported that “Big Bertha”, Rupp Arena’s enormous 39-year-old, 20-foot-long sound system was taken down during a private ceremony attended by dozens of current and former Rupp staff members, including Big Bertha’s designer, Merrill Richardson.

Without access to computer modeling back in 1976, Richardson, director of facilities administration, designed Big Bertha using scale models.

“A scale model built of Bertha was set up in a scale model of Rupp Arena,” said Bill Owen, president and CEO of Lexington Center Corp., in the article.

“The designers took a flashlight and shined through the horns to make sure that every seat gets an even sound level. I don’t know of another building 39 years old that has its original PA system. There may be one out there, but I don’t know about it. It’s a tribute to Merrill and his ingenuity, and his ability to design a system that is going to deliver 100 decibels of sound to every seat in this place.”

According to the article, Big Bertha will take crews more than a day to dismantle.

Big Bertha will be replaced by a new, center-hung scoreboard with LED viewing screens on all four sides. A flexible new sound system will be installed with the new scoreboard and will have the ability to deliver higher-quality sound that can change depending on the event. Made by Daktronics, the new scoreboard will arrive in September and will take over a month to build and install.

While Bertha was once state-of-the-art, the advancement of technology over the past 39 years eventually sent it into retirement, but Richardson isn’t too upset.

“I am thankful that we are replacing it and getting a better system,” said Richardson in the article. “They said you couldn’t put 100 decibels to every seat in the house, and we proved them wrong.”

The new scoreboard is expected to be in full operation by the start of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball season.

Watch the video below from the Lexington Herald-Leader to see the last lowering of Big Bertha at Rupp Arena.
http://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/article76604067.html/video-embed

The post Somber Ceremony Pays Respect to Outdated AV Before Celebrating Its Replacement appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Just recently, University Hospital Ulm began using a state-of-the-art dental simulation clinic to provide top-notch training to dental students.

Equipped with multimedia technology from EBS, a manufacturer of multimedia training solutions, students at University Hospital Ulm are now benefiting from highly technical workstations that allow them to not only practice dentistry, but also simultaneously receive training.

Each of the 42 simulation workstations are equipped with a replica of the human head, as well as a monitor, PC and the latest generation of EBS’s “alphadidact Digital” training system. In each of the 36 lab workstations, large-screen displays have been installed.

EBS’s system crosslinks the simulation workstations and lab workstations, as the multimedia technology facilitates image transmission of digital cameras and microscopes to the monitors of the individual workstations, as well as to projectors and large-screen displays.

In addition to video display technology, audio technology broadcasts sounds from a microphone to headphones or speakers. Live demonstrations and footage can be transmitted in high-resolution to each display instantly through the simple push of a button, supporting lecturers during training and simulation of dental problems. Other functions also offer the lecturer instructional support during trainings.

According to an EDUCAUSE press release, the multimedia training system is highly reliable and easy to use.

With the installation of EBS’s multimedia technology, students can be trained simultaneously at each workstation and track teacher and fellow student presentations in real time. According to the press release, the eye-hand coordination, which is particularly important in dentistry, is intensely trained by means of the multimedia training system as well.

The post Inside One of the Most Innovative Dental Simulation Clinics in the World appeared first on My TechDecisions.

While the community has enjoyed the arena for decades, it became clear this past year that the arena’s audio system was in need of an upgrade.

“The old system was very 80s. It had a couple of really large, heavy power amps that generated a lot of heat for very little return,” says Brian Baumann, A/V systems design engineer at Soundworks Systems, Inc., the integration firm hired to design and install the new audio system. “There were four speakers in a cluster in the middle of the rink that just blasted out sound in every direction. It made lots of noise but you couldn’t understand a word that was said because of the reflections off of the glass, concrete walls and wooden bleachers. There was a lot of noise but no intelligibility.”

Located just a mile down the road, Soundworks Systems, Inc. was hired to install a Powersoft loudspeaker solution into the arena. The project included the installation of two amplifier models, Powersoft’s Ottocanali and Deucanali amplifiers.

“The real star here is the Ottocanali 12K4 model which has eight channels of amplification. It has enough power of each channel to run the speakers that we put in, which were One System’s 112IMs,” says Baumann. “In one, two space amplifier I have eight channels of amplification or zones, and I have ten zones total.”

Powersoft’s Duecanali powers the ninth zone which amplifies sound on the ice and the tenth zone which amplifies the concession area and locker rooms.

The installation of the new audio system went smoothly, although Soundworks did have to do some problem-solving.

“In order to get all of the wattage available out of the amplifier, it needed a 240 volt power from the wall, and everything that existed in this system was 120,” says Baumann. “So we had to call an electrician to come in and run a circuit. Fortunately, Powersoft built in a low voltage relay on the back of the amplifier that I could pretty easily wire into the existing 120 volt sequencer with just a simple 120 volt relay closure.”

For other arenas, gymnasiums and auditoriums looking to implement an audio solution such as Powersoft’s, it’s important for project leaders, especially those unfamiliar with audio technology, to communicate with integrators as to the goals they are trying to achieve with the new installation.

“When it comes to the education arenas, what we often find is there seems to be a fear of audio from an educator’s side. It’s really important to communicate with the integrator as to how you’re using the space and to ensure the system gives you the results you need,” says Baumann.

With the installation of Powersoft’s Ottocanali and Deucanali amplifiers, players and fans can now clearly hear announcements during games and performances at Willett Ice Arena. According the Baumann, the project was a success.

“The feedback we’ve received has been mostly from venue manager Bob Gregorich and it’s all been positive.”

The post Community Ice Arena Gets Complete Audio Transformation with Powersoft Amplifiers appeared first on My TechDecisions.

Wbaltv.com recently reported that Loyola Blakefield, an all-boys college preparatory school located in Towson, Maryland, is extending cybersecurity education to students through a cybersecurity club that teaches them skills, ethics and other responsible cyber behavior.

“Tech’s the easy part right?” said Steve Morrill, director of technology and cyber science at Loyola Blakefield. “I can teach technology to anybody. It’s presenting it in the bigger picture that I think these guys are going to walk away with to understand cyber touches every industry, everywhere.”

The cybersecurity club meets before school and is now in its fourth year.

With technology playing such a vital role in students’ learning experiences, providing cybersecurity education to students is more necessary than ever before. Cybersecurity clubs such as Loyola Blakefield’s are a great way to bring students together who are interested in learning cybersecurity, but cyber education needs to reach all students, not just those who are intrigued by it.

When schools are implementing new technology, teaching responsible digital citizenship and the threats the web can pose to a school’s network is just as important to the success of a technology initiative as teacher training and professional development. Students are now being granted ownership of devices and are using various web-based learning tools and apps that often collect student data to track and measure achievement. If a network were to be hacked into, this sensitive data is at risk of being stolen.

In order to prevent malware and cyberattacks, students need to learn the risks of cyberspace, as well as how to responsibly navigate the web.

To learn more about cybersecurity and protecting student data, check out this guide.

The post Why Cybersecurity Education Needs to Be Extended to Students appeared first on My TechDecisions.