The Technological Transition

Digital technology is everywhere in education, and it’s ingrained in virtually every aspect of the planning, operation and management of America’s 130,000-odd schools. It would be ridiculous to think of designing a new school construction without taking the needs of digital technologies into consideration, from networking and wireless to audiovisual equipment to physical security.

Or to think of managing staff and resources without ERP.

Or to think of daily classroom activities without taking into consideration mobility and new technology-driven teaching modalities.

We’ve also been thinking along these lines here at 1105 Media, which is School Planning & Management’s parent company. Previously, our education publications were divided into two groups — the Ed Tech Group and the Spaces4Learning Group. But we recently merged these two operations with the idea of bringing expanded technology coverage to School Planning & Management (SP&M) and our sister publication College Planning & Management (CP&M).

The new group, simply called the Education Group, now consists of SP&M, CP&M, Spaces4Learning, THE Journal, Campus Technology and STEAM Universe, with me as editorial director.

One of the unplanned parts of that move was the retirement of longtime SP&M Editor-in-Chief Jerry Enderle. As our readers are well aware, Jerry had done a fantastic job with SP&M over the years. It now falls on me, as editorial director, to keep up the work he had been doing so well for so long and to move that forward with expanded technology coverage and a new emphasis on technology in our own publications.

More on that in the coming months.

For now, I ask that you, our readers, work with me the way that you worked so long with Jerry, offering your expert input, your ideas, your writing, your support. I’ve met many of you in this sector already at trade shows, and the experience so far has been extremely positive. I look forward to meeting many more of you in the coming years. Please reach out to me at [email protected]. I hope to talk with you soon!

This article originally appeared in the School Planning & Management July/August 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


Featured

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.