What is the classroom of the future? It's flexible in furniture and format. It's loaded with technology that assists the learning process. It's an extension of the outdoors. It's a community space. It's designed for independent or
While multitasking/multipurpose spaces have always been a part of K12 facilities, they are becoming more and more prevalent in higher education settings. Flexible audio/visual systems allow large rooms to successfully host a variety of events from s
The community school movement certainly favors conventional community school notions, but it goes far beyond convention. This movement envisions schools as hubs for a long list of community services designed not only to improve the education offered by th
- By Michael Fickes
- 03/01/11
The right building system choice can save a college or university a significant amount of time and money. The wrong system can suck up funds, energy, and man-hours. Here, we take a look at some of the current trends in building systems.
- By Danielle Przyborowski
- 03/01/11
Intentionally Christian, purposefully urban, and purposefully multicultural, North Park University in Chicago anticipates more enrollment growth in the future. While a diverse, urban campus have helped the University, a restructuring of tuition and financ
- By Christine Beitenhaus
- 03/01/11
In school parlance, demographic studies essentially mean projecting the number of students likely to be enrolled in the district and individual schools next year and over a period of five to 10 years. The simplest and most effective way to do that is call
Something hard for a baby boomer to use is easy for the young digital natives that are in school trying to learn how to think and reason their way out of a project. What works for a person or a small group of people in an intimate setting on the park benc
- By Steven J. Thorburn
- 03/01/11
The key to risk management is heightened awareness. If schools take the time to educate faculty about updates in technology, such as Ultrasurf, potential problems can be minimized. The time is now, as the worst can be avoided by informing teachers before
It is not a focus on standardization that will make our students succeed. It is cultivating their individuality, their creativity and their ability to look at things differently. Just knowing what everybody else knows will not cut it in today's world
From meetings and discussions with community college leaders nationwide these themes of opportunity and challenge are consistent: changing perception, providing accessibility, raising the bar, making education affordable, designing spaces so that communit
Clearly, education is changing on many levels the addition of technology, the advent of online education, the accessibility and ubiquity of information, the comfort level of students and professors in using technology, the delivery of education, th
Security technology and IT have converged, but there are three steps to the process: personal relationships between the security director and the IT director, an IT director to guide the installation of security technology on a campus network, and the IT
- By Michael Fickes
- 03/01/11
Part of the all-hazards planning process involves a recognition of the hazards that must be addressed for your organization's geographic location. No community is immune to these types of threats. Though the risk to most specific communities from rad
The Hillsborough County School District, in Tampa, is the ninth largest in the country. We have created and implemented the following mechanical engineering systems for our school buildings to provide consistent and dependable indoor air quality, reduce c
- By Ernest MacFerran
- 03/01/11
While most schools have been using video for years now, most are still not using it to its full potential. Centralizing the management and monitoring of video is the first step to its strategic utilization, which provides superintendents and district-leve
Under very tight budget constraints, President Obama released on February 14, 2011 his proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. The programs within the U.S Department of Education fared well, including some new investments for postsecondary education.
- By Fritz Edelstein
- 02/01/11
In the world of great unknowns one thing is certain; emergencies, natural or man-made, happen. Along with them comes a rapid fire series of questions: Is it best to evacuate or shelter-in-place? How is traffic managed while quickly getting students and st
Time was, science laboratories had few windows and little natural light. The benches were built into the structure. Uncomfortable stools provided seating. Offices were on other floors or even in other buildings. But scientists have changed.
- By Michael Fickes
- 02/01/11
From 2008 through 2009, Dr. Pavel Samsonov, of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, ran an experiment to see if video conferencing was a viable method of teaching homebound high school students.
In the past, signs were often an afterthought to school design. Too often they still are. Whether they are used for identity, directional, or information purposes, signs should be integrated into the overall design.
- By Thomas G. Dolan
- 02/01/11
Campus signage programs have come a long way from the simple signs used in years past to identify individual buildings or areas within a campus. Developing the most efficient and cost-effective program, especially when multiple campuses are involved, requ