UBTech 2012

UBTech 2012 and 2013 presenter Daniel Rasmus is a strategist who helps clients put their future in context. Rasmus uses scenarios to analyze trends in society, technology, economics, the environment, and politics to discover implications used to develop and refine products, services and experiences. Previously, Rasmus was the director of business insights at Microsoft, where he helped the company envision how people will work in the future. He managed the Center for Information Work, an immersive experience that helped Microsoft’s customers experience the future of work first-hand.

“One thing that drives faculty nuts is kids who disrupt the class. If a professor has a student asking too many questions in class, for example, [the student may] need a rule: ‘One question per class, and then see me during office hours.’ Also, show the faculty member the stuff that the student CAN do.” —Temple Grandin, Colorado State University, and author of Thinking in Pictures: My Life with Autism, during a breakfast with attendees, speaking on helping educators who get frustrated by students differences

With 64 breakout sessions, UBTech attendees had to make some tough decisions about where to spend their time.

Two sessions that got attendees thinking about their web presence were “Managing the Unmanageable: Digital Governance in Higher Education” and “Three Keys to Online Giving Success.”

The Future of Video in Education Summit

Video is changing the way we teach, learn, and do business on campus. How can you harness the power of online video—from lecture capture to campus events to student-generated content—to create new value? That was the focus of the Future of Video in Education Summit preceding UBTech 2012. Sponsored by Sonic Foundry, the summit examined those questions in a series of presentations and panel discussions.

Recognize and Nurture Different Kinds of Minds

Educator, inventor, author, and perhaps the most famous person with autism in the world, Temple Grandin addressed higher ed administrators in UBTech 2012’s opening keynote—during which she called out politicians, top-down thinkers, and bullies and inspired the crowd with her experiences and perspective on everything from how labels hurt kids to how educational institutions should allow those with hands-on experience to teach, even without a teaching degree.

From big-picture analysis to stories from within the trenches, at our UBTech conference, higher ed leaders heard from dozens of pace-setting innovators and practitioners. It was an opportunity to identify emerging trends and models, discover practical paths for implementing new solutions, and explore the impact of technology on higher education together. Whether you were at the conference in person in Las Vegas or virtually, or you were unable to attend, we offer the following summaries, insights, and memorable takeaways. Consider it your UBTech Vegas experience.