What a blast we had! ArchiSpec 2013 was recently hosted in Savannah, GA (March 17-19) and was a huge success. The annual gathering brought together over 100 Architects and Specifiers from the nation’s leading Architectural firms. In addition we had tremendous support from over 25 suppliers ranging from Assa Abloy with their Door Opening Solutions to Dorma, LogiSon and several others.
The event not only featured a tremendous lineup of attendees, but also an exclusive lineup of the industry’s leading authorities on design. Speakers at this year’s event include Greg Buchannan of SmithGroupJJR, Michael Czap of RTKL Associates, Jay Whisenant of Cannon Design, along with several others. The impressive lineup of speakers was led by opening keynote presenter Neri Oxman from the MIT Media Lab.
Thank you to all the attendees, suppliers, and others who were instrumental in putting this great event!
To learn more about ArchiSpec and how you can be a part of it next year, check out our website at archispecsummit.com.
We are proud to announce that the official website for the 2013 Collegiate Athletic Facilities Summit has now been launched! Over on the new site you can check out the latest speakers, program details, along with a slew of other great information pertaining to the event that is slated to take place July 14-16th at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas later this year.
The Collegiate Athletics Facilities Summit is an invitation-only event for Athletic Directors and Associate Athletic Directors from Division I institutions to connect and share insights on elevating their athletics programs through strengthened facilities design and operations. The summit convenes decision makers from across the nation to explore the latest innovations and best practices centered around athletic facilities, with a bottom line focus on revenue generation and enhancing the overall fan experience.
She shoots….she scores! And the crowd goes wild!! That is the sound of Jordan (bottom left of photo) hitting the back of the goal again for the win! Proud parents Michael and June McCarthy of the CraigMichaels team are their daughter’s biggest fan. Whether she is playing Center, Defense, Midfielder, or anything else for that matter, she is willing to step up and be a great team player. When Jordan isn’t studying for her next vocabulary test, brushing up on her math skills, or playing with her younger sister Tia, she is practicing with her dad who also doubles as the coach of her team.
CraigMichaels is a proud sponsor of the Jersey City Soccer Association, the Short Shots League (ages 6-7), and most importantly the Orange CraigMichaels team featuring our very own! While this season may be winding down, we look forward to next season!
It is no secret that the classroom of today is a far cry from what it was as recent as 10 years ago. With both students and teachers becoming more comfortable with using advanced technology in the classroom there seems to be more methods to enhance the learning experience for students and ensure that they are getting the most out of their time in the classroom. A recent survey conducted by CDW-G entitled “Learn Now, Lecture Later” further verified what most oft us have concluded- that the more technology, the better!
With a greater number of educators shifting away from traditional lecture models, students have a better understanding of varied instructional methods and can identify what really works best for them. Of the 304 students surveyed it was discovered that not only do students support the use of technology in the classroom but 69% of students would like to incorporate even greater technology. And what exactly do students want in the classroom? On the top of the list for High School students- greater use of mobile learning devices such as laptops, tablets and smartphones. Also on their wish list includes the use of digital content and recorded class lectures.
Technology not only will enhance the learning experience for students but also helps to support new options in K-12 education including flipped classroom models, and differentiated (or personalized) learning experiences. In the flipped classroom scenario, students learn the curriculum while at home (often through digital content or recorded lectures) and then complete work on that particular subject while they are in the classroom. And in terms of differentiated instruction the curriculum focuses on monitoring individual student outcomes and responding with the appropriate level of instruction. Technology really makes this approach possible as there may be many different levels of individual comprehension in a classroom of thirty to forty students. It is clear that technology has already provided a great deal of changes in K-12 curriculum and is certain to continue to support even richer learning experiences for students well into the future.
By Michael P. Owens- Producer- The Sustainable Operations Summit @MichaelOwensCMI
Last week I had the great fortune of joining actor and UN goodwill ambassador Don Cheadle as a guest on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss business and the environment. Hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist posed some important questions and Don and I waxed poetic in our responses (or something like that). There is only so much you can accomplish in a seven minute segment but I was pleased that Geist asked me to address Washington leaders directly. Willie stated that a lot of Washington leaders watch the show and then asked: “If you were to address them this morning what would you ask of them to help move this forward?” My response was simple: “Talk about it”.
These issues are not going away and we will pay dearly if we keep pretending that they do not exist. In an election year with the economy and US competitiveness the central issue, it is disappointing to see subjects like clean energy and smart infrastructure being ignored when addressing these issues could put so many Americans back to work. Cheadle drove this point home when he said “If we just contribute a small percentage of GDP toward this problem and try to find solutions for it, we can really jumpstart the economy.”
Joe Scarborough is an influential conservative voice in this country, and while he does not agree with a lot of the proposed solutions to deal with the environment, he is at least willing to talk about them. On the show he said he would like to have me back in the future to discuss further…I look forward to continuing the conversation.
It is no secret that the classroom of today is a far cry from what it was as recent as 10 years ago. With both students and teachers becoming more comfortable with using advanced technology in the classroom there seems to be more methods to enhance the learning experience for students and ensure that they are getting the most out of their time in the classroom. A recent survey conducted by CDW-G entitled “Learn Now, Lecture Later” further verified what most oft us have concluded- that the more technology, the better!
