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Six Key Higher Education Mobility Trends for 2017

By Gerri Hinkel, Director Solutions and Vertical Marketing Manager

With the speed at which mobile devices, mobile apps, and IoT are coming onto the market, and considering how they are being used by all users and facets of campus life, it almost feels a little silly trying to predict trends for an entire year – especially in Higher Education where users are so tech savvy!  Nevertheless, to ensure IT and other department functions can continue to evolve to meet the needs of students, faculty, and guests, it is important to keep a pulse on new and continuing trends.

One of the most valuable and enjoyable parts of my job is the contact I have with Higher Education personnel.  In these conversations, I never miss an opportunity to ask for direct feedback on what is happening on the college campus related to device proliferation, app usage, room/building environments, campus life, IoT onset, student and teacher success, and data-driven decision making. Fortunately, the people I engage with are not shy and always willing to share!

Pulled from these conversations are six common trends that we need to focus on:

  1. IoT Spreading Across the Institution – it isn't just a student or faculty thing.
  2. Always-On Experiences – we will see an even lower tolerance for hits to Wi-Fi connectivity, especially while roaming.
  3. Intelligent Spaces – users will expect personalized spaces that adapt to them.
  4. Wearables and Location-Awareness Solutions – students expect an engaging enhanced campus experience.
  5. Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) for Teaching – slower to evolve, but VR and AR will mature to other curriculum areas beyond science.
  6. Multiplication of Dense Environments – it isn't just the lecture hall anymore.

Go Deeper

I encourage you to read my recently published article in EdTech Digest titled "Campus Mobility 2017".  You will gather more context behind the 6 trends and will be provided strategies and solutions that answer these challenging demands.  Additionally, I hope that you will take some time and respond to this post with thoughts and trends of your own, and as always, don't forget to engage with others in the Airheads Higher Ed Community!

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