The California State University, Northridge Department of Information Technology hosted its sixth annual Technology Fair on July 27 in the University Student Union Grand Salon, to inform faculty and staff about the latest trends in higher education technology.

“The CSUN Technology Fair has been held annually since 2011,” said Hilary Baker, chief information officer and vice president of information technology (IT). “It provides a forum for all IT staff, college technical staff and other interested employees to gather for two speaker presentations about topical IT subjects, and to interface with our key CSUN technology vendors.”

Representatives from HP, Lynda, Apple, Microsoft, Box, Shi, Dell and OnBase showcased the newest products on the market, while discussing their uses in higher education. Two speakers talked about current, relevant technology issues.

Morley Winograd, executive director of the Institute for Communication Technology Management at the USC Marshall School of Business, was the event’s morning speaker. He spoke about different generations and how each generation has engaged with technology through the decades.

Campuses will adapt to the increased technology use of the current generation and will become more interactive and connected to the web, Winograd said. He called data sharing the “new way of life,” adding that encyclopedias have been replaced by Wikipedia and open-access sources.

“Many grow up learning that wisdom is in the cloud,” he said.

“Morley Winograd’s presentation about millennial students and the new plurals (post-millennial) generation helps us better comprehend our current and future students, to determine how we can best help them succeed,” Baker said.

In the afternoon, Lisa Feldman, assistant U.S. attorney for the cybersecurity unit at the Department of Justice, spoke about online crime and how to guard against it.

She talked about the dangers of cyberbullying for younger generations and explained how users can identify and prevent malicious internet traps such as geotracking (identifying someone’s location through a picture), catfishing (faking someone’s social media profile) and phishing (fraud through malware).

“Information security awareness to protect our campus data is a shared campus responsibility, so listening to Lisa Feldman talk about cybersecurity was compelling,” Baker said.

“People have commented on how relevant the topics were to their professional and personal lives,” added Ben Quillian, associate vice president of information technology. “CSUN has been directly affected by the information security issues presented, and many attendees have been personally affected by identity theft and cyber crime as well. Being well informed helps people protect themselves.”

More than 200 people attended this year’s Technology Fair, including CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison.

“We are very happy with the turnout for this year, as we had a number of people from around campus join the event — as evidenced by another full room,” Quillian said. “Our goal is to provide information that is engaging, relevant and helpful in supporting student and employee success on campus.”

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