Archive for October, 2007

Schools and Programs in the News – October 29, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 29, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: public education, Brooklyn Tech, STEM and the National Science Foundation, online student statistics in Minnesota, Gatlin Education Services, Hodges University, California R-I School District and NETS

Donald Nielsen takes a critical look at the problems incurred by public education and offers solutions. “I believe public schools are the most important institutions in our society. Being educated is essential for a productive life and it is also essential for the preservation of our democracy. Failing to educate our children puts our very way of life in jeopardy. Today, as a nation, we are failing to adequately educate a majority of our children.” — The Seattle Times

Teachers at Brooklyn Tech — the largest math and science themed school in the city — are getting schooled in, well, technology. The school’s alumni recently installed a state-of-the-art technology center to bring the school’s 200-plus teachers up to speed on the latest technological advances — from the elementary (e-mail) to more-advanced techniques, like the use of so-called “SMART boards,” which allow teachers to project digital images onto enormous touch-sensitive whiteboards at the front of the classroom (cool!). — The Brooklyn Paper

In an effort to explore methods for encouraging females to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), the National Science Foundation has awarded the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity (NAPE) Education Foundation an extension services grant. The grant comes through the Research on Gender in Science and Engineering Program and was awarded to implement NAPE’s five-year STEM Equity Pipeline project. –Campus Technology

Growing numbers of online students and high school students taking college courses helped boost enrollment at the 32 Minnesota State Colleges and Universities by 4.5 percent over the last year, officials said as they released enrollment figures. This fall, the state college and university system has 180,848 students, an increase of 7,832 students from last fall’s enrollment of 173,016. Last year, enrollment increased by 1.3 percent. — DL-Online

Online education providing work force skills and certification training has come to a pair of local colleges, making it more convenient than ever for region residents to get the type of education they are looking for from the convenience of their computer. The online courses are provided by Gatlin Education Services, a provider of online certificate training programs to community colleges, universities and accredited career-colleges worldwide. — NWI Times

Hodges University provides online degrees to students who have never set foot on American soil. Alen Savatic, 34, is midway through a master’s degree program. He lives in Sarajevo, in the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hodges also has an online international student from Germany, and a British student will start virtual classes in January. — News-Press

In the era of constant upward changes in technology, California R-I School District has constantly made an effort to keep up with the trends and more recently the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students. — California Democrat

IT News – October 29, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 29, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: the administrative computing market, Apple, information security on campus, Adobe, and Microsoft Research

With the administrative computing market reaching $2.0 billion by 2010, growth drivers include increased use of data by administrators in institutional decision-making, use of CRM-type tools for enrollment management development, and into 2008-2010, introduction of new SOA architectures. The increasing amount of data being collected, stored, analyzed, and accessed through institutional performance measurement initiatives is driving the value of ERP-, SIS-, and CRM-type systems. — Campus Technology

Most businesses won’t turn down cash. Not Apple. In fact your cash is no good when it comes to buying a new iPhone at an Apple or AT&T Wireless store. Apple announced this weekend it will no longer accept cash for iPhone purchases and now limits sales of the phone to two per person. The new policy is an effort to discourage unauthorized resale of the iPhone. — PC World

Colleges and universities have done little over the last three years to improve information security. Hindered by lack of staff resources and funding, security efforts remain largely unchanged, while incidents of breaches–including the theft of personal information from within and without–continue to plague campuses. And, what’s more, the integration of physical and IT security is still a reality in only a small minority of schools. For these reasons and more, higher education institutions received, on the whole, a C average in the 2007 CDW-G Higher Education IT Security Report Card, the latest annual study from CDW-G and O’Keeffe & Co., which measures responses from higher education IT professionals to gauge the state of security on college campuses. — Campus Technology

Adobe announced its intention to release Flex Builder 2 free for students and faculty at education institutions. Flex Builder, which retails for $499, is an integrated development environment for the Flex framework, which powers cross-platform rich Internet applications on the Web. — Campus Technology

John Rice blogs how new Microsoft technology would be great for interactive educational games. Follow the links to a post about an interview of members of Microsoft Research UK’s multi-touch team. The researchers on the video are Shahram Izadi, Alex Butler, and Steve Hodges. — Mathematics Education Blog

Publishers in the News – October 29, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 29, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Pearson, book fair in Jorhat, India, and writing e-books

Pearson, the publishing giant behind the Financial Times and Penguin books, has put another asset on the sale block as chief executive Dame Marjorie Scardino carries on sharpening the company’s focus. She is looking for a buyer for a little-known division that manufactures image scanners which process school test papers. It was bought as part of National Computer Systems (NCS) in 2000, the blockbusting £1.7 billion acquisition made at the height of the technology boom and designed to “electrify” Scardino’s education strategy. — Business Times Online

Book fair to be held in Jorhat, India with emphasis on the promotion of Assamese classics. International publishers like Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Prentice Hall, too, will display their publications at the fair organized by Assam Academic Centre. — The Assam Tribune

Interested in writing an e-book? Hopefully, if you decide to write an e-book you will already have a pretty good idea of where you will market your e-book or perhaps at least realize how to market the book in general. This article outlines steps in e-book creation and gives advice to future authors. — Ibeginwithanidea.com

Memes and E-Learning: Supersize vs. Minimize

Published by Susan Smith Nash on October 28, 2007 in Online Learning. 0 Comments

“Minimizing” is in, and “supersizing” is out, according to a new report from the Hartmann Group called “Portion Control from a Consumer Perspective.” One can’t help but wonder if this is viral, which is to say that a meme is afoot. If so, we’ll see huge changes in the way that virtually everything is perceived. Minimizing, streamlining, “portion control” — not just in terms of obesity, but also in terms of code, in the bulk and heft of products.

Soon, the learning management system as we know it — the “super-sized” version — could be replaced by smaller, easier-to-digest presentations.

Translated into the e-learning, the “meme” or “viral trend” could mean that consumers will want:
a) small bite-sized downloadable chunks (audio and/or video);
b) discussion boards that are accessible via smartphones and handhelds; with posts possible via e-mail;
c) “lite” or transparent structure, without the labyrinth of endless clicks,
d) no more bulky authentication, and the need to download plugins ranging from java to activeX.

Here’s what the Hartmann Report had to say about food, which seems to be a perfect metaphor for e-learning products. Consumers are most daunted by portion-control while dining out, says the report, and by personal notions as to what constitutes a “normal” serving. Subsequently, consumers are seeking greater variety and quality in single-serve packaged goods as well as more individualized attention from supermarket food courts and deli’s.

If you’re interested in the original report that gave rise to this meditation on the nature of memes and how they may translate to other fields, here’s a link to the report. The Hartmann Group’s report examines food service preferences from a behavioral viewpoint and provides insights for manufacturers, restaurant operators and retailers who work with consumers on moderation. One chapter examines the relationship between consumer demand for single-serve or portion-controlled products, and retail and manufacturing’s response to the demand.

Here’s a link to wikipedia’s entry on “viral video.”

Posted by Susan Smith Nash.

Games in the News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: educational gaming

Electronic educational gaming has received a tremendous amount of attention within the last few years. This excitement is owing, in part, to theoretical arguments and empirical findings about the possibilities of using videogames in teaching and learning. — T.H.E. Journal

Conferences in the News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: the American Enterprise Institute and the Alliance for Excellent Education

Today the American Enterprise Institute is hosting a research conference devoted to “entrepreneurial” reformers who believe that real, sustainable change may require the emergence of new providers able to create and deliver educational services in more effective ways. — The American

At a panel discussion convened by the Alliance for Excellent Education on Sept. 12, researchers called for better alignment between high school and college standards. — eSchool news

Schools and Programs in the News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Distance learning in Uganda

Open and Distance Learning, also referred to as Distance Education (DE) is an excellent means to provide the learning needs of lifelong learners. If well managed, distance education can provide opportunity for the provision of efficient, affordable education to a large number of people that would otherwise be unable to fit in the inflexible education system that Uganda inherited from the colonial era. — Daily Monitor

Awards in the News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) award recipient, the Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC) “Best of the West” university, and Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance (BETAS) 2007 Technology Awards winners

Michelle Pacansky-Brock, fulltime Professor of Art History, wins the along wins The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) award. The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) awards program, which recognizes outstanding achievements in Asynchronous Learning Networks (ALN), celebrates the creative spirit that improves the quality of online learning and program development. — Roseville & Rocklin Today

Arizona State University’s College of Teacher Education and Leadership has received “Best of the West” recognition from the Western Maricopa Coalition (WESTMARC) for its innovative partnership with Teach For America, a nationally renowned organization that enlists top-level teacher prospects in the effort to eliminate educational inequality. — ASU News

Winners of the Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance (BETAS) 2007 Technology Awards were announced to a sold-out audience Thursday during a special gala event at Savannah Station. — Savannah Now

IT News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: Facebook, Microsoft, HP, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

With its $240 million equity investment announced Wednesday, along with a commitment to expand its pre-existing relationship as exclusive third-party representative for advertising on Facebook, Microsoft has cemented its connection to the company Silicon Valley is obsessed with. — CNN

In 2008, HP will award nearly $7 million in cash and equipment to K-12 schools in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and to colleges and universities throughout North America (Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S.). The HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative is designed to support the innovative use of mobile technology in K-16 education, and to help identify K-12 public schools and two- and four-year colleges and universities that HP might support with future grants. – HP

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced today $8.3 million in grants to help public libraries in 10 states provide quality access to computers and the Internet. — All American Patriots

Microsoft has rolled its Office Live Workspace technology into Live@edu, the company’s portal, communications, and collaboration suite for higher education. — Campus Technology

Publishers in the News – October 26, 2007

Published by Erica Nielsen on October 26, 2007 in In the News. 0 Comments

Updates on: BCR and Cambridge University Press Online, Publishing, LLC, Thomson Corporation and Reuters, Harcourt School Publishers and Wireless Generation, Pearson, and Thomson

BCR and Cambridge University Press Online have partnered with the Bibliographical Center for Research (BCR) to provide access to a catalog of valuable resources for every type of library patron, from public library to university audiences. — BCR

Publishing, LLC (”EMC”), an independent educational publisher, today announced it had acquired Lawrenceville Press, Inc. (”LVP”), a Pennington, NJ-based developer and publisher of computer applications and programming textbooks for the U.S. and Canadian school market. — SYS-CON

Thomson Corporation and Reuters on Thursday expressed confidence in securing clearance for the Canadian group’s £9bn ($18.4bn) bid for its London rival without major concessions as each reported better third-quarter figures than expected. –MSNBC

Harcourt School Publishers and Wireless Generation have formed a partnership to bring assessment to Harcourt’s StoryTown and Trophies curricula. — T.H.E. Journal

Education and information company Pearson Plc on Monday announced its trading update for the first nine months of fiscal 2007, reporting a 6% rise in underlying sales from continuing operations, on strong segmental performance. — RTT News

Thomson Corp. Thursday reported third-quarter earnings of $2.97 billion, or $4.61 a share, up from a year-ago profit of $419 million, or 65 cents a share. — CNN