10/3/2007
Wildform, a developer of multimedia tools primarily for online presentations, has unveiled a new hosted service for educators called Wildform Online. The service is designed to provide educators with tools that help them track how users interact with their learning materials and tests.
10/2/2007
Instituto Tecnologico de Santo Domingo (INTEC) in the Dominican Republic is deploying an ERP solution from Jenzabar called Jenzabar EX Total Campus Management. INTEC, a non-profit university, had previously been using systems developed in house. The university will implement the Jenzabar EX student suite, as well as the Jenzabar Internet Campus Solution, over the next two years.
10/1/2007
The Network for Computational Nanotechnology at Purdue University has been awarded an $18.25 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The five-year grant will focus on expanding "capabilities and services for computer simulations," according to the university.
9/28/2007
Grand Canyon University in Arizona has deployed Angel Learning Management System from Angel Learning to deliver classes to its students. The university made the switch to Angel after seven years with another CMS/LMS provider.
9/26/2007
Giving people the ability to update their slice of the campus website doesn't sound like a revolutionary idea--at least not in an era ruled by mass participation in social networks, the sharing of mashups, and the craze to add widgets to personal websites.
9/26/2007
A number of higher education institutions have recently added voice capabilities to their online learning programs, including blended and fully online courses, according to Wimba, an education technology developer. The company said that eight universities and colleges have augmented their Collaboration Suites with Wimba Voice implementations.
9/21/2007
The Monterey Institute of Technology and Education has launched HippoCampus, a website designed to supplement learning for high school and college students in order to assist with credit recovery and home schooling, as well as AP and general ed use. HippoCampus is an open education resource and is available free of charge to all users.
9/20/2007
Test preparation company PowerScores' new Virtual LSAT Course will begin instruction in October for the Dec. 1 LSAT test. While PowerScore holds onsite test instruction, the online course offers students across the globe the chance to prepare remotely for the test from their homes or offices.
9/19/2007
Blackboard today launched a new language pack for its course management systems in support of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, the day on which people across the globe can use expressions like "ahoy" and "yar matey" without fear of retribution.
9/19/2007
Novell next month will begin shipping two new workspace and collaboration tools for its Open Workgroup Suite: Novell Teaming and Novell Teaming + Conferencing. The tools are designed to boost team productivity and streamline processes involved in creating, managing, and sharing information.
9/19/2007
At Western Oklahoma State College, students in a single classroom, with one instructor present, can be taking either of two introductory algebra classes. That's just one of the advantages the college has discovered in offering computerized online instruction to augment several of its developmental mathematics courses.
9/17/2007
Georgia Tech librarian Brian Matthews has teamed up with GT computer science professor Blaire MacIntyre to develop a space in the Second Life virtual world from which students could "check out" land parcels in order "to hang out, explore, and learn the basics of the software."
9/14/2007
Naugatuck Valley Community College in Connecticut has deployed online math curricula for 11 of its remedial math classes this fall. The school is using Academic Systems Algebra from Plato Learning.
9/13/2007
Medical and pharmaceutical programs at three colleges have recently implemented 1:1 tablet PC initiatives for students and faculty through IT solutions provider CDW Government, which provided hardware, software, and consulting for the three deployments.
9/12/2007
A shortage of physicians in rural areas isn't a problem unique to Canada, but the highly sophisticated technology solution that the University of British Columbia has set up to solve it may well be.
9/12/2007
Duke University will use Tizra's Agile PDF hosted white label service to repackage, deliver, and sell textbook content in electronic formats.
9/12/2007
Lehigh University has added a virtual class to its curriculum this fall called Bioscience in the 21st century. The multidisciplinary class is designed to allow anyone interested to watch lectures and study course material or PowerPoint presentations posted on the university's website for free. Lectures are also available from iTunes U, according to Lehigh University.
9/10/2007
The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Rochester Warner School of Education $634,157 to "help encourage and train both talented undergraduate majors in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering and STEM professionals considering a career change to work as math and science teachers in high-need school districts," according to the university.
9/6/2007
In the past five years, social networking has rocketed from a leisure activity to a "phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internet users," according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, a nonprofit that follows the impact of the internet in differing social environments. In a recent national survey on teenagers and social networking conducted by Pew, more than half of all online American youth ages 12 to 17— 55 percent to be precise—are heading to online social networking sites. What does this mean for higher ed? Simply this: Your incoming students are now expecting a presence of your college or university on social networking sites.
9/6/2007
There's a business management principle known as the "hedgehog concept." The whole thing apparently comes from a Greek poet, Archilochus, who wrote: "The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Okay, so right away I think, "I want to be a fox!" But, no. Apparently, in the business world, the thing to be is a hedgehog.
9/6/2007
Digital media service provider Cdigix has added HD capabilities to its C-Labs solutions. C-Labs are designed to provide tools for higher education faculty and institutions to maintain and post online digital media while complying with copyright laws.
9/5/2007
Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom has signed on with Desire2Learn to deploy that company's learning management system. The goals of the deployment will be to enhance student learning and allow the university to expand into new markets domestically and internationally, supporting online and blended learning.
9/5/2007
Colleges and universities across the nation have realized that technology is an absolute when considering how courses on their campuses will be delivered--either face to face sessions, through distance learning sessions, or in mixed formats.
9/4/2007
Drexel University will collaborate with the University of Michigan and Florida State University to help transform its 10-year-old Internet Public Library (IPL) into a "virtual teaching and learning laboratory for digital reference," the university announced.
8/30/2007
Open-source homework system WeBWorK is being ramped up for new multimedia capabilities and enhanced assessment functionality. Developers met earlier this month at an American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) workshop to help fine tune the software and plan for these enhanced capabilities, some of which are presently in the developer release. An interim update (2.4.1) was also released last week, adding various minor improvements and fixes.