Learning Apps/Tools
- Microsoft Launches Free Collaboration Tools for Researchers
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7/31/2008
This week, during a summit of researchers in Redmond, Microsoft announced a set of free software tools for helping researchers publish, preserve, and share data. The utilities include an authoring add-in for Word 2007 for capturing document metadata; a Creative Commons add-in for Office 2007; an e-journal service for self-publishing of online-only journals; a research output repository platform; and a collaborative workspace for researchers.
- SUNY's Herkimer County CC Adopts Angel LMS for Online Program
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7/30/2008
Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) has adopted the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) to deliver its online courses. The college, which has about 3,300 students, is a two-year unit of the State University of New York (SUNY). HCCC offers 40 traditional degree programs and 20 online degree programs.
- Camtasia Relay Lecture Capture System in Beta
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7/30/2008
At the Campus Technology 2008 conference being held this week in Boston, TechSmith launched a limited beta of its new lecture capture system, Camtasia Relay. The beta is open to the first 100 institutions that sign up for it.
- First Look: Zimbra Web-Based E-Mail for the Desktop
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7/30/2008
Zimbra, a Yahoo-owned company, last week released a beta of the open source Zimbra Desktop solution, which is meant to be an alternative to more traditional e-mail/groupware applications such as Microsoft Outlook.
- U Minnesota Researchers Create 'Safe Road Maps' Mashup
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7/30/2008
Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a Google Maps mashup, called SafeRoadMaps, which pinpoints the location of every fatal accident that has happened in the United States using data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System.
- Angel Expands ePortfolio, Integrates Coursework with LMS
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7/29/2008
Angel Learning has released a new version of ePortfolio, bringing it up to version 2.1. The new release expands integration with the Angel Learning Management Suite and includes new usability features.
- UC Irvine Extension Partners with Brazilian College for Free Online Courses
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7/29/2008
UC Irvine Extension, the continuing education arm of the University of California, Irvine, has announced a joint educational venture with Brazil-based Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV). Through the partnership, FGV--a nonprofit higher education institution and the largest provider of online education in Brazil--has created free online courses, presented in Portuguese, as part of the UC Irvine Extension's OpenCourseWare (OCW) initiative.
- Ed Map Inks Deal with CourseSmart To Deliver College Textbooks Online
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7/29/2008
Ed Map has announced an agreement with CourseSmart that will allow the company to deliver an expanded list of electronic textbook titles to higher-education students around the country.
- U Wyoming Students Vote To Implement Sonic Foundry's Mediasite for Lecture Capture
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7/24/2008
An overwhelming student vote for Mediasite will put the Webcasting platform from Sonic Foundry into University of Wyoming lecture halls this fall. Mediasite is a presentation capture tool that records and synchronizes audio, video, and slides and then allows the presenter to provide it online for on-demand viewing or in podcast form. The tool also enables the presenter to make the presentation available online as it happens.
- The Evolution of Digital Learning Systems Through Customization
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7/23/2008
The changes and challenges that new technology has brought to teaching and learning are well documented. New technology has changed how people receive, understand, and apply new information and ultimately has changed student expectations and thinking skills.
- Cdigix Brings Digital Media Platform to Blackboard Courses
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7/23/2008
Digital media developer Cdigix has expanded its C-Labs digital media platform to provide support for Blackboard environments on the course level.
- Infinity Learning Uses Amazon Web Services, Takes Moodle to the Cloud
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7/21/2008
Infinity Learning Solutions (ILS) said it has used the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform to develop a cloud computing solution for the open source learning management system Moodle.
- Learn.net Expands into Blended Learning
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7/18/2008
Training services provider Learn.net this week announced the acquisition of distance learning and collaboration software from Savant Technology Group. The acquisition is part of Learn.net's move into blended learning to provide training services for public and private sectors.
- Bryant U, Lee College, Wayne State Nab ACUTA Awards for Technology Innovation
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7/16/2008
Three schools received top honors for technological innovation from ACUTA at the organization's 37th-annual conference in Las Vegas this week: Bryant University, Lee College, and Wayne State University. The University of Utah also received honorable mention for its wireless networking spanning 1,400 acres.
- Linden Lab and IBM Teleport Avatars Between Second Life and OpenSim
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7/16/2008
Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, and IBM have demonstrated virtual world interoperability by teleporting avatars between the Second Life Preview Grid and an OpenSim virtual world server. The Second Life Grid is a development platform created by Linden Lab, and OpenSim is an open source server for hosting 3D virtual environments.
- TokBox Offers Free Live Video Talk Functionality
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7/16/2008
A new plugin called TokBox, from a San Francisco company of the same name and funded by YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim, allows users to talk with each other over live video. A component with a "Push to Talk" button can be added to a social network profile, blog, or personal Webpage. A visitor clicks the button to connect to the host in real time using live video and audio.
- U Illinois Adopts ALEKS for Math Placement
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7/15/2008
McGraw-Hill Higher Education announced Monday that it has entered into a contract with the University of Illinois to provide the Web-based ALEKS system in an effort to help increase accurate student class placements.
- eInstruction Launches Workspace-ExamView Edition
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7/14/2008
Ed tech developer eInstruction has released Workspace-ExamView Edition, a new version of the Workspace digital classroom suite that couples ExamView's assessment tools with interactive classroom technologies, such as clickers and whiteboards.
- Carnegie Mellon Partners with Lulu.com for New Publishing Imprint
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7/10/2008
The Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is partnering with self-publishing firm Lulu.com to launch a new academic publishing imprint called ETC Press. All publications will be released under a Creative Commons license and will also have associated Web sites for collaborative authorship and discussion.
- Project Wonderland: Good Avatars Make Good Neighbors
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7/2/2008
Sun Microsystems's Project Darkstar and the Wonderland Toolkit for building 3D spaces show why virtual reality is better for education than video conferencing. And Project Wonderland has announced its first education space.
- Automation Chimera: Education Is Not Management
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7/2/2008
The lure of automating workflow online so human intervention is minimized is continually reinforced in the minds of higher education administrators by examples of automated campus systems such as financials, student information systems, and other enterprise systems. But what's good for management is not always good for learning.
- Wake Forest U Aims To Reduce Note Taking with Classroom Capture
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6/30/2008
Students taking a course in venture capital at Wake Forest University have, over the last semester, benefited from the use of Recordant audio-capture technology that allows Web-based archiving, searching, and playback of course lectures. The university said one of the goals was to get students to close their notebooks and focus on comprehension, secure that they'd be able to access the captured lectures later on.
- Lyon's 1:1 Laptop Program Aims To 'Level the Playing Field' for Students
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6/26/2008
This fall Lyon College, a four-year liberal arts school in Arkansas, will join the elite ranks of post-secondary institutions offering laptops to all incoming freshmen. The program is part of a larger initiative, called "The Lyon Experience," which aims to bring "additional value to the education" the school provides. How can a small college roll out such an ambitious technology program? It's all a question of priorities, according to Lyon College President Walter Roettger.
- Podcasting in Instruction: Moving Beyond the Obvious
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6/25/2008
The lightweight, mobile nature of podcasting has the potential of moving education beyond familiar constraints of coursework and promoting a level of networking and input never seen before. But challenges still exist. Can more be achieved with podcasting that would heighten student engagement and maximize knowledge building in instructional contexts? Can we move beyond the obvious in their use?
- Wilkes U and Discovery Education Collaborate on Online Master's in Instructional Media
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6/20/2008
This fall Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre, PA and Discovery Education, which produces digital media-based learning, are launching a new online master's degree program in instructional media. The 30-credit instructional media program will prepare teachers to engage today's students in learning through digital media. Courses will focus on topics such as digital storytelling, using digital media in the classroom, using technology to support creativity and applying brain-based theories of how students process information to technology integration.
