CTL's Weblogs
September 15, 2003
A Mac-Style Supercomputer
BW Online | September 10, 2003 | A Mac-Style Supercomputer
"Here's a groundbreaker in computing, one that Apple can't take credit for: A group of scientists at Virginia Tech has figured out how to build the world's next supercomputer -- on the cheap no less -- using Macs...What attracted them was the G5's unique architecture. It uses dual processors to reach processing speeds up to 2 gigahertz. Virginia Tech scientists didn't care whether that was the fastest to date -- it was plenty fast for their purposes...The Mac cluster will cost no more than $5.2 million, which is 'quite modest,' according to Tech officials. To save more money, the university is recruiting students to help set up 19.25 tons of computers, routers, and other equipment."
Leveraging Mobile and Wireless Internet
Learning Circuits -- ASTD's Online Magazine All About E-Learning
"Every decade or so, learning and human performance technology gets a new boost—a new medium through which it can inform, communicate, interact, empower, and enlighten...The world of mobile and wireless computing is evolving fast. However, in order to fully leverage the mobile Internet for learning, the e-learning community needs to think in terms of performance and productivity rather than traditional lecture style training or courseware. Once we untether ourselves from traditional courseware paradigm, we’ll discover that the mobilew and wireless world has a lot to offer and the game is just beginning!"
The Technology Source Looking for New Home
The Technology Source
Michigan Virtual University is looking for a new home for The Technology Source. Due to severe budget cuts, MVU cannot publish The Technology Source past the November/December issue. Given this situation, MVU is willing to transfer ownership of the journal to a credible organization at no cost. Editor-in-Chief James L. Morrison can be reached at morrison@mivu.org.
September 12, 2003
The Technology Source
The Technology Source
Check out the September/October issue the The Technology Source. You will find articles such as:
- Simulations and the Learning Revolution
- Wireless Response Technology in Classrooms
- E-Learning: It’s More Than Automation
- Exploring Effective Mixtures of Technology, Teaching, and Learning
These articles and more will explore new ways to use existing technology and new technology being developed to assist online education.
Barnes & Noble Shelves E-Books
Barnes & Noble shelves e-books | CNET News.com
"The decision to end e-book sales is a setback for both Microsoft and Adobe Systems, which have been pushing new technology for digital books. Microsoft signed a deal with Barnes & Noble in January 2000, at which time the bookstore chain agreed to build an eBook store featuring Microsoft eReader titles and aggressively market the format through its retail stores."
EDUCAUSE Awards and Fellowships
EDUCAUSE Awards & Fellowships
These awards support "information technology professionals at colleges and universities to attend EDUCAUSE events, thus helping to build future leaders. Applicants may serve their institutions in the following information technology management areas: central IT organizations, academic units, or administrative departments. Fellowships recognize a combination of commitment, potential benefit, and financial need. Up to 12 awards of from $500 to $3,000 are made annually."
Category: Grants and Other Funding Schemes
September 11, 2003
Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality: Study of an Exemplary Faculty Development Program
Sloan-C - Publications - Journal: JALN
"The Illinois Online Network (ION) is a faculty development partnership between all forty-eight community colleges in the state of Illinois and the University of Illinois. The goals of the ION program are to help faculty to develop and deliver courses in a completely online format, and also to produce online courses that incorporate best practices for engaging students in discussion and critical thinking. ION, http://illinois.online.uillinois.edu/default.asp, accomplishes its goals with a variety of programs, such as the Making the Virtual Classroom a Reality series of online faculty development courses. Evaluation surveys indicate that ION activities have had an impact on the satisfaction and confidence of faculty teaching online courses."
September 10, 2003
Learning Design and Reuseability
CETIS-Learning Design and reuseability
"A recent article by Stephen Downes about the reuseability of instructional or learning designs in general, and those compliant with IMS Learning Design in particular, caused rather a response in the CETIS Educational Content Special Interest Group (EC SIG). We examine the issue and summarise the discussion. The Design, Standards and Reusability article raises a fair few points, but its main issue is the claimed paradox of reuse of instructional / learning designs. That is, specifications of not just content, but a whole learning experience- including the roles of participants, how and when content is presented, opportunities for discussion, resources that are available to learners, etc."
September 08, 2003
Learning with Tablet PCs: True Learning Tools or Trendy Devices
Learning with Tablet PCs: True Learning Tools or Trendy Devices: Syllabus
"Tablet PCs have arrived on our campuses: appealing, lightweight devices that have all the features of laptops plus the option of pen-based or keyboard entry. But even with their obvious potential for mobile computing applications, their best uses in classrooms are yet to be defined...The real strength of the Tablet is seen when it encourages users to explore unmediated, peer-to-peer forms of communication. This signals a move away from learning via pure dialogue toward an emphasis on learning within social structures and processes that are supported but not dominated by technology."
Online Learning is as Good as Being There
Sloan-C - News
"From the Ivy League to tiny community colleges, a majority of institutes of higher education say online learning is just as good as traditional, face-to-face classroom instruction. Nearly three out of four academic leaders say learning online may be better within three years. A comprehensive survey released today by Babson College and the Sloan Consortium concludes that online learning is at historically high levels and will continue to grow at a rate of nearly 20%."
Blackboard Expands Reach in Deal to Set Up Chinese Colleges With Its Software
Blackboard Expands Reach in Deal to Set Up Chinese Colleges With Its Software
"Just six years after it was founded by two new graduates of American University, Blackboard Inc., an electronic-learning company, has won a deal in China that has eluded many a more seasoned company. Blackboard is expected to announce on Tuesday that it has entered a partnership with the Chinese public-private education company Cernet, which provides Internet services to more than 1,000 universities in China, to create a software platform that will allow professors to post course materials, conduct discussions and administer tests online."
A Campus Fad That's Being Copied: Internet Plagiarism
A Campus Fad That's Being Copied: Internet Plagiarism
"A study conducted on 23 college campuses has found that Internet plagiarism is rising among students. Thirty-eight percent of the undergraduate students surveyed said that in the last year they had engaged in one or more instances of 'cut-and-paste' plagiarism involving the Internet, paraphrasing or copying anywhere from a few sentences to a full paragraph from the Web without citing the source. Almost half the students said they considered such behavior trivial or not cheating at all."
September 05, 2003
Colleges Crack Down on Viruses
Wired News: Colleges Crack Down on Viruses
"Still recovering from a summer of Internet infections, colleges are taking unusually aggressive steps to protect campus computer networks from virus outbreaks. Students returning to classes are finding themselves summarily unplugged if their computers are infected. Oberlin College in Ohio is threatening to fine students $25 for inadvertently spreading a virus. "
PDAs and Laptops Powered by Suds
Wired News: PDAs and Laptops Powered by Suds
"Millennium Cell of Eatontown, New Jersey, is working on hydrogen fuel cells based on sodium borohydride, a high-energy form of borate, or borax, a natural mineral mined to make laundry soap."
Hi-Tech Tome Takes on Paperbacks
BBC NEWS | Technology | Hi-tech tome takes on paperbacks
"Researchers at Hewlett Packard have developed a prototype electronic book which can hold a whole library on a device no bigger than a paperback. The brushed metal device is about one centimetre thick and looks like an oversized handheld computer. The technological tome is dominated by a screen and a series of touch sensitive strips that allow the reader to navigate through the book."
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