Engineering Education

E-rate Sees Surge in Support - David Nagel, THE Journal

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:40 GMT

The federal E-rate program has seen a spike this year in its approval among applicants, according to a new report released this week by Funds For Learning, a firm that provides consulting services to E-rate applicants. The report was announced at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC) being held this week in Washington, DC. E-rate provides schools and libraries with discounts on

13 Groups to Pursue STEM Equity with ED Funding - David Nagel, THE Journal

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:35 GMT

The United States Department of Education is looking to give girls a boost in science and math. ED revealed this week that it will fund projects from 13 organizations to help high school girls improve their proficiency in STEM subjects. The four-year grants are being provided under the Department of Education's Women's Educational Equity Act Program. The 13 groups--ranging from K-12 school

Partnership Releases 21st Century Skills Maps for Science, Geography - David Nagel, THE Journal

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:30 GMT

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has teamed with the National Science Teachers Association and the National Council for Geographic Education to launch the latest in its series of 21st century roadmaps for core academic subjects, in this case K-12 science and geography. The maps were introduced at the National Education Computing Conference (NECC) being held this week in Washington, DC. The

US 'concerned' over cyber threat - BBC

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:26 GMT

The issue of cyber security is of "great concern" to the US, the nation's homeland security secretary has said. Janet Napolitano told the BBC that protecting against virtual attacks was something the US was "moving forward on with great alacrity". Speaking on a visit to the UK, she said the US also had "a number of capabilities" to launch such attacks. Ms Napolitano's comments follow the

Jackson?s Death Caused Spike in Web Traffic - Brian Stelter, New York Times

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:20 GMT

Did your Internet connection seem slow Thursday afternoon? It likely wasn?t your computer, it was the surge of interest in Michael Jackson?s hospitalization and death. Akamai said that traffic to news Web sites spiked around 6 p.m. Eastern, clocking in at one point at 4.2 million visitors per minute. During the rest of the day, the sites tracked by Akamai never exceeded 3 million visitors per

New York City Starts Contest for Big Apple Apps - Sewell Chan AND Patrick McGeehan, New York Times

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:15 GMT

The winners don?t get a million-dollar Netflix Prize, but, hey, it?s dinner with a billionaire. From our colleagues at City Room: In an effort to improve government transparency and accountability and stimulate development of the digital media industry, New York City is inviting software developers and related professionals this fall to develop applications to help Internet users navigate vast

Communities of Integrity in Online Learning Courses: Faculty Member Beliefs and Strategies - Lori McNabb & Alicia Olmstead, JOLT

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:10 GMT

This paper describes an investigation into beliefs about academic integrity of faculty members who teach both online and on-campus within the University of Texas System, and their opinions regarding differences between the two environments. The research shows that the majority of faculty members surveyed did not believe that there is a difference in cheating between online and on-campus courses. Additionally, this paper shares the results of a project to determine strategies for creating communities of integrity in online courses. Twelve strategies for faculty members to create an environment of academic integrity were identified within three categories: design, communication, and collaboration.

Online Learning Student Authentication: Verifying the Identity of Online Users - Jeffrey L. Bailie & Michael A. Jortberg, JOLT

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:05 GMT

This paper addresses how one university has partnered with a corporation to work on the verification of online student identity and describes ongoing efforts to best verify online student identity. Through this collaboration, the university seeks to enhance the credibility of its online evaluation process by employing data forensic techniques commonly used by today?s financial services industry. Detail is presented on how user authentication strategies are being applied to verify remote learner identity during formal online performance appraisals. Additional details on how the existing strategies will be enhanced toward multi-faceted user authentication are discussed.

Issues of Academic Integrity: An Online Course for Students Addressing Academic Dishonesty - Camilla Jones Roberts & Shalin Hai-Jew, JOLT

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:01 GMT

At Kansas State University, an institutional strategy to promote academic integrity involves an honor code that is backed up by the K-State Honor and Integrity System, a student judiciary system, and the ?Development and Integrity? course for students who have been found in contravention of the code. This article addresses the honor system, related university policies, and the recent development of the online version of the Development and Integrity course. This article includes an introduction, a survey of the literature, relevant pedagogical theories, a brief background, an overview of the course design and development, and lessons learned.

Project seeks to measure ed tech's value - Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:40 GMT

An ambitious new research project aims to revolutionize education by showing that well-implemented technology initiatives can save states money after an initial investment. Project RED (for Revolutionizing EDucation) will examine the outcomes of educational technology initiatives using a cost-benefit analysis to determine which ed-tech programs and devices are having the most cost-effective

LEDs light up InfoComm 2009 - Dennis Carter, eSchool News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:34 GMT

School administrators, teachers, and professors were among thousands at the InfoComm audio-video conference in Orlando June 15-19, where technology vendors unveiled the latest in digital signage hardware and software and LED projectors that could prove energy and cost efficient. Projectors powered by LED (Light Emitting Diodes) technology, rather than the traditional lamp, have displayed longer

Scholarships for College Dwindle as Providers Pull Back Their Support - JONATHAN D. GLATER, New York Times

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:30 GMT

Students looking for college scholarships are going to have a harder time this year as providers, hammered by falling investment returns and declining philanthropic support, cut back. The Fulfillment Fund, a nonprofit that works with Los Angeles public high school students, has reduced the number of college scholarships offered over the last three years by nearly half and has tightened

Iranians take risks to upload their dissent online - Associated Press

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:25 GMT

The Iranian protesters sneak their cell phones onto the streets and hit record, frantically trying to evade being caught or beaten. The shaky, grainy images are e-mailed to friends. Then they are uploaded to blogs, YouTube or social networking sites -- offering the world some of the only firsthand glimpses of tensions following disputed presidential elections on June 12. But the Internet window

China postpones controversial Web filter - Associated Press

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:20 GMT

China postponed a plan to require personal computer makers to supply Internet-filtering software Tuesday, retreating in the face of protests by Washington and Web surfers hours before it was due to take effect. Manufacturers would have been required to include filtering software known as Green Dam with every computer produced starting Wednesday for sale in China. The official Xinhua News Agency

A Robot that Navigates Like a Person - Anne-Marie Corley, Technology Review

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:15 GMT

European researchers have developed a robot capable of moving autonomously using humanlike visual processing. The robot is helping the researchers explore how the brain responds to its environment while the body is in motion. What they discover could lead to machines that are better able to navigate through cluttered environments. The robot consists of a wheeled platform with a robotic "head"

The U.S. Department of Education releases a report on online learning studies -Lauri Harrison, the Examiner

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:10 GMT

The U.S. Department of Education, Center for Technology in Learning, recently released their latest report ?Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies?. The findings revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction. In addition, they identified that learners in the online environment spent more time performing a task than student?s offline. The research focused on the K-12 environment, but the findings are interesting for online education as a whole.

Growing Demand for Online Learning Not Yet Matched by Opportunities at K-12 Schools, Districts

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:05 GMT

Despite growing interest in online learning, the availability of online classes have not kept pace with demand in K-12 schools and districts, according to a survey report from Project Tomorrow(R), a national education nonprofit organization, and Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB), a global leader in education technology. According to the survey, more than 40 percent of 6-12th graders have researched or demonstrated interest in taking a course online, but only 10 percent have actually taken an online course through their school. Meanwhile, comparable percentages of middle school students (7 percent) and high school students (4 percent) have instead pursued opportunities outside their school to take online courses, underscoring the disconnect between the supply and demand of online learning in today's classrooms.

Obama Administration: Technology at the Heart of Education Reform - Geoffrey H. Fletcher, THE Journal

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:40 GMT

"Technology is core and essential to the strategies we are using to reform education." That was the message from both Jim Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement at the United States Department of Education, and Aneesh Chopra, chief technology officer in the White House. Chopra said that technology in education is less about hardware and software and more about what we

Gartner Forecasts Better-Than-Expected PC Shipments - Herb Torrens, THE Journal

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:35 GMT

Gartner reported a better-than-expected first quarter for PC shipments and is now forecasting a healthy market recovery in 2010, according to a statement. "We may have been a little pessimistic in our previous forecast for 2009," said George Shiffler, research director at Gartner, in a telephone interview. "We expected a very bad first quarter, but it didn't happen. Looking at it, consumer demand

5 States Developing Green Curriculum - David Nagel, THE Journal

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:30 GMT

Five states have committed to developing green career and technical education initiatives. In collaboration with the United States Department of Education, the Education Department's Office of Vocational and Adult Education, and the National Research Center for Career and Technical Education, the states will create secondary and post-secondary programs that will lead to certificates and associate

Protecting an inalienable right in the age of Facebook - Simson Garfinkel, Technology Review

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:25 GMT

I'd be a fool to include my Social Security number in this article: doing so would leave me vulnerable to all manner of credit fraud, scams, and even criminal arrest. All of this would surely happen because a few bad people would read the article, write down my SSN, and pretend to be me. We know a lot more about the use and abuse of SSNs today than we did back in 2002. That was the year the

Simpler Data Visualization - Kate Greene, Technology Review

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:20 GMT

There are many ways to slice and dice data to better understand what it means. Software like Microsoft's Excel offers a simple way to create charts and graphs, while more complex applications, such as IBM's Many Eyes, provide more interesting ways to visualize more complex data. Specialized programming languages can do more by tweaking the design of visualizations. But these languages tend to be

Firefox Aims to Unplug Scripting Attacks - Robert Lemos, Technology Review

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:15 GMT

Sites that rely on user-created content can unwittingly be employed to attack their own users via JavaScript and other common forms of Web code. This security issue, known as cross-site scripting (XSS), can, for example, allow an attacker to access a victim's account and steal personal data. Now the makers of the Firefox Web browser plan to adopt a strategy to help block the attacks. The

U.S. Push for Free Online Learning Courses - Inside Higher Ed

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:10 GMT

Community colleges and high schools would receive federal funds to create free, online courses in a program that is in the final stages of being drafted by the Obama administration. A formal announcement could come in the next few weeks. In addition to the free online courses, the plan would provide $9 billion over 10 years to help community colleges develop and improve programs related to preparing students for good jobs, and a $10 billion loan fund (at low or no interest) for community college facilities. "This is so spot on in terms of what's needed," said Curtis J. Bonk, a professor of instructional systems technology at Indiana University at Bloomington and author of The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education (forthcoming from Jossey-Bass).

U.S. Department of Education Study Finds that Good Teaching can be Enhanced with New Technology - Docuticker

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:05 GMT

A systematic search of the research literature from 1996 through July 2008 identified over 1,000 empirical studies of online learning. Of these, 46 met the high bar for quality that was required for the studies to be included in the analysis. The meta analysis showed that ?blended? instruction ? combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction ? had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly on line was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction. In addition, the report noted that the blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions.

Study Indicates Benefits Of Online Learning - City and Town Info

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:01 GMT

The new meta-analysis--which looks at existing studies for patterns and conclusions--may very likely further fuel the popularity of online education. U.S. News & World Report noted in April that more than 4 million students enrolled in at least one online course last fall, while in 2003 the number was less than 2 million. An important caveat mentioned by the study pointed out that the evidence did not endorse online learning as a medium. Instead, the analysis credited much of the success of online education to a combination of factors, including curriculum, pedagogy, and time spent taking courses. Indeed, the study noted that "online learning is much more conducive to the expansion to learning time than is face-to-face instruction."

The best Firefox extension: AutoCopy - Seth Rosenblatt, CNet news.cnet.com

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

Once you've highlighted anything from a single letter to entire multipage New Yorker articles, the add-on opens a small options box where your cursor is. Through the extension options, you can configure how long that box appears for, or turn it off. If you choose to use it, the post-copy options box offers a couple of useful choices. You can undo the copy, or access up to 10 previous clipboards

Cerebral Imprint 2.5.0 for Mac

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

If you're preparing for the bar exam or a gross anatomy quiz, you may want to give Cerebral Imprint the once over. Created by developer Alex Rose, this open source application allows users to create a wide range of flash cards.Visitors can import card decks from existing text files and also export card decks to text files, if necessary. It's an easy-to-use application, and compatible with

Reading machine to snoop on Web - Mark Rutherford, CNet news.cnet.com

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:20 GMT

What if the wisdom of Web could be yours, without having to read through it one page at a time? That's what the military wants. DARPA has hired a company to develop a reading machine to reduce the gap between the ever increasing mountain of digitized text and the intelligence community's insatiable appetite for data input.

Waste Online

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:20 GMT

Sure enough, there is a good deal of "waste" online, so it's nice to learn about the Waste Online website which serves as a great repository for information about an entirely different set of waste-related matters. This British-based website has been funded by the New Opportunities Fund Digitise project. The project is overseen by Waste Watch, which is "the leading environmental charity dedicated

What the iPhone teaches us about cloud adoption - James Urquhart, CNet news.cnet.com

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:15 GMT

Chris Hoff (now a colleague at Cisco, but long a phenomenal blogger in his own right) described in a recent post a fascinating analogy for the inevitable adoption of cloud computing--the adoption of the Apple iPhone: The thing I love about my iPhone is that it's not a piece of technology I think about but rather, it's the way interact with it to get what I want done. It has its quirks, but it

Intelligent Virtual Environments

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:15 GMT

The research goals of the British-based lab, Intelligent Virtual Environments, of the University of Teesside are to develop "new models of interactivity based on Artificial Intelligence techniques." The website contains access to current projects, past and completed projects, technologies, as well as all publications and a tool to search those publications. Visitors can view the more than two

Enquiries Rise as UK Funding Announced for Distance Online Learning Technologies

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:10 GMT

Hot on the heels of yesterday's announcement by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills of a new task force and ?20 million funding initiative to ensure the UK's universities collaborate more effectively, Asysco has noted a marked increase in enquiries about distance learning technologies. This 'collaboration injection' is designed to help UK universities reach out to communities across the globe, deliver world-class, student-centred online distance learning and engage potential markets that could value around ?15bn in the future.

Online learning is gaining credibility - Iris taylor, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:09 GMT

Online learning is gaining credibility and gaining ground in the higher-education field.
About 12.2 million consumers enrolled in roughly 11,200 college-level distance-education programs during the 2006-07 academic year, the latest figures available, according to the U.S. Department of Education. That's up from the 3 million consumers enrolled in 2,320 distance-learning programs in 2000-01. Most traditional colleges and universities now offer online courses as part of their regular degree programs, as well. Some, such as the University of Richmond School of Continuing Studies, offer a few specialized degree programs entirely online.

Completing the Semester at a Distance - Dr. Steve Shirley, VCSU President

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:01 GMT

With much cooperation, persistence, and hard work by the entire community and beyond, Valley City has been fortunate to avoid catastrophic loss of property or damage from the flooding Sheyenne River. No doubt there have been some losses, inconveniences, and disruptions, but there has been no loss of life and no widespread/city-wide flooding. At Valley City State University, we are currently engaged in the important work of finishing this academic year online and at a distance while Valley City moves into recovery mode. It is important to note that VCSU is completing the Spring Semester via distance-based and technology-based methods, and that we have NOT canceled the semester as had been stated in some media reports. The spring semester continues at VCSU; it is simply occurring at a distance rather than on the physical campus.

New Internet2 CTO pushes multicast, IPv6 - Carolyn Duffy Marsan, Computer World

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:40 GMT

Next week, Randy Frank will take over as the new CTO of Internet2, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based consortium of 200 U.S. universities conducting advanced networking research. Frank joins Internet2 from Fidelity Investments, where he was chief technologist for the financial services firm?s Center for Applied Technology. Now, Frank is looking forward to getting back into academia, where he can get

Myths and realities of teen media trends - Dave Rosenberg, CNet news.cnet.com

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:35 GMT

Nielsen is out with a new report on media consumption by teens and the results are counter-intuitive to what we commonly believe to be the norm. According to the How Teens Use Media report (PDF), "teens exhibit media habits that are more similar to the total population than not."Key takeaways from the report:Teens are not abandoning TV for new media: In fact, they watch more TV than ever, up 6

Rendell: Science, math pros needed to teach school - The Associated Press

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:30 GMT

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is asking the Legislature to create a fast-track into the teaching ranks for technology and engineering professionals. Under Rendell's proposal, candidates for the "residency certification" would have to complete an intensive, four-month training program on instructional strategies and child development.

Thumbing Windows 7 onto Netbooks - Ina Fried, CNet news.cnet.com

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on a thumb drive to allow Netbook owners to more easily upgrade their machines, a source tells CNET News. The move, which is still under consideration, is one of several things Microsoft has looked at to try to make it convenient to upgrade machines that don't come with a CD or DVD drives.

The perils of five-star reviews - Finlo Rohrer, BBC News Magazine

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:20 GMT

A publishing giant got into hot water after offering gift vouchers to anyone who would give their textbook a five-star review. It raises one of the key questions in online purchasing, how much can you trust the customer reviews you read? In the US, it is called "shill reviewing". You are the owner of a company whose product - Brand X Widget is struggling. On a major online retailer, Brand X

Web slows after Jackson's death - Maggie Shiels, BBC News

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:15 GMT

The sheer number of queries concerned Google. The internet suffered a number of slowdowns as people the world over rushed to verify accounts of Michael Jackson's death. Search giant Google confirmed to the BBC that when the news first broke it feared it was under attack. Millions of people who searched for the star's name on Google News were greeted with an error page.

The Online Student - Mike Cattermole, Philadelphia Telecommuting Examiner

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:10 GMT

I have taken a long deserved break from writing so that I could refresh myself for the upcoming months and the design of a book about life as an online student. I have several years of experience as a college instructor online and for the past year a Doctoral candidate. So, I am using this forum as a way to give readers a small sample about some of the contents in the book. Enjoy! much more to come....The more obvious benefit to an online student is that she does not have to commute to a physical classroom and devote specific times to course lectures and activities. However, there are many other merits for an online student.

Fund will help students complete degrees online - BCS

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:05 GMT

The government is to introduce a new fund to enable students at risk of failing their degrees to complete them online. According to the authorities, the new initiative will be an expansion of the role of the Open University, which is now almost completely based online. The fund is aimed at providing additional support to the 35,000 student who abandon their studies every year. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: 'The success of distance learning, pioneered 40 years ago by the Open University, has been nothing short of a revolution for higher education.

Cheaper eBook reader challenges Kindle - Maya T. Prabhu, eSchool News

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:01 GMT

With the popularity of electronic reading devices on the rise, and a handful of colleges set to pilot Amazon.com's Kindle DX this fall, a new eBook reading device from New York-based Interead, called the COOL-ER, offers a less expensive alternative that its creator, Neil Jones, says educators could find appealing. "I thought about what readers need from an eBook. The COOL-ER is 45 to 50 percent lighter than our closest competitors. So it's light in [students'] hands," said Jones, founder and chief executive officer of Interead.

The Disruption of the Traditional Textbook Model Continues - Geoffrey H. Fletcher, THE Journal

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:40 GMT

Texas Governor Rick Perry signed HB 4294 June 19, and the world of textbooks will never be the same in Texas or across the country. Because Texas purchases all the textbooks for all the subjects for school districts, and because of its sheer size--more than 8,000 schools educating 4.6 million students--Texas drives the textbook market. This means most publishers create their products to fit Texas

German teacher loses battle against pupils' web rankings - AFP

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:35 GMT

A German teacher who had sued to shut down a website where pupils rank their instructors according to competence and "coolness" lost her battle in court Tuesday. The Federal Supreme Court, Germany's top civil tribunal, rejected the claim of the teacher, Astrid Czubayko-Reiss, that her right to privacy was violated by the site, spickmich.de, (loosely translated, checkmeout.de) where she received a

Apple iPhone 3GS: The sum ($) of its parts - Brooke Crothers, CNet news.cnet.com

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

The iPhone, of course, is more than the sum of its parts, but the cost of individual components adds up--to $178.96, to be exact. A new analysis by iSuppli details the cost of the iPhone 3GS and the motley collection of chips inside. The entry-level (16GB) version of the iPhone 3GS carries a BOM (bill of materials) cost of $172.46 and a manufacturing expense of $6.50, for a total of $178.96,

Microsoft offers free anti-virus - BBC

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:20 GMT

Microsoft Security Essentials is aimed at home users. A trial version of Microsoft's free anti-virus software has been launched in the US, China, Brazil, and Israel. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) promises to provide people with basic protection against viruses, trojans, rootkits and spyware. The software giant has been criticised in the past for failing to include free security software

Student leader Wes Streeting wants universities to abolish lectures - Nicola Woolcock, London Times

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:10 GMT

University lectures are past their sell-by date and should be abolished in favour of virtual teaching, according to a student leader. Wes Streeting, president of the National Union of Students, says lectures are old-fashioned and increasingly irrelevant to modern learning. For generations, students have packed into cramped lecture theatres to listen to professors enthuse about their subjects. Some students take notes attentively and others struggle to stay awake, but Mr Streeting says the whole concept should be eradicated. Instead students could make greater use of lecture handouts, online learning, chat rooms and downloads, with more time freed for staff to conduct small and intensive tutorial sessions.

$100 Laptop Becomes a $5 PC - David Talbot, Technology Review

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:05 GMT

The open-source education software developed for the "$100 laptop" can now be loaded onto a $5 USB stick to run aging PCs and Macs with a new interface and custom educational software. "What we are doing is taking a bunch of old machines that barely run Windows 2000, and turning them into something interesting and useful for essentially zero cost," says Walter Bender, former president of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project. "It becomes a whole new computer running off the USB key; we can breathe new life into millions of decrepit old machines."

Jack Welch Launches MBA via Online Learning - Geoff Gloeckler, Business Week

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:01 GMT

A corporate icon is diving into the MBA world, and he's bringing his well-documented management and leadership principles with him. Jack Welch, former CEO at General Electric (GE) (and BusinessWeek columnist), has announced plans to start an MBA program based on the business principles he made famous teaching managers and executives in GE's Crotonville classroom.

Cell Phones That Listen and Learn - Kristina Grifantini, Technology Review

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:01 GMT

Researchers are increasingly using cell phones to better understand users' behavior and social interactions. The data collected from a phone's GPS chip or accelerometer, for example, can reveal trends that are relevant to modeling the spread of disease, determining personal health-care needs, improving time management, and even updating social-networks. The approach, known as reality mining, has

Carnegie Corporation: 'Do school differently' - Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:40 GMT

Urging the nation to "do school differently," a new report recommends a set of concrete actions for federal, state, and local education leaders to take to transform math and science instruction and bring the United States back to the forefront of global competition. "The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy," released by the

Kids cheating with tech but are schools cheating kids? - Larry Magid, CNet news.cnet.com

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:35 GMT

The results of a survey showing that 35 percent of middle school and high school students with cell phones have used them to cheat at school is indeed alarming. And perhaps more alarming is the finding that nearly a quarter of the students don't even think it's cheating. Cheating is cheating regardless of whether you use technology or old-fashioned paper notes. I'm appalled that kids may be using

Jack Welch Launches MBA via Online Learning - Geoff Gloeckler - Business Week

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:30 GMT

Apple: More than 1M new-model iPhones sold - Associated Press

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

Apple Inc. sold more than a million units of its latest iPhone model in the first three days, making it the most successful model yet.The iPhone 3G S went on sale Friday in the U.S. and seven other countries.When Apple Inc. launched the previous model last year, it also sold one million units in the first three days, but that model launched simultaneously in 22 countries. Piper Jaffray analyst

Computer Clusters That Heat Houses - Duncan Graham-Rowe, Technology Review

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:20 GMT

They have been used to model climate change, forecast economic trends, and simulate the intricate complexities folding proteins. Now IBM has something new in store for high-performance computers: heating buildings. Thanks to a novel on-chip water-cooling system developed by the company, the thermal energy from a cluster of computer processors can be efficiently recycled to provide hot water for

UA adds writing credit via online learning to gen-ed system - Ben Korta, Daily Wildcat

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:11 GMT

General education courses as students know them now are undergoing change.A team of UA instructors and software programmers is currently developing an online writing course that will soon be paired with general education classes across campus. The course will be introduced as a one-credit supplement to the typical three-credit general education class. It is intended to provide an interactive and self-paced online environment in which students' writing skills are diagnosed and improved.

Drop-out students get help to finish their degrees at home - UTV

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:05 GMT

?12m emergency fund will give them a chance to complete their courses via online learning through the Open University. The government is to set up an emergency fund to give students at risk of dropping out a chance to complete their degree online through the Open University. The prime minister tonight announced the ?12m plan to help some of the 35,000 students who drop out every year.

Online Learning History: The Open University ? 40 today, and a genius for our times - UTV

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:01 GMT

The OU's concept of distance learning began a genuine revolution in access to higher education that continues four decades onThe Labour prime minister Harold Wilson described the creation of the Open University in 1969 as the greatest achievement of his premiership. Four decades later, on the Open University's 40th birthday, Wilson seems not only right, but right in ways he could not have imagined. In 1969, when only 5% of Britons got a higher education and more than half of UK employees had no qualifications, the OU was a hugely innovative idea. It required no entry requirements. It welcomed part-time and mature students. It was "open", and meant it.

Smart Announces Widescreen Interactive Pen Display - Channel Times

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:40 GMT

Smart Technologies has extended its product line of interactive pen displays with the Podium ID422w. High-definition resolution, a 16:9 aspect ratio and 22-inch display combine to deliver sharp image quality and exceptional performance, the company said. The ID422w is for educators and business professionals who want to add interactivity to lessons or presentations in large boardrooms,

Digital media used increasingly to cheat in school - Techshout.com

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:35 GMT

A new poll conducted by the Beneson Strategy Group reveals the attitude of students toward technologically advanced chating methods. Displayed by Common Sense Media, the national poll brings to light hte use of digital media used for chating in schools.

Grand Canyon University Recognized for Online Tools

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:30 GMT

Today's higher education institutions increasingly turn to online programs and textbooks to supplement or replace classroom instruction, and the technology and sophistication of online programs has grown along with the interest in this form of learning. With a growing presence in the online world Grand Canyon University (GCU) has created and integrated a variety of innovative visual enhancements

Traveling the Web Together - Erica Naone, Technology Review

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

A browser plug-in aims to make it far simpler to browse the Web with friends. Many online activities are deeply social: writing and reading blogs, visiting social-networking sites, sending instant messages and e-mails, and making Internet phone calls. However, actually browsing the Internet is usually still a solitary pursuit. Researchers from the College of William and Mary, in Williamsburg,

Search Me - David Talbot, Technology Review

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:20 GMT

What might Wolfram's system do that Google can't? Say you wanted to know how much cholesterol and saturated fat lurked in a slab of your grandmother's cornbread. You'd transcribe its ingredients from her yellowed index card to an online query bar, and Alpha would run computations and produce a USDA-style nutrition label.

AT&T's 3G upgrades to improve iPhone service - Marguerite Reardon, CNet news.cnet.com

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:15 GMT

AT&T is upgrading its network and using 850MHz spectrum to beef up its 3G wireless network, which should help alleviate dropped calls and slow network connections for iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S users. Apple said this week that it sold more than a million of the iPhone 3G S model worldwide this past weekend after the phone went on sale Friday. Exactly how many of those phones were activated on AT&

Online technology revolution stops at classroom doors, report says - Rebecca Attwood, Times Higher Education UK

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:10 GMT

Mobile internet and social networking have found their way into the everyday lives of those on campus but have not yet followed university students and teachers into the classroom, a think-tank has claimed. A report published today by Demos argues that technology needs to become better ingrained into universities? thinking about teaching and the student experience. It came as the Government announced a new task force that will aim to make UK higher education the first choice across the world for online distance learning. In support of that, the Government also launched a ?10 million match-funding scheme. The Demos reports says many academics find it hard to envisage the possibilities technology affords, not least because they often ?lack the basic skills? to use the new tools.

Universities urged to make better use of technology: Social media and online learning offer great opportunities - Bryan Glick, computing UK

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:04 GMT

UK universities need to make better use of technology or risk losing their pre-eminent standing in global education, according to research for education body Jisc.?Technology is changing universities as they become just one source among many for ideas, knowledge and innovation. But online learning tools and open access also offer the means for their survival,? says the report.

Lessons go to online learning as swine flu spreads - MICHELLE COOKE, East And Bays Courier

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:01 GMT

Swine flu outbreaks in schools are fast-tracking online learning programmes. Principals and teachers are preparing online homework in case schools have to shut down or students are made to stay home. Newmarket School introduced wikis, an internet learning tool its students can use at home, only two weeks ago but decided to speed up its introduction as part of its pandemic plan.

US Dept of Ed Study: Both Blended and Online Learning Better than Face to Face

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:44 GMT

The meta analysis showed that ?blended? instruction ? combining elements of online and face-to-face instruction ? had a larger advantage relative to purely face to face instruction or instruction conducted wholly online. The analysis also showed that the instruction conducted wholly on line was more effective in improving student achievement than the purely face to face instruction. In addition, the report noted that the blended conditions often included additional learning time and instructional elements not received by students in control conditions.

?Studies of earlier generations of distance and online learning courses have concluded that they are usually as effective as classroom-based instruction,? said Marshall ?Mike? Smith, a Senior Counselor to the secretary. ?The studies of more recent online instruction included in this meta-analysis found that, on average, online learning, at the post-secondary level, is not just as good as but more effective than conventional face-to-face instruction..?

Become an online tutor: jobs for experienced teachers and students - Cindy Ausbrooks, Examiner.com

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:40 GMT

The current state of the economy has impacted numerous working professionals, and even teachers have not been spared. Even those aspiring educators who enter Arkansas? nontraditional program, in which college graduates may teach while working toward their full certification, have failed to find jobs. In fact, a failure rate of 17 percent has been reported.What are these jobless teachers and

The rise of Hate 2.0 - Daniel Emery, BBC News

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:25 GMT

The number of hate and terrorist websites has increased by a third in the past year, according to the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights organisation put the figure at more than 8,000 in its 2008 report Hate 2.0. It said the presence of such sites "demeans and threatens African Americans, Jews, immigrants, gays and virtually every religious denomination". And the

Memphis in July?must be Laptops?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

The digital age has provided me the opportunity to learn through a vibrant and expanding network of amazing minds - my personal learning community. The chance to engage in conversations with colleagues from around the world through blogs, skype, twitter, etc. has exposed me to many ideas that push my boundaries [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286399

A New Year

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

I am never sure just how to feel when we return to school in January.� The Christmas Break was much different for me this year - I hardly “worked' at all.� I spent the break enjoying time with my wife, our kids, my new “wiki” (see previous post) and reading about trains and travel in [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286400

A Wiki for Christmas?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

My wife has long shared my love of animals, yet resisted adopting one due to her allergies. While we do have several fish, since my cat passed away three years ago I have not been able to replace him with either a cat or a dog. Last night before our family dinner, a [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286401

Extended classroom?a tale of connection.

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

I can be guaranteed to get a reaction from students, colleagues or parents when I talk about learning in the new digital landscape. With ever-increasing connectivity and digital spaces, I have no doubt that going to a physical “school” on a daily basis for an education will be an option for many students. [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286396

what Pink Thinks?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

I am excited about tomorrow….and not just for ANOTHER dump of snow that most teachers and students hope will cancel school. On Sunday noted edublogger Karl Fisch, who calls Arapahoe High School in Littleton, Colorado home, finally made mention of a kewl new project involving two 9th grade honors Language Arts classes at AHS and Daniel [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286397

Trying not to sink?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

My recent lack of blogging activity has even resulted in a couple of people have inquired as to my health. Truth is, I am fine, just slightly overwhelmed. There has certainly been no lack of blog fodder, with many ideas flowing through my cranium. It's just a pure lack of time. With my day [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286398

Overwhelmed? ?Glad it?s Friday!

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

As I was sitting at my desk - staring at my screen - I began to feel a bit overwhelmed. Open was my twitter, skype and netvibes (my current feedreader). I have found lately that skype and twitter have pushed blogs (including my own) to the background. Like our kids, I like the immediacy [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286393

Connected to the Top of the Earth?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Breaking down the walls of the classroom and having students connect with the world is one of the powerful learning opportunities afforded by Web 2.0. Fredericton native Brian Jones is taking his concern for the environment and for student learning to a whole new level in a couple of months when he embarks on [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286394

Wanted: International Middle Schools for 1001 FWT

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

A little over a year ago Korean educator and edublogger Clay Burell and myself were playing around with a number of collaborative tools together online. It was interesting to connect with someone around the world, a full twelve hours away. From there both he and I have gone on to develop vibrant and [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286395

Feeling the warmth?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

I have never been to Australia…at least not until yesterday (today?). Some students at our school are participating in the upcoming middle school writing workshop of the 1001 Flat World Tales project, along with another Canadian school, four US schools and two schools from Australia. After assuming the unofficial role of workshop coordinator - [...] [From: Whip Blog, February 20, 2008] 286392

Aperture 2 is out

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Apple has got Aperture 2 out now. There is an upgrade price for us Aperture 1.5x users, so I'm thinking that the Education price on this is going to be pretty good as well. It looks like the minimum specs are about the same, so older hardware should be able to run it… not [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286390

Sprout

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

I just got my invite to take a look at Sprout, an interesting little widget builder that can take a number of resources and make them “flashed” - essentially you could use this to replace PowerPoint or Keynote if you want to deliver webcentric presentations. If you combine this with Yahoo Pipes or custom feeds [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286391

Pic of the Week - Dali?s Clock

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Dali's ClockOriginally uploaded by idarknight. �Well, with the weather warming up, everything is starting to melt and the kicker is that it's raining outside today. The last time that I was in the rain this winter? London. So I thought this was only appropriate. [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286385

Google, what?s with the deal with slow scripts?

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Is it just me or has anyone else noticed that various Google apps - Reader, Mail and iGoogle are not playing nice with Mac browsers - at least on Macbook Pros? This has happened on two machines that I support - to the point where FF and Google are not playing nice and locking up [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286386

A first look at Spore

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Wired seems to have got the scoop - at least on the screen shots and associated blurbs. I almost picked up Endless Ocean last night, but wanted to read a review first. The reviews all say that it's an incredibly unique game that fills a niche that is unfilled, just as Spore does, of creativity [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286387

Spore Disperses Sept 7

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

According to the�Guardian�and �on the official site as�well.� [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286388

Throw Sugar out the Window

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Wired is reporting that the XO rev that is Windows capable is now getting field tested. Wired is saying that this is likely as much to do to ensure that kids in the developing world are “hooked on Windows”. While, I would agree - not being an MS fan - I think there might be [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286389

Aperture 2 - first impressions - on an old Mac

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

Well, Aperture 2 is certainly impressing me so far on my old mac - Power Mac G5 (Dual 2 with 2GB RAM and a 64MB video card). There is still a lag when you want to start into some of the more processor intensive tools, but the wait is considerably shorter than what it was [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286383

FireFox3b3

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:19 GMT

After having issues with Google and FF2, I decided to try 3b3. Having read that 2 was not very stable and not good on Flash, I tried b2 and watched it die a nasty death on Facebook and several Flash sites. b3 however seems to be running along fine and so far is not having [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286384

Idea Sex - yeah the title got my attention too

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:18 GMT

Leave it to The Escapist for titles like this now eh? First from the article: No.2 … Keep the classroom, but change it and everything around it. Make the money in education slosh a different way. Have schools, colleges, communities, businesses and all other parts of the education system talk to each other a little [...] [From: EDITing in the Dark, February 20, 2008] 286382

Google Analytics Time-saving Tip - Share Profile Access Among Accounts

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 07:25 GMT

I have my wife to thank for teaching me this one. If you have mutliple Google/Gmail accounts, and you use Google Analytics under one of those, you've probably experienced the inconvenience of having to log out of one Google account in order to log into the other to see your Google Analytics stats. Well there's an easy way around this, and it's a big time-saver.

1- Go into your Analytics Settings screen within Google Analytics.
2- Click the Edit link for the profile you want to share with another account.
3- Near the bottom of the screen there is the option to Add a new user
4- Type in the Gmail address of the person to whom you'd like to grant access
5- If you're granting the same person access to multiple website profiles, they're considered an existing user after the first time

This also works well if you want to share your Google Analytics information (in read-only more, if you choose) with someone else who has a Gmail account. There are three or four of us at the office, and this trick allows us to share a single Google Analytics account for the sites we're managing, all while being logged into our own Gmail accounts.

In order to access your Google Analytics account from your Gmail screen, click “more” from the top menu. The first choice then is Analytics.

How to measure the effectiveness of interactive media?

Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:07 GMT

That's the big question, isn't it?

Paul Baker and I will be appearing in a browser near you tomorrow at 1 pm EDT to share as much as we can share on the topic in 90 minutes.

It looks like registrations are still open. Check the Academic Impressions page for more info.

Many thanks to Paul for the invitation to co-pilot on this one, and to Academic Impressions for hosting.

Tools, Tips, and Tricks for Workgroup Productivity

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 14:28 GMT

Sunny San Diego was the setting for my NACUBO presentation this morning with Brendon Connelly of George Fox University. For the talk entitled “Tools, Tips, and Tricks for Workgroup Productivity, we hit a few key web-2.0 type tools that people from world of student financial services might find cool and useful - mindmaps, screencasts, wikis, and RSS.

Well, you can check it out too, because we did the whole talk from a public wiki. There are lots of links and examples, plus a screencast on how to set up Google Reader, an Ajax-y RSS reader that feels a lot like Gmail.

Here’s the link.

Tools, Tips, and Tricks for Workgroup Productivity

It was great to meet so many folks from the financial side of the university. What resonated with them? For starters — the idea of wikis for helping organize internal policies, and screencasts to help students learn how to complete complex forms.

Links for 2-6-2007

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 07:19 GMT

PR and the Web 101 - Karine Joly’s latest UB column

Teens Frequent Online Video Users (Podcasting News via MicroPersuasion)

Google Co-op - Creating customized search engines for education (screencast) by Jean-Claude Bradley. A great how-to on leveraging Google Co-op to create custom search engines for education on a particular knowledge domain. (This is a pretty awesome tool - I’ve created a bunch of these searches myself and was delighted to see JC’s screencast. - DK)

HigherEd BlogCon Update

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 22:39 GMT

After much deliberation and discussions with Dan Forbush, my HigherEd BlogCon organizing partner, we’ve decided to postpone another event until later this year or possibly until 2008. The 2006 event was a tremendous success, and we’re grateful for all the support and encouragement we’ve received about staging the sequel. For my part, a variety of Nelnet start-up obligations are keeping me busier than expected. The BlogCon community deserves more time than I can dedicate to it at the moment. We’ll post an announcement on the wiki and event site very soon.

Welcome to the Blogosphere, Dennis Miller

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:29 GMT

How about a shout out to Dennis Miller, of Mansfield University podcast fame? I’d been following Dennis’s work at Mansfield for quite a while, then had the pleasure of meeting him at an Academic Impressions conference in Orlando this past fall. A most welcome addition to the higher ed blogosphere, he.

Here’s his RSS feed.

Google Page Rank (PR) Update Reportedly in Progress

Thu, 11 Jan 2007 11:05 GMT

Micah Sparacio at BlogHerald.com reports there’s a Google PR update in progress - suggesting that pages that have suddenly dropped to zero may not be as serious a concern as it seems - at the moment. I can confirm that some of my sites dropped from PR6 or so to zero - and Micah has a plausible explanation for this. I can also confirm that some of my sites bumped up a PR or two since early in the week. He also mentions a tool called LivePR that purports to calculate PR on the fly.

Peterson's RSS page

Fri, 29 Dec 2006 02:08 GMT

In a final note for the year, and filed under the heading of either “shameless promotion” or “achievements” - whichever you prefer - is this word about our new RSS page that represents a compilation of feeds that have existed for a while now across the Peterson's sphere. The feeds represent a running snapshot of daily updates provided electronically by thousands of traditional and online colleges and graduate programs who partner with us for recruiting services. We've started linking into this page from some key portals such as the brick-and-mortar college search, online college search and graduate search, and it will soon be accessible from nearly all pages on Petersons.com. These are in addition to the thousand-plus direct feeds from institutions submitted by you and found in our college and university feed directory.