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educational technologyMini laptops a hit with schools - Meris Stansbury, eSchool NewsThe HP Mini-Note fits easily on a student desk. The nearly 10,000 HP mini-laptops headed for the Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) in California this fall confirm the trend: K-12 schools are eager to put technology into the hands of every student, and a growing number of schools are bypassing full-sized--and more expensive--laptop computers in favor of scaled-down, low-cost machines designed
Categories: Educational Technology
Internet may hold key to fighting new HIV wave - Josephine Marcotty, Minneapolis Star TribuneAt first glance, Sexpulse looks like a sexually explicit gaming Web site, with provocative pictures of nude men, cartoons and cheeky icons. But it’s not a game. Far from it. The Web site, in development at the University of Minnesota, is the newest strategy to slow a second wave of the HIV/AIDS epidemic rising among young gay and bisexual men.
Categories: Educational Technology
Technology reshapes America's classrooms - ReutersFrom online courses to kid-friendly laptops and virtual teachers, technology is spreading in America's classrooms, reducing the need for textbooks, notepads, paper and in some cases even the schools themselves. Just ask 11-year-old Jemella Chambers. She is one of 650 students who receive an Apple Inc laptop each day at a state-funded school in Boston. From the second row of her classroom, she
Categories: Educational Technology
ACCESS lets students take courses not offered at their schools - Brandon Fincher, Talladega Daily HomeMunford High School students participate in an interactive video conferencing class at the school. Talladega County and Pell City high schools use online courses and video conferences to provide classes that students are not able to take locally. The technology is part of the Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators and Students Statewide (ACCESS) Distance Learning program. Alabama’s classrooms
Categories: Educational Technology
Educators told they need to keep up - Amy K. Stewart, Deseret NewsWhile some educators are on board the technology train, other teachers are going to need a little push — and all could benefit from some tech training, a state education official said."Technology has changed the face of education forever," said Brenda Hales, Utah State Office of Education associate superintendent for student achievement and school success. She addressed the public education
Categories: Educational Technology
Tenn. tech schools shorten schedules to save gas - Associated PressSome Tennessee community colleges and tech schools are moving to a 4-day school week to help commuting students facing a financial roadblock in rising gasoline prices. Four Tennessee Technology Centers and three community colleges are adopting the new class schedules after hearing from students that high gas prices could force them to drop out.
Categories: Educational Technology
Project Bamboo Workshop 1dI just got back from the Project Bamboo workshop at Princeton University. This was basically a two and one-half day brainstorming session that brought together people from five areas: arts and humanities research, computer science, information science, libraries/archives, and central IT. The topic was cyberinfrastructure to support arts and humanities research. I'm going to try to put together some bullet points from my notes when I get a chance. As a central IT guy I found it refreshing to get the chance to interact with faculty, and the discussions I participated in were very lively. For more information, check out the project web site: http://projectbamboo.org. Categories: Educational Technology
When the ISP Tracks Your Every Move: The Power (and Abuse) of Deep Packet InspectionAs the temperatures rise in a typical Washington summer, so grows the pressure on some online advertising firms. Yesterday the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Telecommunications and the Internet Subcommittee held a hearing on the questionable methods for advertising currently being used by some Internet service providers (ISPs). The hearing was entitled, “What Your Broadband Provider Knows About Your Web Use: Deep Packet Inspection and Communications Laws and Policies.” Panelists included: Bob Dykes, the CEO for NebuAd, David Reed, an early Internet pioneer and professor at MIT, Alissa Cooper, the Chief Computer Scientist for the Center for Democracy and Technology, Scott Cleland, President of Precursor, LLC, and Bijan Sabet, a General Partner at Spark Capital. Committee members expressed concerns about ISPs working with third party advertising firms that monitor their customers’ web habits for advertising purposes. Several people compared deep packet inspection techniques on the Internet with the United States Postal Service opening people’s packages. They said a basic level of privacy is violated when an ISP employs DPI for the sake of increasing revenue, especially when unwitting customers are not aware their web browsing is being monitored. DPI is a computer network packet filtering that allows for the inspection of data for viruses, spam, or other content. In other words, this inspection process would provide an ISP or other entity with the power of conducting data mining, eavesdropping or even censorship. While DPI has benefits, panelist Bijan Sabet said the Comcast/BitTorrent debacle demonstrates that is also has its drawbacks. A few weeks ago, it was revealed that Comcast was blocking BitTorrent on its network through the use of DPI technology. This marks the second week that advertising firm, NebuAd, has testified before Congress on its “robust” security practices. Last week, NebuAd faced questioning by the Senate Commerce Committee. The firm says targeted advertising “provides consumers with significant benefits, serving them with more relevant ads, which they want, while ensuring they have robust privacy protections and control over their online experience.” Taking NebuAd to task, Chairman Ed Markey said DPI “can indicate every site a user visits and much more.” He said he would not expect the postal service or UPS to open up his packages, and believes tactics used by firms like NebuAd are subjecting Americans to unwarranted invasions of privacy. Furthermore, he said the notices that are provided to users are lost in the fine print or ignored. “When people use the world wide web, they don’t want it to turn into the wild, wild west when it comes to their personal information,” said Markey. Ranking Member Cliff Stearns, on the other hand, urged Members to use caution when approaching this issue, saying the FTC testified last week that no new regulations were needed for the online advertising arena. “As the overall economy continues to take a downturn, the government shouldn’t be contemplating how to make it harder for small businesses to succeed. Targeted advertising may be essential for small businesses to compete with larger ones,” said Stearns. “Let’s look very closely at these issues before we leap to legislative proposals that even the FTC is not calling for at this time.” Other Members said a policy of opt-in should be the norm, rather than the current opt-out choice. “Why is the burden [of opting out] on me?” asked Representative Greg Walden. “I think for the Internet to succeed as an instrument of commerce,” people need to opt-in to the system. Citing another issue, Representative Hilda Solis said she was concerned that vulnerable populations, like the elderly or those who cannot speak English, may be targets for predatory advertising tactics. WHAT THEY SAID: Here is a brief summary of the panelists’ testimonies. Bob Dykes (NebuAd)- Dykes said his company, which he says does not use personally identifiable information, has designed a service “so that no one- not even the government- can determine the identity of our users.” Dykes said they do not store raw data that can be linked to individuals. He also said they provide users “with prior, robust notice.” Dykes, who faced tough questioning from Chairman Markey and others, said they continue to innovate on privacy controls, including the development of better notices. He said the Internet “is more than 50% supported by advertising,” so it is imperative that firms like his have access. David Reed (Professor, MIT)- Reed, who began working on the Internet in the late seventies, said he believes DPI is “not at all necessary” for operating the Internet. He said DPI technologies “actually violate long-agreed standards and principles that have been part of the Internet’s design from the beginning.” Furthermore, Reed said they “pose major risks to the economic successes of the Internet … by normalizing non-standard and risky technical activity on the part of telecom operators who may choose to exploit captive customers.” He said DPI is particularly harmful for unwitting customers, especially when they do not know how their information is being tracked (or even that it is tracked in the first place). Reed said users must have informed consent and know exactly how their data is being used. Alissa Cooper (Chief Computer Scientist, CDT)- Cooper said that while DPI is benign and even beneficial at times, it “runs the risk of violating the trust of consumers for the Internet.” She said this technology allows networks to see the political or religious sites a user may visit, while providing little notice they are doing so. Cooper suggested that current online advertising techniques may violate federal wiretapping laws and might also interfere with normal Internet use. She urged Congress to seek more information from ISPs and other companies about how they are using DPI, and asked that they consider a larger, comprehensive privacy bill to protect consumers. Scott Cleland (President, Precursor, LLC)- Cleland said the hearing should have focused on the search engines like Google and Yahoo, which he says have a double standard when it comes to consumer privacy. He said the committee should focus on “a comprehensive approach to Internet privacy,” rather than attacking the ISPs alone. He said firms like Google are truly “Orwellian” in that they have access to a full spectrum of people’s information through Google searches, Gmail, Picasa pictures, Google health, Google calendars, etc… Cleland said, “We are worried about perfect blinds on the windows when there are no walls on the house.” For full disclosure purposes, he noted that his business involves working for ISPs, but said he was speaking on his own behalf. Bijan Sabet (General Partner, Spark Capital)- Sabet said DPI is a significant technology breakthrough, which provides consumer and economic benefits. But he said DPI could be used to thwart net neutrality, since it allows ISPs to slow down or turn off third party services or applications. Sabet warned that a closed Internet will not thrive as incentives for innovation decrease. In a press release, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warned consumers about the “privacy landmines inherent in DPI.” “The expanding use of DPI is increasingly sophisticated, complicated and lacking in transparency. The risk to Americans’ privacy is massive,” said Timothy Sparapani of the ACLU. “Every time we visit the Internet, everything we read, everything we see- all of it is up for grabs with DPI. … Congress must be Americans’ firewall on this issue.” Categories: Educational Technology
EDUCAUSE Signs Letter Urging Congress to Support Pro-Broadband LegislationIn a letter delivered this week, EDUCAUSE and several other groups have asked that Congress pass the Broadband Data Improvement Act and the Broadband Census of America Act before the 110th Congress ends. The groups say this legislation "would improve information-gathering about current broadband deployment and assist in targeting resources to areas in need of such services." Learn more, and access a related press release regarding EDUCAUSE’s proposed new approach to making high-speed Internet services available across the country. Categories: Educational Technology
Hi-tech messages for teachers - Stephen Drill, Herald SunStudents are being encouraged to quiz teachers by text message if they are too shy to ask in class. And it works: tech-savvy students are lifting average VCE grades from C to B+, teachers say. Schools are reviewing bans on mobile phones as days of "chalk and talk" give way to recorded lessons posted online for students to listen to out of school hours. Simple mobile phones, multi-function
Categories: Educational Technology
Garrett Urges Teachers to Turn Up the Technology - ANGEL RIGGS, Tulsa WorldOklahoma State Superintendent Sandy Garrett called on teachers Tuesday to integrate more technology into classrooms to engage students who have spent their entire lives in a digital world. She also unveiled the state Department of Education's Time Analysis Tool, an online process designed to help school leaders identify and better plan for school-day disruptions, such as assemblies, trips and
Categories: Educational Technology
New second in command is ISU's highest-ranked woman ever - Michele Steinbacher, Bloomington PantagraphAs Illinois State University’s new provost Sheri Noren Everts settles in to the job, she becomes the highest-ranked female administrator in the university’s history. She officially started July 1. Among issues she expects to face in the near future are how to tap into the differing learning styles of an increasingly diverse student body, how to embrace technology in the classroom in a meaningful
Categories: Educational Technology
Southwest Regional Conference 2009: Submit a Presentation ProposalThe call for proposals is now open for the 2009 Southwest Regional Conference, "Balancing Acts: Making IT Work for Everyone,” February 24–26 in San Antonio. Note: This year, the conference begins on a Tuesday and ends on a Thursday. The deadline for submissions is September 9. The program for this leading event in higher education IT will follow these tracks:
Categories: Educational Technology
Visual ThinkingI'm not a visual person. Ok, not totally true. I'm a visual person, but I lack skills to express myself visually. I love concept maps. I thoroughly enjoy level images. I even signed up with Gliffy in a desperate bid to improve my ability to create visuals (I've been using Fireworks, but I don't have the time or patience to perfect it). I've tried to increase visuals in my presentations over the last year. And I appreciate Robin Good's injection of images and organization of text with my newsletter. See this edition, for example. I'm convinced of the value of visuals. I just don't usually take the needed time to communicate well in visual manner. It is, after all, easier to simply state the facts than tell a story, or to write a paragraph than to create an image. The difference, however, is that "stating the facts" has a short life span. It's not very memorable. A story lasts far long. And images can communicate far more effectively. Which is why I enjoyed reading this short article on Visual Literacy and Visual Thinking. Categories: Educational Technology
Word Web 5.5The Wordweb free edition is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary forWindows, which can work online and off-line. The program can look up wordsin almost any program and then provide a definition, pronunciation, relatedwords, and list of synonyms. The dictionary includes over 150,000 root wordsand 120,000 synonym sets and covers American, British, Canadian, Australian,Indian, and global
Categories: Educational Technology
The Urban Institute: Five QuestionsIn the mid-1960s, President Johnson saw the need for independent nonpartisan analysis of the problems facing America's cities and their residents. The President created a blue-ribbon commission of civic leaders who recommended chartering a center to do that work and in 1968, the Urban Institute became that center. Today the Urban Institute analyzes policies, evaluates programs, and informs
Categories: Educational Technology
RAND EuropeRAND Europe is part of the US-based RAND Corporation and has been active for the past 15 years. Based in Cambridge, UK, RAND Europe conducts research andanalysis on the challenges facing many European countries. Visitors may want to start by perusing their home page where they can read up on a spotlightedresearcher, highlighted research, or a featured report. After exploring the home page,
Categories: Educational Technology
Cloud ComputingYou might as well start a new tag on your del.icio.us profile for cloud computing. It is the terminological heir of web 2.0. And it's meaning is equally vague. Cloud computing means many things right now - ranging from a way to move data and applications around (or to scale them) without impacting quality for end user...or to applying supercomputing to the masses and the web (using a mesh network instead of only supercomputers)... or to purchasing computing power on demand...or to fluid data exchange and interaction regardless of devices. Basically, it's about the web. Everything on the web. Usable by any device. Or platform. With the complexity and technical challenges being managed without end-user awareness. The mess of different devices and distributed data don't inconvenience the end user. To a degree, it's an attempt to make technology more transparent and data access more flexible, reducing computing to utility status. Nicholas Carr equates cloud computing with spice trails of centuries gone by offers this lovely quote by Eric Schmidt: "When the network becomes as fast as the processor, the computer hollows out and spreads across the network." Categories: Educational Technology
Cult of the dabbawalasDabbawala's are a 5000 person collective involved in the complex delivery of meals in India. They are renowned for extreme efficiency in their work and organization, with an error rate of only 1 per 6 million deliveries. And they do it without technology. The cult of the dabbawala looks at this organization from the perspective of management on organizational effectiveness. An important concept: "Most of our modern business education is about analytic models, technology and efficient business practices...The dabbawalas, by contrast, focus more on human and social ingenuity". Categories: Educational Technology
EDUCAUSE Review Gains New Honors from Publishing CommunityEDUCAUSE Review and Publisher/Editor D. Teddy Diggs recently gained honors from two prestigious publishing awards programs. Read more in the press release. Categories: Educational Technology
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