The Higher Education Cooperative Purchase Consortium
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Tuesday, September 10, 2002
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Volume 3, Issue 6
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Technology Tidbits
News on Educational Technology and the Internet
by Judy Brown
EDUCATION NEWS
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UOFW STUDENTS
WORRIED BY MICROSOFT DEAL
Students at the University of Waterloo have expressed
concern about the relationship the school has with Microsoft Canada. The
Canadian subsidiary of the Redmond giant announced on Wednesday that it was
giving the university $2.3- million to develop software and conduct research
that would benefit the company. A statement by the University of Waterloo
Federation of Students charged that the deal compromises academic autonomy.
http://rtnews.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/tech/RTGAM/20020815/gtwater/Technology/techBN/
BUILDING
COMMUNITIES--STRATEGIES FOR COLLABORATIVE LEARNING
In a recent survey by the Masie Center, nearly 2000
learning professionals ranked online communities as one of the top three most
important components of e-learning portals. But the term community remains
ambiguous, and CLOs are unsure how to start building and integrating them into
their organizations. Here's a model that describes a number of practical
applications for including community as part of a learning plan and specific
strategies for building learning- focused communities.
http://www.learningcircuits.com/2002/aug2002/kaplan.html
BACK TO
SCHOOL FOR OFFICE XP
A deal to offer students a cheaper version of
Microsoft's Office XP software may be part of a larger plan for the software
maker: Increasing sales of the productivity suite to consumers by slashing
prices. Microsoft's aggressive pricing of the academic version of Office XP has
made the software one of the biggest sellers with students and teachers--and
it's becoming increasingly popular among nonstudents, who are technically
ineligible for the discount. In some cases, the software is priced $330 less
than the same nonacademic version of Office XP.
http://news.com.com/2100-1001-954779.html
NETG COURSES
QUALIFY FOR COLLEGE CREDIT
NETg, a worldwide leader in corporate education and
training and part of The Thomson Corporation, today announced that the American
Council on Education (ACE) has recommended that NETg's e-Learning and Wave Boot
Camp product lines be eligible for college credit. According to ACE content
specialists, selected from college faculty, NETg offerings are comparable to
college level programs and can now be used as transfer credit at participating colleges
and universities.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020821/212172_1.html
STUDY SHOWS
NO DEMONSTRABLE LINK BETWEEN CHOICE OF MLE AND EDUCATIONAL APPROACH
A team of Dutch researchers investigated the relation
between various educational approaches (e.g. traditional, guided learning,
active learning and experience-based learning) and the design and use of
different virtual learning environments (VLE). Conclusion: it's not really
possible to map an educational approach to a specific type of VLE.
http://www.cetis.ac.uk/content/20020820131543
POINT,
CLICK—AND SAVE A FROG
Thanks to a plethora of virtual dissection websites,
students who want to be kind to their web-footed friends can learn all about
frog anatomy without having to wield a scalpel. The Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory offers a virtual frog dissection kit that lets inquiring minds view
a rotating digitized diagram of "Fluffy" the frog—with or without
skin—whose organs can be added and subtracted at will.
http://www.techinformer.com/go.cgi?id=730652
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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THE FUTURE OF
TECHNOLOGY
PC Magazine’s special report on the future of
technology includes articles on Tech Frontiers; Future Fab; The Programming
Gene; Artificially Intelligent Security; The Revolution, Televised; Lab Tales;
and The Future in Gear.
http://www.pcmag.com/category2/0,,415483,00.asp
NOTEBOOK
OVERHAUL ON THE HORIZON
Five years from now, the desktop will probably look
pretty much like it does today, but the notebook will likely be smaller and
lighter, capable of making cellular calls on its own and running on methane.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-951449.html
DELL FINALLY
TURNS TO RESELLERS
Dell, which built its business around selling PCs
direct to consumers in a low-overhead business model, is to recruit resellers
for the first time in order to gain more access to the corporate market, the
Wall Street Journal reported late Monday on its Web site.
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/08/20/020820hndellresell.xml
FLAT-PANEL
DISPLAY PRICES SET TO PLUMMET
For PC users interested in a thin film transistor LCD
to replace their bulky cathode ray tube monitor, now may be the right time to
start thinking about an upgrade as prices on flat-panel screens are expected to
fall in the months ahead. TFT-LCD prices have soared more than 40 percent over
the past year, but analysts tracking the display market say prices will now
head lower due to increases in production capacity.
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/08/20/020820hnflat.xml
WASHINGTON,
D.C., AREA TO USE WIRELESS NETWORK FOR EMERGENCIES
Police, fire and other emergency personnel in the
Washington area are turning to open standards and instant messaging to overcome
their inability to communicate via proprietary voice radio systems. This wireless
instant messaging system will accomplish what the agencies' voice radio
communications cannot, and that's the means to seamlessly communicate with
police, fire, medical and other agencies that may be responding to an
emergency. It will also give rescue workers access to multiple state and
federal databases.
http://computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/story/0,10801,73681,00.html
ENTREPRENEUR
FILES SUIT OVER JUNK FAXES
When Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist
Steve Kirsch gets a pet peeve, beware. Tired of his fax machine whirring at 3
a.m. with unsolicited faxes, Kirsch plans today to file two suits against
Fax.com, the country's largest fax- broadcasting company. Kirsch, who rarely
does anything on a small scale, is seeking an astronomical $500 billion in
statutory damages--an unprecedented amount that may garner media attention but
likely would never be awarded. "This is not a publicity stunt; our goal is
to shut Fax.com down and make any advertiser thinking of sending an unsolicited
fax think twice," Kirsch said.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/3914588.htm
APPLE UNLEASHES
JAGUAR
Apple Computer plans a contrarian celebration for the
anniversary of the Windows 95 launch, unleashing a new operating system aimed
at stealing customers away from Microsoft.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/798236.asp
PALM OWNERS
SEE RED OVER COLORS
A class-action lawsuit has been filed against handheld
maker Palm for "unfair competition and fraudulent, unfair, deceptive and
false advertising" of its m130 organizer. The lawsuit, which was filed in
California's superior court in Santa Clara County on behalf of two m130 owners
and "all others similarly situated," claims that Palm misled
consumers into believing its m130 personal digital assistant could support more
than 65,000 colors. The lawsuit follows on the heels of an admission made
earlier this week by Palm that the m130 PDA is unable to display the 65,536
colors the company had been advertising since the product came out in March.
http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,54727,00.html
CHIP DESIGN
AIMS FOR QUANTUM LEAP
The first step toward making phenomenally powerful
quantum computers is capturing and manipulating individual subatomic particles,
which is a bit like getting a fly to venture onto your desk, then perform
tricks like "sit up" and "roll over" on command. The second
step is harnessing, controlling and coordinating thousands or millions of
particles at once. Making a practical quantum computer also means doing this
using ordinary electronics rather than exotic laboratory equipment. University
of Wisconsin researchers are tackling these issues with a quantum computer
design that would incorporate thousands of individually-controlled electrons
into a silicon chip that could be made much the same way as today's computer
chips.
http://www.trnmag.com/Stories/2002/082102/Chip_design_aims_for_quantum_leap_082102.html
TYPE WITH
YOUR EYE
Software which allows computer users to write without
touching the keyboard has been developed by scientists at Cambridge University
in the UK. Dubbed Dasher, the text entry system could transform computing for
people unable to use a normal keyboard.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2209829.stm
INTERNET RELATED NEWS
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STARBUCKS, DT LAUNCH WI-FI COFFEEHOUSE NETWORK
Coffee monolith Starbucks
Coffee has launched a wireless LAN service in its coffeehouses throughout the
U.S. in conjunction with the wireless subsidiaries of Deutsche Telekom (DT),
T-Mobile International, and VoiceStream Wireless, the companies announced
Wednesday. Starbucks customers in approximately 1,200 of its U.S. stores will
be able to check e-mail, use the Internet, watch streaming video, or download
multimedia presentations for a fee over the WLAN service, which uses the Wi-Fi
or IEEE 802.11b protocol, the companies said in a statement.
http://www.infoworld.com/articles/hn/xml/02/08/21/020821hnstarbucks.xml
NEW SUPER PATCH FOR INTERNET EXPLORER FIXES SIX NEW FLAWS
Microsoft Corp. late yesterday
issued a cumulative patch for its Internet Explorer Web browser that also fixes
six new vulnerabilities, the most serious of which could enable an attacker to
take control over a user's system, the company said.
http://computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/holes/story/0,10801,73732,00.html
A QUARTER OF US EMPLOYEES ADDICTED TO THE NET
One in every four employees in
the US is addicted to the Internet, according to a new survey from Websense.
However, while 25 percent of employees say that they are addicted to going
online, only eight percent of companies report any knowledge of workplace
Internet addiction.
http://www.nua.com/surveys/?f=VS&art_id=905358298&rel=true
IS IT TIME TO MAKE PEER REVIEWED RESEARCH FREE?
A few leading scientists are
asking a simple question that could have a profound impact on how information
about scientific research is disseminated.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/scitech/DyeHard/dyehard020807.html
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[NOTE: The selections above
are from the Academic ADL Co-Lab News Report, a limited-distribution, weekly
executive summary of trends, strategies, and innovations influencing the future
of learning and technology in higher education. It is prepared by the
University of Wisconsin System Office of Learning and Information Technology
(OLIT) in coordination with the Co-Lab. Collegebuys.org is using these
selections with permission. The selections from the weekly summaries were
selected and edited by David Stuart of collegebuys.org.]
[NOTE: This information is
provided for information purposes only. Mention or discussion of a product,
company, or person does not represent any official endorsement or criticism of
the same. All authors and organizations retain complete copyright.]
[SOURCE MATERIAL: The
reference as specific as possible is provided to a source for each summary.
When using an online link, ensure the URL has not been broken with a carriage
return.]
[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Judy
Brown is the Emerging Technology Analyst for the University of Wisconsin
System, OLIT. Brown conducts research and consults for the 15-institution UW
System. She is Director of the Academic ADL Co-Laboratory at The Pyle Center in
Madison, WI. Until recently she coordinated the WTCS Hardware and Software
Purchasing Consortium and other statewide technology initiatives for 16
technical college districts comprised of 47 campuses. Brown was named one of
the Top 100 women in computing by McGraw Hill's Open Computing magazine (December
1994). She writes a business technology column for the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel and is the coordinator of eWEEK's Corporate Partner Program.]
[COMMENTS &
CONTRIBUTIONS: If you want to offer material, or if you want to comment on the
contents, contact Judy Brown at judy@academiccolab.org
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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Published by
Foundation for California Community Colleges
Copyright © 2002 Foundation for California Community Colleges. All rights reserved.
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