SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, August 8, 2007

• 08/08/07

Case Study

Inside Indiana U's Move to ChaCha

University to bolster research with guided search functionality

By Linda L. Briggs

Indiana University's alliance with search firm ChaCha, announced last week, may portend how universities, librarians, and Internet search engines will work together in the future. The arrangement points up how librarians or other experts can add huge value to scholarly searches through so-called "guided searches" by stepping in to offer access to vast amounts of material--and expertise--that conventional search engines don't touch....

News & Product Updates

Reports of Google's Demise at IU Greatly Exaggerated

Earlier we reported that Indiana University has partnered with Internet search service ChaCha, also based in Indiana, to create an alliance for developing research tools and services via the Web. Since then, we've had a chance to speak with Brad Wheeler, vice president for information technology at IU, to provide some clarification on the move, including information that contradicts other reports out there....

Apple Upgrades iMac Line

Apple CEO Steve Jobs today introduced the company's new lineup of all in one iMac systems, replacing the previous lineup. The new models come in two form factors: one with a 20-inch screen, one with a 24-inch screen. Both now sport aluminum enclosures like the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro systems. The new systems are based around Intel's latest Core 2 Duo processors running at clock speeds up to 2.8 GHz....

Astronomy Program Expands Scope

A few weeks ago we reported on a new astronomy project called GalaxyZoo, a joint project of the University of Portsmouth, Oxford University, and Johns Hopkins University whose goal is to classify about a million galaxies using help from volunteers over the Internet. According to organizers, the effort has been so successful that it's now being expanded....

Unicon Launches Sakai Pilot Program

Technology integrator Unicon has launched a new program for education institutions looking to adopt Sakai as their learning management system. The program, dubbed the Sakai Pilot Program, is a hosted service that allows universities to deploy Sakai for six months for 500 users....

HP Awards $1.2 Million to Higher Ed

HP has announced the recipients of its 2007 Technology for Teaching Leadership awards. Ten colleges and universities received awards totaling about $1.2 million (roughly $120,000 each) in equipment and professional development....

Tech Notes

2007 Campus Technology Innovators

We proudly profile the winners of this year’s competition for outstanding technology innovation on college and university campuses in the United States. We congratulate the schools, their project leads, and vendor partners in 13 categories challenging institutions of higher education around the country. This year, 338 institutions submitted their compelling case studies via our online nomination form. Many of those stories will find their way into future issues; our sincere thanks to all entrants...(Campus Technology)