News 01-09-2001
Syllabus Keynotes to Address the Future of Technology
Howard Strauss, manager of the Academic Applications Group at Princeton University,
will kick off the Syllabus spring2001 conference Thursday, April 5 in Cincinnati
with his keynote address, "Web Portals in the Year 2001." Strauss
will take a reasoned glimpse into the future by looking at Web portals as they
might be 15 years from now. In examining how this one tiny slice of technology
may evolve, Strauss plans to make clear how other technologies--from biometric
authentication to a ubiquitous distributed Web presence called PUP--may shape
the way we use information technology in the future.
The April 6 conference keynote address, "A Scholarship of Technology: Directions
Informed by Research?" will be given by Phillip D. Long, Senior Strategist for
the Academic Computing Enterprise at MIT. In his address, Long will argue that
while educators are racing to leverage the ever-faster and more affordable computational
power to support teaching they must also consider how to build structures to
help infuse technology practice with findings based on research. Doing so, Long
will conclude, involves a scholarship of technology.
The Syllabus spring2001 conference will be held at the Albert B. Sabin Convention
Center in Cincinnati, Ohio April 5-8. For registration information and detailed
session descriptions, visit www.syllabus.com. Also, be sure to check out the
conference brochure in the January issue of Syllabus magazine.
Internet Hosts Reach 100 Million Worldwide
Telcordia Technologies recently reported that the number of Internet hosts
has reached 100 million and has grown by 45 percent in the past year. Internet
hosts include network elements such as routers, Web servers, mail servers, workstations
in universities and businesses, and ports in modem banks of Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). The number of hosts is considered one of the most accurate
measures of the size of the Internet. Telcordia's NetSizer, a Web-based tool
that measures and forecasts a variety of Internet statistics, produces Internet
host counts. New Internet statistics under exploration at Telcordia point to
the possibility of relationships among Internet growth, electronic commerce,
and economic changes.
NetSizer reports that there are more than 350 million Internet users worldwide,
with an average of 3.4 users per host. In the United States there are approximately
2.4 Internet users per host, while in some developing countries such as China
and India, there are more than 100 Internet users per host.
For more information, visit www.netsizer.com.
Continuing Education for HealthCare Professionals
DrugFacts.com, a drug information Internet resource for pharmacists and other
healthcare professionals, and CECity.com, a resource for online pharmacy education,
recently announced a partnership that will integrate CECity's educational Web
pages into DrugFacts.com and co-market CECity to the DrugFacts.com users.
Through the integrated CECity pages, pharmacists, physicians, and healthcare
professionals visiting DrugFacts.
com will be able to access free and pay-per-credit
continuing education (CE) courses authored and accredited by organizations such
as The National Community Pharmacist Association and the American Association
of Diabetes Educators. Additional CECity features include transcripts of completed
CE courses and a CE library featuring Webcasts, interactive live and streaming
media, and journal-based courses in more than 35 specialties, including pharmacy
law, HIV/Aids, new drugs, and home testing.
For more information, visit www.drugfacts.com.
Lockheed Martin Gives $8.6 Million to Higher Education
Lockheed Martin and its employees gave $8.6 million to more than 900 colleges
and universities nationwide last year. The total included funding from the corporation,
the Lockheed Martin Foundation, and employee contributions matched equally by
the Foundation's Matching Gifts to Education Program.
Lockheed Martin gives nearly half of its $18 million in philanthropy to education.
Eighty percent of this amount is directed to higher education, primarily to
computer technology and engineering programs--especially to programs supporting
minorities and females in these disciplines.
For more information, visit www.lockheedmartin.com.
Tech Trek 2001 for MIT Sloan Students
About 200 graduate management students from the MIT Sloan School joined the
School's Annual Tech Trek to Silicon Valley on January 6, 2001. The Tech Trek
will last a week and is designed to give students a first-hand look at the technologically
entrepreneurial region. Organized by students of the Sloan's MediaTech Club,
the event has the support of alumni, staff, and key sponsors such as Sun Microsystems.
The agenda for the 2001 Tech Trek includes an alumni panel, which will cover
aspects of job negotiation and what it is like to live and work in Silicon Valley.
Students will visit a variety of firms--public and private, Internet, network
infrastructure, telecommunications, and venture capital--some of which were
started by Sloan alumni. Company executives will outline how their companies
plan to navigate the turbulent market.
In addition, a day has been set up for students to interview with well-known
companies such as Nokia, Intel, and JDS Uniphase.
CMEweb & Challenger Create Medical Education Internet Site
CMEweb.com and Challenger Corporation announced recently that their new partnership
will offer physicians Internet continuing medical education (CME) and board
exam preparation services. The newly expanded site combines Challenger's online
MyChallenger content library with the CMEweb content library and can be accessed
at CMEweb.com. The combined offering is the largest in existence and the most
comprehensive in specialty coverage. The Web site offers 3,000 CME credit hours
across 20 medical specialties.
In addition to CME courses, the site also provides complete board preparation
courses in internal medicine, emergency medicine, and family medicine and will
be adding more board prep courses in the next six months. All board prep courses
come with a "pass the boards guarantee.'' The site offers AMA Category
1 CME credits as well as credits from individual medical specialty associations.
CMEweb.com offers physicians the option to purchase individual courses, groups
of courses, or a subscription service. CMEweb is also available for site licenses
to hospitals and other healthcare facilities as an integrated part of their
education programs. CME tests are scored automatically online and certificates
e-mailed to the physician instantly.
