News 02-20-2001
Syllabus Conference to Address Distance Learning
Track 5 of the Syllabus Spring2001 conference, to be held in Cincinnati, Ohio
April 5-8, will deal with "Distance Learning: Issues and Programs." Because
many traditional courses now include distance learning components, and many
distance learning courses include occasional face-to-face meetings, the experience
of those teaching at a distance has become more valuable to us all. They are
the total immersion veterans. Their experience, as contained in these sessions,
is ever more applicable to teaching approaches in general. Whether you "meet"
your class only occasionally online, teach straight distance learning courses,
or are considering the use of online course components for the first time, the
sessions in this track are appropriate.
The Distance Learning track will consider the latest thinking about online
learning from numerous perspectives, including the design of online courses,
real-time or synchronous communication, systems for delivering online courses,
online assessment, and ethical considerations for teaching online.
For detailed session descriptions and online registration, visit www.syllabus.com.
Also, be sure to check out the conference brochure in the February issue of
Syllabus magazine.
Centurion Introduces Two New Antennas for Bluetooth Applications
Centurion Wireless Technologies recently introduced two new antennas for Bluetooth
applications at the Wireless Symposium: the BlueChip and the MicroBlue antennas.
The BlueChip antenna is an internal antenna that offers high-gain performance
(>2.0 dBi) with a wide bandwidth. It's small and light-weight with PCB surface
mount- applicable in vertical or horizontal positions without sacrificing performance-and
can be delivered in tape and reel packaging. The MicroBlue antenna features
one of the smallest footprints of its type at .03" thick, and it provides 3
dBI gain. The MicroBlue is customizable for high-volume embedded applications
in either board- or cable-mount configurations.
The BlueChip and MicroBlue antennas cover a frequency range from 2.4 to 2.5
GHz and are omnidirectional along the azimuth plane. The Bluetooth and WLAN
applications include IEEE 802.11, HomeRF and Open Air.
For more information, visit www.centurion.com.
Call for Papers Deadline
Temple University invites participation in an online conference to be held
April 17 through May 1, 2001. The conference focus will be "Intellectual Property
and Digital Information in Higher Education: Problems and Solutions." Educators,
academics and policy makers, legal scholars and practitioners, and creators
and publishers of educational software and content are encouraged to submit
papers and register for the conference at www.temple.edu/virtualconference.
The submission deadline for papers is February 22, 2001.
AcquireX Launches Business-To-Education E-procurement Private Network
AcquireX, an e-procurement network, recently launched a Web-based education
supply marketplace that combines three separate purchasing options in one system.
AcquireX provides one-stop prourement by meeting all K-12 and higher education
purchasing regulations, whether buying through AcquireX's network, through the
institution's preferred vendors, or through bids and quotes. AcquireX also provides
comprehensive customer support, incluing the handling of returns and other issues.
Following a successful six-month pilot period, feedback from beta customers
such as American University in Washington, D.C., and the Spring BranchSchool
District in Houston, Texas, led to AcquireX's creation of the three-tiered purchasing
options. AcquireX customers may purchase goods and services directly from AcquireX
as a "super supplier/aggregator,'' use the AcquireX sealed bids and quotes modules
when legally required, or pur-chase goods and services using the AcquireX facilitation
module. This module is primarily tailored to accommodate an institution's local
vendors and its established supplier contracts.
For more information, visit www.acquirex.com.
CSU Teams With Alcatel to Develop Networking Technology Program
The California State University system has announced a partnership with Alcatel
to establish a networking technology curriculum and training program at participating
CSU campuses. The partnership will create technology labs, internships, scholarships,
and other opportunities for CSU students system-wide. CSU Long Beach and CSU
Monterey Bay will pilot the networking curriculum this spring.
The program is intended to teach the fundamentals of networking technology
by establishing or enhancing networking courses at CSU campuses and will be
used not only for student courses, but also for CSU staff training. The program
will enable students and staff to design, implement, troubleshoot, and maintain
networking infrastructures.
For more information, visit www.alcatel.com.
Wright Williams & Kelly Donates Software to University of Arkansas
It was announced today that Wright Williams & Kelly has donated an advanced
manufacturing software license to the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. The
product, Factory Explorer, is an integrated capacity planning, cost analysis,
and discrete event simulation software solution. The license will be used for
research in the Department of Industrial Engineering.
For more information, visit www.wwk.com.
Media Lab Expands to India
India will soon have a Media Laboratory of its own. Officials with the Media
Lab at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Mass., confirmed
it isinvolved in talks with the Indian government to set up a new Media Lab
facility inIndia. The deal, which could be worth as much as $1 billion, would
befunded partially by India's government and by the sponsors recruited both
by MIT and by the Indian govern-ment. With so many American high-tech companies
setting up development centers there, the new lab should boost India's already
accelerating IT economy. In addition, the lab will conduct research to use technology
to help improve education in the country.
