News 07/12/2002
E-Learning Part of Federal Nurse Training Grant
Broward (Fla.) Community College has been given a $1.1 million grant from the
U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration to help create
programs to meet a critical shortage of local nurses. As part of the school's
strategy, 100 inactive registered nurses will update their skills through testing,
customized e-learning modules and individually designed clinical rotations.
Another strategy is aimed at upgrading 100 licensed practical nurses to become
registered nurses through an online transition program. The grant will provide
an online program accessible 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week so they can complete
seven nursing lecture courses at their convenience. Students who choose to attend
campus-based lectures will have access to the online portion of the classes
at the college's computer labs.
For more information, visit: http://www.broward.cc.fl.us/
What's in the Future for Course Management Systems?
A special panel discussion on course management systems featuring four experts
on open source initiatives is one of the highlights at the ninth annual Syllabus2002
conference July 27-31 in Santa Clara, Calif. Oakley Thorne, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, eCollege; Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman of Blackboard; Barbara
Ross, Chief Operating Officer of WebCT, and Phillip D. Long of MIT will discuss
the successes and challenges of course management systems, the possibilities
for the future, and implementation issues for new software. This interactive
session with the audience will focus on possibilities and priorities. Don't
miss out on this summer's education technology conference for faculty, administrators
and IT professionals in higher education.
UMassOnline Grant for Tech-Business Summit
UMassOnline, the University of Massachusetts' web-based learning division,
was awarded a $143,000 grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to produce
a three-day conference on how cutting-edge technology can enhance the learning
of entrepreneurship. The Technology Enhanced Entrepreneurship Education (TE3)
conference, scheduled for October, will "give entrepreneurship educators experience
with a smorgasbord of technology-enhanced education options, including face-to-face
technology-enhanced learning, online learning, videoconferencing, and 'live
online learning' over the Web," said Jack Wilson, a UMass Amherst Professor
of Management, and CEO of UMassOnline.
For more information, visit: http://www.UMassOnline.net/TE3
Kurzweil Ups Tech for Sight-Impaired Readers
Kurzweil Educational Systems said the latest version of its reading software
for visually impaired people -- Kurzweil 1000 Version 7 -- has improved performance
in the areas of online access to books, tools that promote active reading, and
office productivity. The system includes a set of text management tools for
creating bookmarks, annotations, summaries and portable MP3 audio files. A key
feature is automated, simplified search and retrieval of books from online repositories.
This includes a direct connection to Bookshare.org, an online community that
allows people with visual disabilities to legally download over 10,000 copyrighted
books in accessible formats. Designed to promote independent communication,
Kurzweil 1000 can read text in English, German, Italian, French and Spanish.
eCollege Boasts Content Delivery Speed-Up
eCollege, which hosts online courses, said it had added advanced compression
technology that would provide schools faster content delivery speeds. The company
said its HTTP compression system would "make a 28.8 speed line perform similarly
to a 56 speed line, and a 56 speed line perform similarly to an ISDN line."
The compression improvement reduces load times on heavily trafficked portions
of a course, including threaded discussions, exams and grades, the company said,
adding that depending on the student's computer and the type of content, users
can experience download speed improvements of 20 percent to over 200 percent.
The company said HTTP compression is available at no additional cost, and with
nothing to download.
Chipmaker Lofts Advanced Tech Give-Away
Get2Chip Inc., a supplier of multi-level, system-on-chip (SOC) technology,
launched its G2C University Connections Program, designed to give university
students hands-on experience with the latest synthesis technology. The program
allows qualified universities and training institutes to receive the company's
advanced compiler technology. Qualifying universities now include the University
of California at Berkeley and the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras,
India. "It's vastly important for universities training electrical engineers
to stay current with new and emerging technologies and methodologies," said
program director Taher Abbasi, Get2Chip's director of Asia Operations.
Awards, Deals, Contracts in Higher Education
-- Blinn College and Texas Lutheran University have signed a deal with infiNET
Solutions to receive e-commerce services to automate various billing and payment
transactions. The company's QuikPay system will enable students, parents, and
guardians to make all of their education payments via the Web.
-- Virginia signed an agreement to acquire higher education administrative
systems from SCT, a provider of e-education solutions for colleges and universities.
The agreement calls fo Virginia's state colleges and universities to license
SCT products and acquire SCT services at discounted rates. Virginia expects
the new contract could provide up to $3.7 million in savings to its institutions
of higher education.