News 01-14-2003
Sponsor: DELIVER DYNAMIC LECTURES!
The Sympodium(TM) interactive lectern combines the advantages of the SMART
Board(TM) interactive whiteboard with a contemporary podium design. It's perfect
for larger classrooms and lecture theaters. To see the Sympodium interactive
lectern in action, order your free Video CD-ROM. Reply before January 31, 2003,
and receive a FREE 12-disk CD case. www.smarttech.com/freecase
The Sympodium lectern lets you face your audience as you interact with your
presentation. The lectern's interactive screen and your auditorium's projection
system simultaneously display your computer image. Using the lectern's attached
stylus, you simply touch the interactive screen to control applications, access
the Internet or write electronic notes while your audience follows along. If
you have questions about SMART products in education, please contact us at [email protected]
or 1.888.42.SMART.
Penn Launches Web-Based Financial Management
The University of Pennsylvania has launched Penn Marketplace, a Web-based purchasing,
accounts payable and general-ledger system. The school has moved to the Oracle
E-Business Suite, which contains financial and Web-procurement software, from
Oracle 10.7. With the new platform, the school will synchronize its financial
databases and buying programs. Penn will have a procurement portal that gives
1,700 users access to real-time product availability and financial information.
"The automated procure-to-pay processes and streamlined requisition capabilities
have enabled our staff to become more efficient, spending less time managing
process and more time pursuing cost-effective contracts with suppliers," said
Marion Campbell, project manager for finance and research IT initiatives for
the school.
Syllabus Radio: Log on and Listen!
ww.syllabus.com/radio/index.asp
Sponsor: Ensuring Accessible Web Pages to Enhance Learning
This week's interview features Margaret M. Thombs, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
in the School of Education at Roger Williams University, who discusses Web page
accessibility, guidelines for design, suggested tools to use, and advice for
educators as they prepare their Web-enhanced courses. Click on to www.syllabus.com/radio/index.asp
to hear this and other interviews with leading voices in education technology.
McGraw-Hill, eCollege Sign Cross-Marketing Deal
McGraw-Hill Higher Education signed an agreement with course management system
company eCollege to make online supplements to McGraw Hill titles available
to customers of the eCollege AU+ platform. The companies said the deal would
give faculty access to a broad range of content to help build online courses,
and enhance existing online courses. Through the eCollege platform, educators
would have access to 200 online supplements that support McGraw-Hill titles
for use in online distance courses or as online course supplements for traditional
classroom courses.
Minn. Launches Site Linking Design, Human Behavior
The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) and the University of Minnesota
launched InformeDesign, a centralized clearinghouse of design and human behavior
research on the Web. The impetus for InformeDesign was to create a device to
facilitate design professionals' use of research as a decision-making tool in
the design process, thereby improving the overall quality of design solutions
to protect and enhance the public's health, safety, and welfare. "For the first
time in one location, practitioners, students, educators, researchers, industry
representatives, other professionals who design the built environment and the
public will have access to the tremendous wealth of research on the inextricable
link between design and human behavior," said ASID President H. Don Bowden.
For more information, visit: www.informedesign.umn.edu.
New Products, Technology for Higher Education
PRODUCTIVITY—Productivity and scheduling software company FranklinCovey
and Agilix Labs, a developer of mobile wireless solutions for the Tablet PC,
said they would release FranklinCovey TabletPlanner 2.0, a pen and digital ink-enabled
planning and productivity application for Microsoft Windows-powered Tablet PCs.
The application will feature synchronization with Microsoft Outlook; ink-enabled
contact management; full-text search of handwritten notes, appointments and
content included in an eBinder.
Early Warnings—Preschool Touts Wireless Tech for Tots
A wireless technology program for preschoolers will launch next week at the
Primrose School at Bentwater in Atlanta, Ga., a new corporate school operated
by the Primrose School Franchising Company. The company said the new school
will serve as a testing ground for innovative educational approaches, including
the new curriculum ideas and technology. For example, Primrose will offer wireless
laptops via a cart that can be wheeled from one classroom to the next. With
the roving cart and wireless laptops, activities can be individualized, and
children can share ideas and projects. Each child will also have supervised
Internet access. "Many other preschools use popular software to offer 'edutainment,'
but they don't use technology as part of their learning activities," said Lee
Scott, a Primrose vice president.