News 03-04-2003
Faculty Best Practices: What are Colleagues Doing?
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=516
Discuss key issues and hot topics with the experts and your colleagues in the
Syllabus Forums at www.syllabus.com/forum.
David Brown of Wake Forest University leads a forum on faculty best practices
and how to use technology to improve teaching and learning. How are you using
asynchronous discussions? What tips to do you for others? Weigh in with your
thoughts and questions and see what solutions your colleagues might have.
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=516
MIT Awards Robotics Whiz Student Creativity Prize
MIT has picked Long Island, N.Y.-native James McLurkin as the recipient of
its ninth annual $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventiveness. McLurkin,
a 30-year-old MIT graduate student in computer science, has helped push the
frontiers of microrobotics, said MIT. He has invented the world's smallest robots,
measuring a little more than one inch per side, and is currently working on
building the largest fleet of autonomous robots that have ever worked together
to carry out cooperative, real-world tasks. McLurkin is developing techniques
for programming "swarms" of autonomous robots. They are programmed to interact
like bees, with their ability to cluster, disperse, follow, and orbit. By simulating
the interactions of bee societies, the robots are programmed to accomplish individual
tasks to support the goal of the group.
For more information visit: http://web.mit.edu/invent
FSU Med Students Given Clinical Support Tool
Florida State University (FSU) is providing its medical students and clinical
faculty with access to a multi-platform, decision-support tool, which links
physicians at the point and time of care with information on more than 450 medical
conditions, 350 chief complaints, and 400 patient information sheets. The system,
PDxMD, made by Elsevier, is designed to be accessible via a desktop or handheld
computer and will be used this year by about 70 medical students and 80 faculty
members across the FSU system. PDxMD also links users with an online clinical
information service called MDConsult, a diagnostic support tool now used by
more than 250,000 physicians when more in-depth information is needed.
Online School Awards Dual Canadian-U.S. eMBAs
Canada’s Lansbridge University, one of the first completely online commercial
universities, is launching an executive Master of Business Administration program
that will award graduates dual eMBA degrees from Landsbridge and the Nashville,
Tenn.-based American Graduate School of Management (AGSM). The eMBA program
is designed for managers with at least five years of full-time work experience,
including at least two years at a management level. The degree program requires
about 18 to 20 hours of study per week, and typically takes two-and-a-half years
to complete. AGSM was co-founded in 2000 by Lamar Alexander, a U.S. Senator,
former U.S. secretary of education, and former president of the University of
Tennessee.
Cal State Becomes Biggest Edu Solar Power Producer
In what is thought to be the biggest solar energy project at an American university,
California State University-Northridge has finished installing 3,000 photovoltaic
panels, a conversion that is expected to save the school about $50,000 a year
in electricity costs. The solar panels can generate 75 watts each, producing
a peak energy generating capacity of 225 kilowatts. They are installed as canopies
that also provide shade in the car park. The power will be fed directly into
the electricity grid serving the 353-acre campus, which is located in Los Angeles'
San Fernando Valley, reducing carbon emissions by an amount equal to that emitted
by 36 average passenger cars driving 20,000 miles per year. The installation
was handled by Shell Solar, which is based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
HP iPac Promo Targets Spring Break Merry-Makers
HP is staging a treasure hunt for college students vacationing in Panama City,
Fla. this month that will pit teams equipped with wireless iPaq pocket PCs in
a timed race against each other. Using the HP iPAQ Pocket PC h1910, 20 five-student
teams will receive treasure hunt clues via a wireless infrared signal from another
iPAQ. The winning team will receive five new HP iPAQ Pocket PCs and $2,500.
The second place team will receive iPAQs. "We wanted to be able to reach college
students where they congregate during spring break and to provide a very casual
atmosphere in which they can check out the latest in personal computing technology,"
said Robyn West, vice president of marketing, HP Personal Systems Group.
