IT Trends 07-17-2003

Thursday, July 17, 2003

In This Issue

OPINION

Top Reasons Why IT Staff Should Attend Conferences!

Terry Calhoun, Commentator
Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
University of Michigan

Sometimes you have to travel away from home to learn things about home. But travel away from home is threatened right now by the fiscal crisis with which our institutions are coping. (And there's evidence that the crisis may actually be a new way of functioning and will never end.) What d'es this mean for your travel budget? Or are you at an institution where travel has been completely banned, and you have no budget at all? Who's getting to travel anyway? We think it's important, even in this virtual age, for IT staff to experience face-to-face professional development and networking.

So, we've queried some folks on the discussion lists for the American Society of Association Executives and the University Web Developers (UWEBD) and have come up with a list of points you can use to keep or increase your budget for travel and other expenses for IT staff development.

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IT NEWS

Notebooks Overcome Desktops

In the information technology realm, students are a little ahead of the rest of the population, so it comes as no surprise that laptop sales figures for May 2003 exceeded those of desktops for the first time. LCD monitors also passed tube-based CRTs in May. This is another indicator that wireless expansion on campuses must accelerate! (InternetNews.com)
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National Council on Disabilities Says ADA Applies to Web Sites

The National Council on Disabilities recently authored a white paper that concluded that the Americans with Disabilities Act legislation d'es apply to Web sites. The paper explains the practical and economic arguments for the law, and suggests strategies to implement the accessibility principle without disruption and with benefit to consumers and business alike. (Distance-Educator.com)
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Dartmouth College Provides No-Cost Long Distance for Students

"We finally realized that it was costing us more to do the billing than it was to make the calls," Dartmouth telecommunications and network services director Bob Johnson said. He noted that a realistic cost includes the billing and marketing costs, as well as the costs of enforcing compliance and accounting. (The Dartmouth Online)
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College Students Got Game

Students are connected and they weave computer gaming into their daily routines,
according to a new study by Pew Internet & American Life. The study says digital gaming is more of a social activity to current students than was previously thought, giving it credentials as a medium for communications and community. (PC Magazine)
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SUNY Stony Brook's On-Campus Computer Store Closes

Are campus retail computer stores a dying breed? Competition from online sales and reduced usage for departmental purchases made the Stony Brook store a losing proposition—to the tune of losses exceeding $100K in 2002. (The Stony Brook Statesman)
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Plattsburgh State Computer Fees Increase Significantly

Avoiding a statewide cap on increasing student fees, Pittsburgh State administrators funneled this fee through the student association. It recognizes a need to continue with desktop support for student machines far beyond what is offered at most four-year institutions. (Cardinal Points)
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RESOURCES

AskERIC Clearinghouse on Education and Technology

The ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology is hosted by the Information Institute of Syracuse at Syracuse University. It is one of 16 clearinghouses in the ERIC system, and specializes in library and information science and educational technology. ERIC/IT acquires, selects, catalogs, indexes, and abstracts documents and journal articles in these subject areas for input into the ERIC Database.
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Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences

The Institute of Education Sciences was created by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and is intended to advance the field of education research, making it more rigorous in support of evidence-based education. The Institute consists of the National Center for Education Research, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.
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DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

MIT Calls on Sapient for MIT OpenCourseWare Implementation

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is working with management and technology consultant Sapient Inc. to launch the initial phases of MIT OpenCourseWare (OCW), an electronic publishing initiative to promote the open sharing of knowledge around the world. When complete, MIT OCW will offer educators, students, and individual learners free access to all MIT course materials online. Sapient's education practice is providing strategy, program management, technology development, and implementation, as well as content migration and application management services, for the initiative.
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Connecticut Community Colleges Seek Uniform Mail Directory

The Connecticut Community College system has chosen MtM Information Technologies (MtM IT), a network management firm based in Valley Cottage, N.Y., to design enhancements to the IT environment for 12 campuses serving more than 70,000 students across the state. MtM IT will provide the school system a detailed design for their future Windows 2000 Active Directory and Exchange 2000 environments. The Colleges' implementation of Windows 2000 Active Directory and Exchange 2000 will allow the campuses to take advantage of the simplified user management of Active Directory, and benefit from the reduced overhead associated with administering this environment.
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Sponsored by:
Sponsor: Kronos Incorporated
Complying with labor laws is serious business. Download a free white paper, “Issues and Answers in Labor Compliance” to discover how automated approaches to labor management could help with your compliance.
Click here for details.


Sponsored by:
Innovative Furniture Solutions for the Electronic Classroom
Computer Comforts designs and manufactures furniture for computer labs and classrooms. Our many product solutions include recessed monitor tables, tech benches and multi-media carts. Make sure to visit our website to see the patented Hide-Away table, designed for the multi-use lab. When not in use, the monitor is safely stored below a flip-down lid for non-computer use. We recently added a video clip of this HOT product. Let us help with classroom layout and design.
Click here for details.

POLL

Sponsored by:

Motion Computing

Are there plans on your campus to deploy TabletPCs for classroom, laboratory, or administrative use?
Yes, within 1-6 months
Yes, within 7-12 months
Yes, within 13-24 months
Uncertain
No


Sponsored by:
Best Practices, Innovative Solutions at Syllabus2003
This summer's 10th annual Syllabus Conference offers five days of not-to-be-missed keynotes, general sessions, breakouts, and more for education technology professionals. Join us July 27-31 at the San Jose Marriott and enjoy five new program tracks on topics of strategic importance. Plus, a special day on the Stanford University campus will allow you to experience the latest technology innovations first hand. All this, including networking and exhibits, in Syllabus' traditional collegial atmosphere. Hurry! Classes are filling up with only 12 days left before the conference. Register today!
For details and to register click here.

NEW PRODUCTS

Datatel Automated Data Exchange with Department of Ed

Education administrative software developer Datatel Inc. released a financial aid (FA) module it says performs fully compliant, automated data exchange with the Department of Education. The solution eliminates time-consuming importing/exporting processes, the company said. Clients are able to import all Department of Education data into Datatel's Colleague information management system without first having to access EdConnect. Schools can export all outbound records (ISIR Corrections, DL data, etc.) directly to the Department of Education. The module provides complete security while information is merged with Colleague-based institutional records.
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Polycom Delivers Distance Learning with ClassStation Packages

Polycom Inc., a maker of video and voice conferencing, conference bridges, and Web collaboration systems, introduced its Education Solutions, composed of the ViewStation and iPower ClassStation, integrated audio, video, and instructional multimedia tools that provide a video-enabled classroom in one system. The systems include features designed for educators, including automatic camera operation, wireless components, video scalers, and interactive, two-way application sharing.
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Fidelia Expands Usage of Network Monitoring Software

Network management software developer Fidelia Inc. recently announced NetVigil v3.5, with innovations that include the ability to quickly drill down through the service hierarchy to view the real-time status of the underlying network infrastructure. Wireless managers can use this functionality to group wireless tests in a manner relevant to their view of the service delivery, allowing them to easily determine when wireless services are affected and where problems occur.
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Adobe Unveils Web Tech Curriculum for Web Site Building

Adobe Systems has introduced the Adobe Web Tech Curriculum, a yearlong course that teaches students professional Web site design and development using Adobe software. The free, Web-based curriculum offers teachers a resource that guides students through the Web design process using a digital workflow. The curriculum's digital format also enables teachers and students to access the curriculum content from the classroom or at home. The curriculum also complies with essential academic requirements from the U.S. Department of Education's Career Cluster Information Technology Initiative and the national standards for information technology from the National Center for Emerging Technologies, and the Education Development Center.
Learn more


Sponsored By

Wireless Handheld Computers to Increase Interactivity and Collaborative Learning
This week's interview features Betty L. Black

Click Here to Listen


Sponsored By

Current Topics in Our forums include:
elearning Systems

E-commerce & Enterpreneurship on Campus

Faculty Development

Faculty Best Practices

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