Syllabus News Update for Tuesday, March 16, 2004

• 03/17/04

Managing the Network Security Challenge
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=5592

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News for Tuesday, March 16, 2004

* Gallaudet to Install Videophone Booths for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing
* Carnegie Mellon to Introduce Valerie, a Roboceptionists
* System to Automate Taking Attendance in Higher Education
* OpenGIS Consortium Institutes Automated Compliance Testing
* Trade Group Announces Post-Secondary Education Scholarships

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Gallaudet to Install Videophone Booths for Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing

Deaf and hard-of-hearing people will be able to use videophone booths
to be installed at Gaullaudet University to conduct free video relay
calls through an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. The video
booths will be installed by Sorenson Media, which developed an
integrated suite of videophones, video relay software, and a network
of servers run the service. ASL users connect to the Sorenson VRS
solution through the Sorenson VP-100 videophone, or they can login
using a PC with video relay software and Web camera to request a video
relay interpreter.

Currently, many in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community rely on
typing pager messages as their principal mobile communications method.
The principals said that now they will be able to use the videophone
booths to converse in their primary language, ASL, and to convey ideas
and emotions to hearing people.

For more information contact Mercy Coogan at:
[email protected].

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Carnegie Mellon to Introduce Valerie, a ‘Roboceptionist’

Carnegie Mellon University will introduce Valerie, one of the world’s
first robot receptionists. The school described the machine as “a
woman with lots of attitude and many stories to tell. Professionally
attired, she sits in a specially designed reception booth …turning her
brilliant blue gaze on everyone who passes by … I you ask the right
questions, she’ll tell you about her life, her psychiatrist, her
aspirations to be a lounge singer and how much she hates to date
vacuum cleaners.”

Valerie is the product of a two-and-a-half year collaboration between
faculty and students in Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute in the
School of Computer Science and the School of Drama in the College of
Fine Arts. They are interested in developing social robots, studying
human-computer interaction and melding the arts and technology.

Learn more: http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=5860

System to Automate Taking Attendance in Higher Education

Blackboard Inc signed a reseller agreement with EFM Co., a software
provider for the education industry, to resell EFM's Student Tracking
System application to the higher education market.

The deal will enable colleges and universities to track usage of various
campus resources by students, who will use their student ID cards to
sign in via a card swipe. During the sign in process, the cardholder's
course schedule or associated activities are filtered against the
rules for each location. The data can be analyzed and reported through
Student Tracking Systems reports, which provide valuable information
to drive program funding and accountability.

Under the terms of the deal, Blackboard will retain exclusive reseller
rights in the U.S. for the magnetic-stripe card activated version of
the Student Tracking System. Additionally, EFM is developing report
and data exchange interfaces between the Student Tracking System and
Blackboard's Learning, Portal and Transaction System modules, utilizing
Blackboard's Building Blocks architecture and specifications.

OpenGIS Consortium Institutes Automated Compliance Testing

The Open GIS Consortium has instituted an automated compliance testing
process for software products that implement OpenGIS spec. Since last
fall's launch of the Compliance and Interoperability Test and Evaluation
(CITE) project, dozens of organizations have used the process, the
group said. Ten products have been earned certification since then.

The OGC compliance Web site provides automated tests for Web Map Service
1.1.1 (WMS) and Web Feature Service 1.0 (WFS), and a Geography Markup
Language (GML) validation tool with links to reference implementations.
Developers that successfully test for specification compliance can
apply for formal OGC certification. Once granted, developers can affix
the "Certified OGC Compliant" seal on their products and marketing
materials.

Learn more: http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=5861

Trade Group Announces Post-Secondary Education Scholarships

The International Communications Industries Association, Inc., (ICI) a
trade association for the professional audiovisual communications
industry, has funded $60,000 in scholarship for college and high-school
students for the 2004/2005 academic year. The scholarships are
designed to address the need of the professional audiovisual (AV) and
communications industry for a high-quality workforce. They are awarded
to college and high school students, and dependents of employees of
ICIA member companies, and administered by the International
Communications Industries Foundation (ICIF).

The Foundation, an arm of ICIA, is a non-profit charitable and educational
organization chartered to support the audio/video industry. Endowed
in 2000 with $1.2 million to fund scholarships for students and AV
industry workers, it continues to receive contributions from leading
AV industry organizations to assist its scholarship programs. Since
2001, ICIF has awarded over 50 scholarships for post-secondary
education.

Learn more: http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=5862