IT Trends from Campus Technology for Thursday, October 7, 2004

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In This Issue

OPINION

Virtual Tattoos in Learning Spaces

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

--“Yeah, that’s my virtual tattoo up there on the wall. Cool, huh?”

I’ve never been one for memorizing things. I need to see entire patterns and understand how things fit together and interact before they enter my long-term memory. I’m as good, or better, than anyone else at quick, party-game memorization of lists. But 20 minutes later it’s all gone from my head. At a professional meeting, like the recent NLII Focus Workshop on the Design Principles of Learning Space, I collect cards or make notes and spend time in my hotel room that night frantically recollecting as much as I can about each person I met. If I reach a sufficient threshold of knowledge about where the person is from, what they had to say, and maybe something about their personal life--then they’re in my long-term memory. If not, they’re gone. Sorry, I really did like you!

When I was teaching--mostly anthropology courses at several universities in the mid-1970s--I would at my own expense take Polaroid photographs of each student and keep a sheet of those shots in front of me during class. Some of the many stimulating ideas that cropped up at that NLII workshop have me thinking about identity and identification in a learning space of the future.

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IT NEWS

Is PeopleSoft "Clearing the Decks" for an Oracle Takeover?

CEO Craig Conway, who has been leading PeopleSoft's intense resistance to a takeover by Oracle was fired last week in what many people see as an acceptance that the takeover is now inevitable. (SFGate.com)
Read more

Landlines Disappearing on Campus?

As fewer students sign up for landline phones, the inherent costs of running the systems get passed on through student fees even to those who are now entirely mobile. (The Stanford Daily)
Read more

No Official Snooping at UCLA

UCLA has decided not to look into the content of student downloads and communications. It's using education to work to keep students' behavior legal, and has a new, automated system of notification to students when the RIAA comes after them, but no snooping. (CNET News.com)

Read more

Will Blackboards Bite the Dust?

While some University of Minnesota faculty like the dust, classroom managers do not. Some say the battle between whiteboards and blackboards will be eclipsed by even newer technologies. (DuluthNewsTribune.com)
Read more

UC-Santa Cruz Presence in Silicon Valley

Building on NASA funding, the University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) at Moffet Field has 100 employees and an annual budget of $18M with research projects in aerospace systems, information technology and computer science, and nanotechnology. (UC-Santa Cruz Currents Online)
Read more

Grand Valley State: Keeping Networks Clean

New routers and switches, stricter firewalls (one specifically for student housing), an intrusion detection system, and student education--"The Great Grand Valley Computer Cleanup"--have given GVSU IT staff a handle on things this fall. (Grand Valley Landthorn)
Read more

University of the South Pacific's Video Surveillance

Catching Students in the act of trying to use other students' identities to access unauthorized information is the purpose. USP has 13 surveillance cameras in computer labs around campus. (Fiji Times Online)
Read more

Video Streaming for the Deaf

Educators are increasing the use of video streaming for the deaf. Until recently, libraries of archived video instruction using sign language for deaf people have been geographically isolated from many potential users. But the advent of high-speed Internet (Internet2) is causing a boom in the use of those videos. (Ohio News Network)
Read more


RESOURCES

ECAR Study of Student Use of IT in Higher Education

The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) has released their report of a comprehensive survey of freshman and senior undergraduates aimed to capture the role of IT in student life. The “ECAR Study of Students and Information Technology, 2004: Convenience, Connection, and Control” includes summaries from a survey of close to 4,500 respondents as well as information from focus groups and individual interviews. A summary PDF with key findings is available to anyone (URL below); the full report may be obtained through ECAR.
Learn more

Saved for Posterity: Records Of Dot.Com Boom

The University of Maryland and the Library of Congress are teaming up to preserve digital archives pertaining to the dot.com boom of the 1990s. They will archive technical plans, venture presentations, and marketing efforts aimed at providing lessons-learned for business students. (InternetWeek.com)
Learn more


DEALS, CONTRACTS, AWARDS

LC Funds Stanford and UC-Santa Barbara Project

Stanford and UC-Santa Barbara will receive funding from the Library of Congress for a project that will archive and serve up digital documents and other information as part of a larger distributed cooperative model for preservation. (Stanford Report)
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Thursday, October 07, 2004

Sponsored by:
LightPointe
Barry University overcomes limitations of WiFi bridge with optical wireless solution from LightPointe. No crosstalk. No bandwidth limitations. No combining radios. Just 155 Mbps of full-duplex, license-free connectivity from the optical wireless leaders: LightPointe.

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Sponsored by:
Connect Minds with e-Learning Solutions
Collaboration solutions from Microsoft® and industry partners allow student and faculty teams to share ideas and express themselves in new ways and new places. This set of affordable tools makes collaboration on academic papers, access to research, and even online learning easier.

Click here to see how Johns Hopkins and others are enhancing collaboration.

Upcoming Events
TDWI World Conference in Orlando, October 31– November 5, 2004

SYLLABUS 2005
July 24 - 28, 2005
Los Angeles, CA

Events Calendar


Sponsored by:
IBM Digital Video Surveillance: Come see the difference at EDUCAUSE 2004
When it comes to student safety, all video surveillance systems are not created equal. Visit the IBM booth (#428) at EDUCAUSE 2004 and see how the integrated, end-to-end Digital Video Surveillance Solution from IBM can help you smartly and effectively achieve the coverage you need.

Click here for details

Sponsored by:
Dimension 3D Printing
Nothing communicates design ideas faster than a three-dimensional part or model. With a Dimension™ 3D Printer, you can bring CAD files to life - right from your desktop. Test form, fit and function - and as many design iterations as you like. A Dimension 3D Printer can put functional ABS parts in your hands before your competitors get off the drawing board.

Click here to obtain your free sample model and see for yourself, what you can do when you print 3D.

NEW PRODUCTS

Sun's STAR Program Supports Academic Networks

Equipment grants and training are part of the package, which also includes centers for partnerships, with the aim of helping simplify management and reducing costs of college and university networks. (CNET News.com) Read more

Reality Check: New Canon Projector

Today Canon introduced its new Realis SX50 projector, named and promoted for its high-resolution, realistic image quality. The company expects to have units available in early November.
Read more

Sponsored by:
Syllabus is Now Campus Technology Magazine
Introducing Campus Technology, the only monthly publication focusing exclusively on the use of technology in higher education. You'll find in-depth, aggressive coverage of specific technologies, their uses and implementations, including enterprise resource planning, eLearning, and course management systems; presentation technologies; and communication, portal, and security solutions – all the important issues and trends for campus IT decision makers.

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Campus Technology Radio

The Impact of Wireless Network on Instructional Computing
Howard Strauss, manager of technology outreach as Princeton University

Despite the popularity of the technology, wireless is only beginning to show its potential uses for instruction. Howard Strauss comments about the use of the technology, both in the classroom and remotely.

Click Here to Listen


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