News Update for Tuesday, December 21, 2004
CT News Update:
An Online Newsletter from Campus Technology
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Connect Minds with e-Learning Solutions
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=11532
Subscribe to Campus Technology Magazine
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News for Tuesday, December 21
* University of Chicago Leads Illinois’ Pursuit of $1 Billion Grant
* Pennsylvania Institutions Share Tech Investment Funds
* Google Works with Harvard, Others to Scan Library Collections
* NY Taps WilTel for Dark Fiber, Services Deal
* New Patents for Virtual University, Federated Search Solutions
* Noteworthy Announcements Across US Campuses
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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.
To see how Johns Hopkins and others are enhancing collaboration, go to
http://info.101com.com/default.asp?id=11532
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University of Chicago Leads Illinois’ Pursuit of $1 Billion Grant
The University of Chicago--which operates Argonne National Laboratory
on behalf of the US Department of Energy --is at the center of a major
state effort to land a $1 billion Rare Isotope Accelerator (RIA) science
and technology project.
Chicago will go head-to-head with Michigan State University for the
mammoth project, which will center on the research of rare isotopes that
could have great impact on medical and commercial applications.
Information on RIA is available at http://www.riaforillinois.com
Pennsylvania Institutions Share Tech Investment Funds
In a substantial state funding effort, Pennsylvania will bestow technology
seed money on Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh,
and other institutions.
Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development announced
recently that the state will put $1.2 million toward technology endeavors
included in Pennsylvania’s economic development strategy. The funding will
be provided by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority.
Carnegie Mellon University, along with Drexel University and the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center will receive $500,000 for an Interactive
Entertainment Technologies Initiative designed as a hub of the institutions’
efforts to create software, networking, and other digital education and
entertainment media products.
The University of Pittsburgh, St. Francis University, and other institutions
emerged as the recipients of $250,000 that will go toward fostering
education-business partnerships designed to lead toward the development and
commercialization of new technology.
Information on Pennsylvania’s technology stimulus package is available
at
http://www.newpa.com
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Google Works with Harvard, Others to Scan Library Collections
Harvard and Stanford Universities, along with the University of Michigan and
the University of Oxford recently joined forces with Google in an effort to
make books from their library collections searchable online.
Specifically, the online search engine giant is stepping up its Google Print
program, which is designed to provide links to print collections at major
libraries, such as the New York Public Library, which is also participating
in the effort. Google claims that the program will be a boon for publishers
and authors, since it will increase the visibility of books, especially out
of print books that can be purchased through “Buy This Book” buttons
included
on the Google site.
Read more: http://print.google.com/library
NY Taps WilTel for Dark Fiber, Services Deal
New York State Education and Research Network (NYSERNet) announced recently
that
it will rely on WilTel for dark fiber and collocation services necessary to
provide NYSERNet member institutions with access to an infrastructure capable
of transferring up to 10 gigabits of data per second.
Public and private institutions across New York rely on NYSERNet for connectivity
services to advance educational and research initiatives. NYSERNet’s new
backbone
will provide dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) and Internet Protocol
(IP) services.
Read more: http://www.nysernet.org
New Patents for Federated Search, Virtual University Solutions
Two education technology companies made patent-related announcements recently
around different eLearning-based solutions.
Specifically, WebFeat declared that the US Patent and Trademark Office had
granted the company a patent for its product of the same name. WebFeat is a
federated search management tool that lets institutions administer key
authentication and session management tasks necessary to build federated search
capabilities, allowing users to query across organizations, drawing in critical
information repositories such as library resources. For more information on
Webfeat, visit www.webfeat.org
Meanwhile, Digital Learning Management Corporation announced that it had obtained
a US Provisional Patent for its Virtual University Appliance product, which
is
designed as a one-stop-shopping alternative for institutions struggling to tie
traditional instruction methods to eLearning efforts such as Webcasts.
Read more: http://www.vusonline.com
Noteworthy Announcements Across US campuses
· Southern Illinois University and Lincoln University recently signed
with Vivato
to install wireless Internet access technology. The Wi-Fi deals will allow students
to access the Internet and campus intranets from virtually anywhere within the
schools’ parameters. See http://www.vivato.com
· Blackboard recently debuted 1,165 new Blackboard Course Cartridges,
adding to
the company’s library of over 3,500 cartridges, which are prepackaged course
materials that usually include slides, documents, multimedia files, along with
links to Web sites and suggested quizzes and tests for use by instructors and
students. See http://www.blackboard.com
· Gray Publishing & Media recently acquired Casebriefs, a company
that publishes
Casebriefs interactive software that contains live content on subjects such
as
torts, contracts and civil procedure.
