Are You a 'Smart Classroom' and/or eLearning Guru?

Campus Technology is looking for short opinion pieces (500-800 words) for this e-letter, from experts in the areas of Smart Classroom technology (presentation, display, and related) and eLearning (including CMS/LMS, online collaboration, and online and remote learning programs). We are seeking those individuals with broad and varied experience in the technology decision-making process, implementation, and teaching/learning challenges and benefits that surround the technology use. We are seeking opinion pieces on current or timely topics only; controversial matters are welcome.

Campus IT and educational technology professionals are welcome to contribute, as are higher education technology consultants.

All contributions accepted for publication will carry the author’s byline and will be reimbursed with a $150 stipend after an invoice is requested and submitted. We offer no stipend for unpublished pieces, and reserve the right to edit accepted articles. Contributors may submit and be published multiple times.

Contributors to this e-letter will not only reach the large audience of Campus Technology e-letter readers and website visitors (and maybe even develop a following!), but may also be considered to author columns and/or features for the flagship print publication, with freelance (not stipend) remuneration.

Send your opinion pieces (or proposals) to: Dave Nagel, Executive Editor, Web, [email protected].

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UMassOnline To Expand Blended Programs

The University of Massachusetts' online education center, UMassOnline, will expand its blended programs with the help of a new grant it received from the Sloan Foundation and the University of Massachusetts' five physical campuses....

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Blackboard Previews Outcomes System

CMS developer Blackboard Inc. announced its Blackboard Outcomes System (BOS), a new tool to help assess institutional effectiveness in higher education....

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Moodle 1.7.1 Adds Functional, UI Enhancements

A new version of the open-source course management system Moodle has been released....

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U Georgia: Squeezing New Networks into Old Buildings

By Linda L. Briggs

The assortment of housing needed to contain computer and A/V equipment in a classroom or library might not be at the top of an IT department's concerns, but perhaps it should be. At the University of Georgia, top-of-the-line housing protects high-tech controls from fire and theft, helps to fit new equipment into old buildings, and has improved the appearance of large racks of computers at the school's library and student center.

High-end computer housing helped the school during a rebuilding and re-outfitting of the university's main library. A fire destroyed portions of the facility, causing $6 million in damages, including the library's network infrastructure and telecommunications system.

Using the disaster to improve the network infrastructure, university officials used special high-end equipment from Hoffman, a manufacturer of systems for protecting electronics, to house its complex computer equipment. Complicating the situation was the fact that the telecom rooms were small due to constraints posed by the building's architecture, so equipment had to be squeezed into small, unconventional spaces....

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Advanced Teaching Technologies >> Brave New World

By Joseph C. Panettieri

Most Educators work in brick buildings and the physical world, but Ed Dieterle prefers a virtual alternative. Dieterle is an advanced doctoral candidate and researcher at Harvard University (MA). His current focus is the River City Project, a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) that’s similar in look and feel to The Sims, a popular online simulation game from Electronic Arts . If you were to "visit" River City, you'd discover that it is an interactive computer simulation of a river town, based in the late 1800s. But it's more than that: The system combines digitalized Smithsonian artifacts with an inquiry-centered curriculum--all to engage middle and high school students. "The idea is that you 'step through' a computer screen and move into a virtual space," says Dieterle. "You control an avatar. You'’re participating and collaborating with other people. And you're communicating with peers."... (Campus Technology)

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We want to hear from you!

What does "smart" classroom technology mean to your campus? Share your viewpoint, experiences, and questions with your peers by writing to us at [email protected].

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