CT Industry

• 11/01/08

:: NEWS

MASHUP BOOSTS DISTANCE ED. Huntington Junior College (WV) has created a "social presence" using a mashup of Second Life and Moodle, called Sloodle, in coordination with Campus Management's student information system. The virtual campus enhances faculty-student interaction while automating management of rosters, grades, drop/adds, and other administrative chores. Students log in once to the college's portal, and can then leap into the Second Life campus, attend class, and participate in online cafe conversations. Read more here.

MOBILE SOCIAL NETWORKING. According to a recent ABI Research survey of 500 users of online social networks, 46 percent of respondents have visited a social network via a mobile phone. Of those mobile users, nearly 70 percent have visited MySpace.com, and another 67 percent have visited Facebook.com. No other social networking site reached higher than 15 percent mobile adoption.

DIGITAL SIGNAGE VISION. Villanova University (PA) has partnered with Rise Vision to create a campuswide digital signage network. The Rise Display Network digital signage content management system allows administrators to disseminate information about campus events, schedules, and emergency notifications, with full control over the composition and timing of all content. Villanova also sells advertising on the digital signage to local merchants who accept the school's Wildcard debit card.

GREEN EFFORTS. In the next 12 months, Dell plans to transition all of its new laptop displays to mercury-free LED. LED displays are highly recyclable and deliver significant energy savings compared to cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) technology. Another green tech leader, Toshiba's Digital Products Division, has extended its free recycling program beyond Toshiba laptops to include many of today's most common consumer electronics (without requiring the consumer to purchase a Toshiba product). The company has set a goal of recycling 12 million pounds of e-waste in the US by 2010.

WIKI COLLABORATION. Loyola Marymount University (CA) is implementing the eTouch SamePage enterprise wiki solution for collaboration, knowledge management, and long-range planning within IT and other departments. SamePage will enable collaboration on multiple campus projects including the development of new student- and faculty-oriented learning spaces in the university library. In addition, academic technology analysts will use the wiki to collaborate on research with faculty in various schools within the university.

MANAGING TRANSFERS. The OnBase enterprise content management solution from Hyland Software is streamlining the transfer credit evaluation (TCE) process at the American Public University System (online), a for-profit distance learning institution with mostly active military students. Eighty-five percent of APUS students bring transfer credits to the university, and before OnBase, an average of 600 new applicants each month couldn't register for classes because their credits hadn't been evaluated and transferred. Now, APUS' TCE processing time has been cut by more than half, and the institution is able to evaluate all new applicants quickly and efficiently, helping to boost enrollment.

CONTENT ON DEMAND. The National Association of College Stores has created a new company, NACS Media Solutions, to help college stores meet students' increasing demand for digital video content at affordable prices. Through an agreement signed with technology and media licensing firm Polar Frog Digital, pilot stores will experiment with touch-screen kiosk and web-based ordering options for burning, selling, renting, or downloading DVDs on demand. By serving as an electronic hub for these services, NACS Media Solutions hopes to reduce costs for suppliers and students who use the college store for digital products.

:: PEOPLE

SECOND LIFE FOR ADOBE EXEC. Linden Lab, creator of the virtual world Second Life, has announced the appointment of Tom Hale as chief product officer. The former Adobe Systems exec will be responsible for driving product strategy and business for Second Life.