News 09-17-2002
Sponsor: MICRO WAREHOUSE MICRO
WAREHOUSE - HP's Number 1 Authorized Printer Reseller - has a full line of
HP printers! Now get the laser quality and amazing print speed of the HP 4100
Laserjet at the special low price of $1099. Call your account manager today
800-696-1727 or visit us online at http://edu.warehouse.com
NSF Enlists Undergrads to Write K-12 Software
The National Science Foundation awarded SRI International a $3.2 million grant
to explore ways undergraduate students in education and computer science could
help create educational software for K-12 students. The project, called TRAILS
(Training and Resources for Assembling Interactive Learning Systems), will design
course modules, publish on-line resources, and recruit experienced mentors.
Starting in Fall 2003 at Stanford and the University of Colorado at Boulder,
students from both education and computer science will work as teams to develop
prototype educational software and pilot its use in local K-12 classrooms. The
Math Forum at Drexel University, a math Web sites for K-12 students and teachers,
will publish selected software created by TRAILS students.
For more information, visit: http://www.trails-project.org
Featured Session on Wireless Networking and Trends at Syllabus fall2002
With the deployment of wireless networking, students and faculty alike are
beginning to enjoy the freedom of roaming unfettered through campus with their
notebook and handheld computers. Will wireless networking change teaching and
course administration? What are the security issues? A panel discussion led
by Judith B'ettcher, CREN, will present first-hand observations and studies
of wireless usage on campus at Syllabus fall2002. This education technology
conference, held Nov. 3-5 at the Boston Marriott Newton Hotel, includes keynote
speakers, breakout sessions, a vendor fair and an opportunity to network with
colleagues focused on technology in higher education.
For information and to register, go to http://www.syllabus.com/fall2002
Study Says Rankings Have Little Impact on College Choice
As the US News & World Report rankings of universities hit newsstands last
week, a study of factors that influence college choice concluded that rankings
do not play a significant role in student decisions about where to apply and
enroll. Instead, the study, done by StudentPoll, a newsletter published by educational
consultants Art & Science Group, said other factors, including school web sites,
campus visits, parents, and current students and alumni, all have more influence
over students' decisions. "That some institutions make major educational policy
and investment decisions on the basis of their hoped-for effect on the rankings
is misguided, since the rankings have no major consequences for the recruitment
of undergraduates," said Richard Hesel, publisher of StudentPoll.
UVa, WebSurg, Announce Online Medical Ed Credits
WebSurg, a virtual surgical university, and the University of Virginia School
of Medicine announced a joint partnership to provides laparoscopic surgeons
the opportunity to obtain continuing medical education credits online. "Surgeons
will now have the opportunity to learn the latest and most advanced minimally
invasive surgical procedures right from their desktops," said Edward Chekan
MD, a board-certified general surgeon and chief reviewer of WebSurg content
for the University of Virginia School of Medicine. WebSurg incorporates more
than 100 operative techniques with photos and animated drawings, which provides
accurate and clinically relevant insight into surgical techniques and is complimented
by over 300 high-quality surgical videos, expert opinions, and clinical cases.
For more information, visit: http://www.websurg.com
Publisher Offers Customized Book Content Online
Publisher Kluwer Academic Publishers (KAP) launched Online Custom Books, a
platform offering online users the ability to create individual customized books
from KAP's electronic books collection. A six-step process lets scientists and
researchers choose chapters they want, title their creation, and decide if they
want the custom book delivered electronically or printed and mailed as a perfect-bound
paperback. Using the Custom Book Builder, researchers can browse available subject
areas, pick individual chapters from different books, preview and combine them
in a desired order and specify a delivery format. Books delivered electronically
are available in Adobe Acrobat eBook format.
For more information, visit: http://www.kluweronline.com
New Product: Assessment Platform for Apple Jaguar
Online testing and assessment technology company Vantage Learning made available
the latest version of VanGuard for OS X, a secure online assessment platform.
The updated version is designed to run within Apple's new OS 10.2 (Jaguar) environment,
opening the door to schools that use Apple computers. The VanGuard 3.0 environment
provides a "lock down" browser environment to enable delivery of high-stakes
testing applications. Users can only access the assessment application delivered
within VanGuard and cannot exit the VanGuard environment to surf the Web, or
use other applications. Vanguard 3.0 also provides XML support for greater ease
of use, as well as Math ML to offer functionality for mathematics applications.
Services: ASP Specializes in Campus Career Info
Arizona's Maricopa County Community College system has signed an agreement
with an application service provider specializing in managing information on
job opportunities to improve the 10-school system's network of campus career
centers. The partnership with New York-based College Central Network Inc. will
power the schools' central job board, enabling employers throughout the Ph'enix
region to post to all system schools and search resumes without charge. CCN
operates the EmployeeCentral.com employer job posting gateway, an entry-level
job posting hub. Its virtual job/teacher/grad fair applications also host career
events for more than 600 colleges.