News Update Tuesday February 28 2006
CT News Update:
An Online Newsletter from Campus Technology
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News for Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2006
* U. of California Television Offers Video Cache to Google TV
* Intel, Non-profit, Plan IT Center of Excellence in Gaza Strip
* Online Master's Targets Need for Certified Science Teachers
* U. Nebraska, IBM, Swap Resources, Extend Joint Interests
* New Deals, Contracts, Partnerships in Higher Education
* National Lampoon Seeks to Fill 'Broadband Void' for Students
* ONLINE RESOURCES
http://www.campus-technology.com/resources/index.asp
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U. of California Television Offers Video Cache to Google TV
University of California Television (UCTV) has made
more than 1,000 hours of UCTV programming available
to be downloaded and viewed for free on the Google
Video service. The collection of educational video,
from throughout the 10-campus system, encompasses
subjects in public affairs, science, health and
medicine, humanities, and the arts, and features
interviews, lectures, documentaries, and musical
performances.
UCTV is available via satellite, cable and the
Internet, but its presence on the Google Video
search engine will greatly expand its reach,
according to UCTV officials. 'Finding reliable,
accurate content on the Internet is so important
today, and we know UCTV's content will meet this
need for Google Video's users,' said UCTV's director
Lynn Burnstan.
For more information visit: http://www.uctv.tv
or http://video.google.com
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Intel, Non-profit Group, Plan IT Center of Excellence in Gaza
Intel Corp. said it would team with a non-profit human
services organization to break ground on a $1 million
information technology training and education center
in the Gaza Strip. The semiconductor giant will build
its fourth IT Center for Excellence in the Middle East
with the American Near East Refuge Aid (ANERA) group as
part the Islamic University of Gaza. ANERA and Intel
opened a similar center at Al Quds University in
Jerusalem in 2004.
The latest center will be the first of its kind in Gaza
and should be completed by next year. The push to train
Gaza residents in computer use aims to relieve a 33 percent
unemployment rate among Gaza residents. The $1 million center
is a portion of Intel's larger Digital Transformation Initiative
for the Middle East, which has set aside $50 million to fund
scholarships and training in entrepreneurship, education,
digital systems and technical competencies in Turkey, Egypt,
North Africa, and Jordan, and elsewhere in the region.
Online Master's Targets Need for Certified Science Teachers
UMassOnline is offering an online master's program to
train highly qualified science teachers for elementary
and middle schools. The Master's Degree in Education for
Science Teachers, developed with a National Science
Foundation grant, is taught by education, science and
engineering faculty of UMass Amherst and UMass Lowell.
It features hands-on, inquiry-based online science and
science education courses.
The U.S. will need 2.3 million teachers in the next
10 years, creating about 200,000 jobs for elementary
to middle school teachers, experts say. 'Many school
districts nationwide are facing critical shortages of
science teachers at the middle school level,' said
Dr. Anita Greenwood, Faculty Chair at UMass Lowell
Graduate School of Education. 'At the elementary level,
science is now a prominent part of the curriculum--supply
and demand is a real issue.'
Kathleen Davis, associate professor of science education
at UMass Amherst, called the program 'a powerful way to
learn about the nature and content of science. Students
use science kits to do experiments at home, then share
their experiences in 'discussion boards' online with
university faculty and fellow students.
For more information, visit: http://www.umassonline.net
U. Nebraska, IBM, Swap Resources, Extend Joint Interests
The University of Nebraska at Lincoln said it will partner
with IBM Corp. to develop case studies and joint research
on business strategies centered on IBM's 'all-in-one'
System i5 computing platform.
Under the arrangement, IBM will provide a System i5 and
other computer equipment to create an i5 lab on campus.
Students using the lab began a project this month to
develop an interactive community for the System i's
business users. The project aims to attract new developers
into the System i community by tapping tools such as online
personas or 'avatars' and a 3D landscape.
Meanwhile a team of UNL professors will design curricula
in the College of Business Administration for management
information systems (MIS) courses on topics such as 'driving
business innovation through IT simplification' and 'managing
higher system utilization.' The teaching modules, including
case studies, in turn can be used by other IBM customers and
partners.
'The University recognizes that to offer an innovative MIS
program that continues to attract the best and brightest
leadership and student talent, we need to collaborate
closely with our business community to provide greater
resources and research opportunities,' said Harvey Perlman,
Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
New Deals, Contracts, Partnerships in Higher Education
Datatel Inc. said it was working with data warehouse developer
iStrategy Solutions to tailor analytic reporting solutions for
Datatel's higher education clients. The firms said the solution
would ensure consistent and reliable updates between an institution's
ERP system and the data warehouse. The companies said the solution
fills a gap in analytics capabilities offered by competing higher
education ERP vendors. Rather than having to build business
intelligence applications from scratch, Datatel clients can tap
an extendable data warehouse at low risk.
Meanwhile, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is working with
Siemens Inc. to deliver a one-card solution for all of the school's
access control and e-commerce requirements. A multi-functional smart
card could manage and control security privileges for buildings,
residence halls, laboratories, IT infrastructures and critical
shared applications, as well as provide cashless payment, biometric
applications, and electronic ticketing services. George L. Hanbury,
NSU's chief executive officer, called the deal 'part of NSU's vision
to create an 'academical' village community for our patrons that is
both secure and, at the same time, open to access by our education-minded
patrons.'
National Lampoon Seeks to Fill 'Broadband Void' for Students
National Lampoon Inc. has launched National Lampoon Toga!, a broadband
Internet programming service that will mix elements of its television
network, National Lampoon College, as well as content from motion
pictures, DVD titles, and Web sites associated with the National
Lampoon brand. Nick DeNinno, National Lampoon College general manager,
said Toga! is 'ideally positioned to fill the broadband void for content
geared toward college students.'
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