SmartClassroom :: Wednesday, October 18, 2006

News & Product Updates

E-Book Explores Learning Spaces

EDUCAUSE has published a new e-book called Learning Spaces. It focuses on how learner expectations influence such spaces, the principles and activities that facilitate learning, and the role of technology from the perspective of those who create learning environments. Under the editorship of EDUCAUSE Vice-President Diana Oblinger, the book discusses design philosophies, links between physical and virtual space and learning, and offers an appendix of case studies...

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Web Site Offers Discussion on Transcending Biology

Ray Kurzweil was a featured speaker at the 2007 EDUCAUSE Conference. During his presentation, he spoke of transformational changes in the very near future for education and health care. His Web site offers debate and discussion on a variety of challenging ideas, including his speculation on when humans transcend biology: The singularity is near. This level of understanding the neurology of learning has obvious implications for how we educate students...

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Collaboration Opens Up Online Learning

The Common Cartridge initiative is a collaboration among publishers, course management system providers, and others interested in being able to easily move content from one electronic delivery system to another, while maintaining its structure and formatting. A working demonstration was provided at this year’s AltiLab conference in Indianapolis. The Common Cartridge initiative offers clear benefits to publishers for reducing their production costs and may also benefit faculty who wish to export their work from one course management system to another...

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Featured

  • academic building surrounded by clouds and glowing lightbulbs

    University of Pittsburgh Partners with AWS on Cloud Innovation Center

    The University of Pittsburgh is teaming up with Amazon Web Services to establish a new Cloud Innovation Center focused on health sciences and sports analytics.

  • glowing digital brain made of blue circuitry hovers above multiple stylized clouds of interconnected network nodes against a dark, futuristic background

    Report: 85% of Organizations Are Using Some Form of AI

    Eighty-five percent of organizations today are leveraging some form of AI, according to the latest State of AI in the Cloud 2025 report from Wiz. While AI's role in innovation and disruption continues to expand, security vulnerabilities and governance challenges remain pressing concerns.

  • illustration of a football stadium with helmet on the left and laptop with ed tech icons on the right

    The 2025 NFL Draft and Ed Tech Selection: A Strategic Parallel

    In the fast-evolving landscape of collegiate football, the NFL, and higher education, one might not immediately draw connections between the 2025 NFL Draft and the selection of proper educational technology for a college campus. However, upon closer examination, both processes share striking similarities: a rigorous assessment of needs, long-term strategic impact, talent or tool evaluation, financial considerations, and adaptability to a dynamic future.

  • Three cubes of noticeably increasing sizes are arranged in a straight row on a subtle abstract background

    A Sense of Scale

    Gardner Campbell explores the notion of scale in education and shares some of his own experience "playing with scale" — scaling up and/or scaling down — in an English course at VCU.