The rise and rise of elearning by Chris Parr

Why has elearning seen such phenomenal growth over the past two decades? After starting out clunky and chunky, it has successfully adapted to meet today's business needs, says Chris Parr, continius TrainingZONE.

Traditionally, elearning was notorious for simply putting manuals online. In its infancy, elearning was characterised by a rather unintelligent 'just in case' usage, centred on a desktop computer. It had a very long way to come before it began to wow its audience.
So what changed? Nowadays, elearning is tuned much more to engaging the learner and providing a positive and rewarding environment. Modern day elearning allows the classroom to come alive. Lessons are packed with sights, sounds, quizzes and games.
A student in the elearning environment can now become part of the class through the interactive nature of online learning. Employees can not only learn but explore through visuals as well as text. It is also more accessible to international students, as it touches on all the senses, particularly sights and sounds.

Read more...

Related link

Chris Parr is head of products and markets at ThirdForce, an elearning provider. Take a look at: www.thirdforce.com

Source: Trainingzone.co.uk

The rise and rise of elearning by Chris Parr

Why has elearning seen such phenomenal growth over the past two decades? After starting out clunky and chunky, it has successfully adapted to meet today's business needs, says Chris Parr, continius TrainingZONE.

Traditionally, elearning was notorious for simply putting manuals online. In its infancy, elearning was characterised by a rather unintelligent 'just in case' usage, centred on a desktop computer. It had a very long way to come before it began to wow its audience.
So what changed? Nowadays, elearning is tuned much more to engaging the learner and providing a positive and rewarding environment. Modern day elearning allows the classroom to come alive. Lessons are packed with sights, sounds, quizzes and games.
A student in the elearning environment can now become part of the class through the interactive nature of online learning. Employees can not only learn but explore through visuals as well as text. It is also more accessible to international students, as it touches on all the senses, particularly sights and sounds.

Read more...

Related link

Chris Parr is head of products and markets at ThirdForce, an elearning provider. Take a look at: www.thirdforce.com

Source: Trainingzone.co.uk

Training and work - the role of ICT, eLearning Papers n° 11 (2008)

Read the latest issue of eLearning Papers below.
This new issue of eLearning Papers encompasses articles that approach the topic of “Training and work”, presenting different reflections, innovative solutions and good practices on the use of ICTs in different contexts of learning and organizations.

Companies need to develop devices for flexible learning, but also integrated solutions, in order to consider all learning modes (formal, informal and non-formal) to respond to training needs.

In this context, the use of ICTs is an essential contribution to the learning environment. ICTs place individuals in the middle of the training process, but also develop real communities of learning and help to set up an innovative and enriched active pedagogy, based on a competence-based approach.

Microtraining as a support mechanism for informal learning
By Pieter De Vries and Stefan Brall
Read more...

Enhancing patients’ employability through informal eLearning while at hospital
By Holger Bienzle
Read more...

Virtual action learning: What’s going on?
By Mollie Dickenson, Mike Pedler and John Burgoyne
Read more...

Informal learning and the use of Web 2.0 within SME training strategies
By Ileana Hamburg and Timothy Hall
Read more...

Need for the qualification of IT competences - the computer and internet Certificates (C2i)
By Francis Rogard and Gérard-Michel Cochard
Read more...

Related link
eLearning Papers n° 11 (PDF)

Enjoy reading these articles!
Source: eLearning Papers

Training and work - the role of ICT, eLearning Papers n° 11 (2008)

Read the latest issue of eLearning Papers below.
This new issue of eLearning Papers encompasses articles that approach the topic of “Training and work”, presenting different reflections, innovative solutions and good practices on the use of ICTs in different contexts of learning and organizations.

Companies need to develop devices for flexible learning, but also integrated solutions, in order to consider all learning modes (formal, informal and non-formal) to respond to training needs.

In this context, the use of ICTs is an essential contribution to the learning environment. ICTs place individuals in the middle of the training process, but also develop real communities of learning and help to set up an innovative and enriched active pedagogy, based on a competence-based approach.

Microtraining as a support mechanism for informal learning
By Pieter De Vries and Stefan Brall
Read more...

Enhancing patients’ employability through informal eLearning while at hospital
By Holger Bienzle
Read more...

Virtual action learning: What’s going on?
By Mollie Dickenson, Mike Pedler and John Burgoyne
Read more...

Informal learning and the use of Web 2.0 within SME training strategies
By Ileana Hamburg and Timothy Hall
Read more...

Need for the qualification of IT competences - the computer and internet Certificates (C2i)
By Francis Rogard and Gérard-Michel Cochard
Read more...

Related link
eLearning Papers n° 11 (PDF)

Enjoy reading these articles!
Source: eLearning Papers

The 2008 report from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

The 2008 report from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is based on information from nearly 380,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students at 722 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S.

The report, Promoting Engagement for All Students: The Imperative to Look Within, provides an overview of survey findings and points to accomplishments as well as areas where improvement is needed.

Other key findings from the 2008 survey are:

• Students taking most of their classes online report more deep approaches to learning in their classes, relative to classroom-based learners. Furthermore, a larger share of online learners reported very often participating in intellectually challenging course activities.
• Seniors who entered as transfers lag behind their peers on several measures of engagement. They talked less frequently with faculty about their future plans, were less likely than their peers to work with their classmates on assignments outside of class, and fewer participated in co-curricular activities. On the other hand, they more frequently prepared multiple drafts of assignments.
• About one in five first-year students and seniors reported that they frequently came to class without completing readings or assignments.
• First-year students wrote on average 92 pages and seniors wrote 146 pages during the academic year. Seniors majoring in the social sciences and arts and humanities wrote considerably more than those studying the physical and biological sciences.
• When courses provided extensive, intellectually challenging writing activities, students engaged in more deep learning activities such as analysis, synthesis, and integration of ideas from various sources, and they grappled more with course ideas both in and out of the classroom. These students also reported greater personal, social, practical, and academic learning and development.

Read more...

Source: National Survey of Student Engagement

The 2008 report from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

The 2008 report from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is based on information from nearly 380,000 randomly selected first-year and senior students at 722 four-year colleges and universities in the U.S.

The report, Promoting Engagement for All Students: The Imperative to Look Within, provides an overview of survey findings and points to accomplishments as well as areas where improvement is needed.

Other key findings from the 2008 survey are:

• Students taking most of their classes online report more deep approaches to learning in their classes, relative to classroom-based learners. Furthermore, a larger share of online learners reported very often participating in intellectually challenging course activities.
• Seniors who entered as transfers lag behind their peers on several measures of engagement. They talked less frequently with faculty about their future plans, were less likely than their peers to work with their classmates on assignments outside of class, and fewer participated in co-curricular activities. On the other hand, they more frequently prepared multiple drafts of assignments.
• About one in five first-year students and seniors reported that they frequently came to class without completing readings or assignments.
• First-year students wrote on average 92 pages and seniors wrote 146 pages during the academic year. Seniors majoring in the social sciences and arts and humanities wrote considerably more than those studying the physical and biological sciences.
• When courses provided extensive, intellectually challenging writing activities, students engaged in more deep learning activities such as analysis, synthesis, and integration of ideas from various sources, and they grappled more with course ideas both in and out of the classroom. These students also reported greater personal, social, practical, and academic learning and development.

Read more...

Source: National Survey of Student Engagement

Articles from The CITE Journal.

Check out these articles appears in Volume 8, Issue 3, 2008 edition of The CITE Journal below.



An Analysis of Electronic Media to Prepare Children for Safe and Ethical Practices in Digital Environments
Ilene R. Berson, Michael J. Berson and Shreya Desai
University of South Florida
Donald Falls
Southeast High School
John Fenaughty
NetSafe, New Zealand ’s Internet Safety Group

Abstract
A range of electronic resources, including video-based instruction, are used to promote cybersafety to young people at school. This evaluation analyzed seven distinct programs that use electronic media in Internet safety initiatives in schools. The findings highlight emerging evidence on successful approaches to engage children in assessing risky cybersafety situations, developing appropriate management techniques, and practicing responsible decision making online. Based on the prevention effectiveness literature and the tenets of behavior decision theory, a rubric was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of online instructional materials in teaching ethical behavior in digital environments. The rubric demonstrates that high quality cybersafety resources are based on a coherent theoretical framework, integrate multiple program components, and allow for skill rehearsal.
Read more...

Multimedia Technologies and Familiar Spaces: 21st-Century Teaching for 21st-Century Learners
Judy Lambert
University of Toledo
Pru Cuper
Keene State College

Abstract
This article explores 21st century skills, nonlinear thinking skills, and the need for student reflection—which, taken together, serve as an essential foundation for digital-age teaching of today’s hypertext learners. The authors discuss why preservice teachers need to use multimedia technologies within the context of students’ familiar, technology-rich living spaces to develop their own teaching skills and the technology skills of their students. Exemplary multimedia samples are offered as demonstrations of ways to develop essential technology-related skills in the next generation of teachers.
Read more...

Enjoy your reading!
Source: The CITE Journal

Articles from The CITE Journal.

Check out these articles appears in Volume 8, Issue 3, 2008 edition of The CITE Journal below.



An Analysis of Electronic Media to Prepare Children for Safe and Ethical Practices in Digital Environments
Ilene R. Berson, Michael J. Berson and Shreya Desai
University of South Florida
Donald Falls
Southeast High School
John Fenaughty
NetSafe, New Zealand ’s Internet Safety Group

Abstract
A range of electronic resources, including video-based instruction, are used to promote cybersafety to young people at school. This evaluation analyzed seven distinct programs that use electronic media in Internet safety initiatives in schools. The findings highlight emerging evidence on successful approaches to engage children in assessing risky cybersafety situations, developing appropriate management techniques, and practicing responsible decision making online. Based on the prevention effectiveness literature and the tenets of behavior decision theory, a rubric was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of online instructional materials in teaching ethical behavior in digital environments. The rubric demonstrates that high quality cybersafety resources are based on a coherent theoretical framework, integrate multiple program components, and allow for skill rehearsal.
Read more...

Multimedia Technologies and Familiar Spaces: 21st-Century Teaching for 21st-Century Learners
Judy Lambert
University of Toledo
Pru Cuper
Keene State College

Abstract
This article explores 21st century skills, nonlinear thinking skills, and the need for student reflection—which, taken together, serve as an essential foundation for digital-age teaching of today’s hypertext learners. The authors discuss why preservice teachers need to use multimedia technologies within the context of students’ familiar, technology-rich living spaces to develop their own teaching skills and the technology skills of their students. Exemplary multimedia samples are offered as demonstrations of ways to develop essential technology-related skills in the next generation of teachers.
Read more...

Enjoy your reading!
Source: The CITE Journal

Online time 'is good for teens' by Maggie Shiels

Surfing the internet, playing games and hanging out on social networks are important for teen development, a large study of online use has revealed.

The study, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, was part of a $50m (£31m) project on digital media and learning.
Over the period of the study, researchers observed users for more than 5,000 hours.
Teens explored creative passions like gaming, video editing and writing
The aim of the Digital Youth Project was to provide an "ethnographical view of how children use social media to socialise, learn and relax".
Dr Ito said that connecting online with friends via social networks such as MySpace and Facebook was where teens now "hang out", compared to the usual public places like shopping malls, the street and parks.
Results are forthcoming in Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009).

Read more...

Related links
Read the press release.
Read a two-page overview of the study (PDF).
Read the full study on the Digital Youth Project’s website.

"It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online," says Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the lead author of the most extensive U.S. study to date on teens and their use of digital media.

Source: BBC News ; The MacArthur Foundation

Online time 'is good for teens' by Maggie Shiels

Surfing the internet, playing games and hanging out on social networks are important for teen development, a large study of online use has revealed.

The study, sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation, was part of a $50m (£31m) project on digital media and learning.
Over the period of the study, researchers observed users for more than 5,000 hours.
Teens explored creative passions like gaming, video editing and writing
The aim of the Digital Youth Project was to provide an "ethnographical view of how children use social media to socialise, learn and relax".
Dr Ito said that connecting online with friends via social networks such as MySpace and Facebook was where teens now "hang out", compared to the usual public places like shopping malls, the street and parks.
Results are forthcoming in Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out: Kids Living and Learning with New Media (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009).

Read more...

Related links
Read the press release.
Read a two-page overview of the study (PDF).
Read the full study on the Digital Youth Project’s website.

"It might surprise parents to learn that it is not a waste of time for their teens to hang out online," says Mizuko Ito, University of California, Irvine researcher and the lead author of the most extensive U.S. study to date on teens and their use of digital media.

Source: BBC News ; The MacArthur Foundation

The November issue of Educators' eZine is online!

Check out these interesting articles, appears in the November issue of Educators' eZine.

From the Classroom

Using Technology to Overcome Writing Barriers

By Dr. Arthur Stellar

For the Taunton Public School District, the annual Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams were an annual source of anxiety. This led the district to implement a Web-based writing program that gave students the practice they needed, and scores soared.

Read more...

Ideas and Opinions

Aligning Research with Classroom Practice: 1:1, Digital Divide, and Moodle

By David Freitas and Janet Buckenmeyer

Here's the bottom line. Student participants in a "Laptop Immersion Program" demonstrated higher achievement levels over several indicators compared to nonparticipants.

Read more...

Tech Talk

Seven Tips for Technological Late-Bloomers

By Dr. Patricia MacGregor-Mendoza

Feel like the technology bandwagon is more like a bullet train and it's passing your teachers by at breakneck speeds? Share these tips to get them started.

Read more...

Tips for Leveraging Web 2.0 in the Classroom

By Glogster

Glogster muses on some top ways schools can get tech moving faster in schools.

Read more...

Source: techLEARNING

The November issue of Educators' eZine is online!

Check out these interesting articles, appears in the November issue of Educators' eZine.

From the Classroom

Using Technology to Overcome Writing Barriers

By Dr. Arthur Stellar

For the Taunton Public School District, the annual Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exams were an annual source of anxiety. This led the district to implement a Web-based writing program that gave students the practice they needed, and scores soared.

Read more...

Ideas and Opinions

Aligning Research with Classroom Practice: 1:1, Digital Divide, and Moodle

By David Freitas and Janet Buckenmeyer

Here's the bottom line. Student participants in a "Laptop Immersion Program" demonstrated higher achievement levels over several indicators compared to nonparticipants.

Read more...

Tech Talk

Seven Tips for Technological Late-Bloomers

By Dr. Patricia MacGregor-Mendoza

Feel like the technology bandwagon is more like a bullet train and it's passing your teachers by at breakneck speeds? Share these tips to get them started.

Read more...

Tips for Leveraging Web 2.0 in the Classroom

By Glogster

Glogster muses on some top ways schools can get tech moving faster in schools.

Read more...

Source: techLEARNING

elearningeuropa.info Newsletter - November 2008

The e-learning Newsletter brings you news about current issues, open calls, forthcoming events and e-learning resources.

Take a look at this interesting line-up below.

CALL FOR PAPERS: INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY.

In order to contribute to the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 eLearning Papers launches a call for papers on innovation and creativity in learning. The papers may address themes such as open innovation and learning, innovative learning concepts and empowering peer networks. The deadline for article submission is 12 January 2009.

Read more...

FORUM DISCUSSION: LEARNING 2.0.

The Learning 2.0 research project initiated by DG EAC and IPTS studies the impact of web 2.0 trends on learning, and the potential of these new innovations for Education and Training in Europe. The validation workshop that recently took place in Seville triggered an exciting and controversial debate among experts in the field. We would like to invite all interested in the issue to contribute to the discussion around two questions: What is really new about Learning 2.0? and What are the drawbacks of Learning 2.0?

Join the discussion here...

PROJECT OF THE MONTH.

The BONy project develops a Cognitive Learning Management System allowing users to personalise their own educational pathway. BONy supplies a multilingual access to information and educational contents. This involves an ontological approach to knowledge management, thanks to the Semantic Web methodology. A pilot course on European project management will take place in December 2008. If you are interested to take part in it you may contact the project team.

Read more...

EUROPEAN eTWINNING PRIZES 2009.

The aim of the European eTwinning Prizes competition is to highlight best practice in collaborative school projects using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). If you participated in a successful project during the 2007-2008 school year, be sure to submit an entry! Deadline: 30 Nov 2008.

Read more...

LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (LLP) - Call for proposals 2009.

The main deadlines are as follows:

- Erasmus University Charter: 28 November 2008

- Comenius, Grundtvig: In-service Training 16 January 2009

- Comenius Assistantships: 30 January 2009

- Leonardo da Vinci, Mobility: 6 February 2009

- Erasmus Intensive Language Courses (EILC), 6 February 2009

- Jean Monnet Programme: 13 February 2009

- Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig: Partnerships: 20 February 2009

- Comenius Regio Partnerships: 20 February 2009

- Grundtvig, Workshops: 20 February 2009 - Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig: Multilateral projects, Networks and Accompanying Measures: 27 February 2009

- Leonardo da Vinci: Transfer of Innovation multilateral Projects: 27 February 2009 - Erasmus: Intensive Programmes (IP), Students mobility for studies and placements and Staff mobility: 13 March 2009

- Grundtvig: Assistantships, Senior Volunteering Projects: 31 March 2009

- Transversal Programme: 31 March 2009

- Transversal Programme: Key activity 1

- Study visits: 9 April 2009

Read more...

Source: elearningeuropa.info

elearningeuropa.info Newsletter - November 2008

The e-learning Newsletter brings you news about current issues, open calls, forthcoming events and e-learning resources.

Take a look at this interesting line-up below.

CALL FOR PAPERS: INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY.

In order to contribute to the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 eLearning Papers launches a call for papers on innovation and creativity in learning. The papers may address themes such as open innovation and learning, innovative learning concepts and empowering peer networks. The deadline for article submission is 12 January 2009.

Read more...

FORUM DISCUSSION: LEARNING 2.0.

The Learning 2.0 research project initiated by DG EAC and IPTS studies the impact of web 2.0 trends on learning, and the potential of these new innovations for Education and Training in Europe. The validation workshop that recently took place in Seville triggered an exciting and controversial debate among experts in the field. We would like to invite all interested in the issue to contribute to the discussion around two questions: What is really new about Learning 2.0? and What are the drawbacks of Learning 2.0?

Join the discussion here...

PROJECT OF THE MONTH.

The BONy project develops a Cognitive Learning Management System allowing users to personalise their own educational pathway. BONy supplies a multilingual access to information and educational contents. This involves an ontological approach to knowledge management, thanks to the Semantic Web methodology. A pilot course on European project management will take place in December 2008. If you are interested to take part in it you may contact the project team.

Read more...

EUROPEAN eTWINNING PRIZES 2009.

The aim of the European eTwinning Prizes competition is to highlight best practice in collaborative school projects using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). If you participated in a successful project during the 2007-2008 school year, be sure to submit an entry! Deadline: 30 Nov 2008.

Read more...

LIFELONG LEARNING PROGRAMME (LLP) - Call for proposals 2009.

The main deadlines are as follows:

- Erasmus University Charter: 28 November 2008

- Comenius, Grundtvig: In-service Training 16 January 2009

- Comenius Assistantships: 30 January 2009

- Leonardo da Vinci, Mobility: 6 February 2009

- Erasmus Intensive Language Courses (EILC), 6 February 2009

- Jean Monnet Programme: 13 February 2009

- Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig: Partnerships: 20 February 2009

- Comenius Regio Partnerships: 20 February 2009

- Grundtvig, Workshops: 20 February 2009 - Comenius, Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig: Multilateral projects, Networks and Accompanying Measures: 27 February 2009

- Leonardo da Vinci: Transfer of Innovation multilateral Projects: 27 February 2009 - Erasmus: Intensive Programmes (IP), Students mobility for studies and placements and Staff mobility: 13 March 2009

- Grundtvig: Assistantships, Senior Volunteering Projects: 31 March 2009

- Transversal Programme: 31 March 2009

- Transversal Programme: Key activity 1

- Study visits: 9 April 2009

Read more...

Source: elearningeuropa.info

November edition of Classroom News is now available

Don't miss these highlights in Volume 4, No. 11 - November 2008 issue of Classroom News!

What's Inside the November 2008 issue.

• Obama makes history; what’s next?
  Educators ponder what the election’s
  results will mean for their schools
• Schools soon required to teach web safety
• Google settles bookscanning lawsuit
• Nation's first tech literacy exam coming soon
• 'Digital disconnect' divides kids, educators
• Schools grapple with teachers' Facebook use
• Rethinking research in the Google era
• Educators give publishers their wish lists
• Microsoft, universities team up on gaming research
• Netwatch

Want to read the current issue?
Subscribe Now

Source: Classroom News

November edition of Classroom News is now available

Don't miss these highlights in Volume 4, No. 11 - November 2008 issue of Classroom News!

What's Inside the November 2008 issue.

• Obama makes history; what’s next?
  Educators ponder what the election’s
  results will mean for their schools
• Schools soon required to teach web safety
• Google settles bookscanning lawsuit
• Nation's first tech literacy exam coming soon
• 'Digital disconnect' divides kids, educators
• Schools grapple with teachers' Facebook use
• Rethinking research in the Google era
• Educators give publishers their wish lists
• Microsoft, universities team up on gaming research
• Netwatch

Want to read the current issue?
Subscribe Now

Source: Classroom News

Schools Maximize Interactive Whiteboard Investments with Learning.com’s Aha!Math Whiteboard Edition

Armstrong-Hilton Limited, the language and communications training company, announced the launch of WebSwami 1.0, an online language and communications training system that combines interactive activities, personalized video feedback, rapid course development tools, and a student tracking interface.

Learning.com offers schools an easy and effective way to make the most of their interactive whiteboards and improve student math scores with its new Aha!Math Whiteboard Edition.

This special promotion gives teachers the elements of Aha!Math that are ideal for use with an interactive whiteboard, including lively instruction and math games that free teachers to focus on how well students are grasping critical math skills.

Read more...

Source: Learning.com; techLEARNING News

Schools Maximize Interactive Whiteboard Investments with Learning.com’s Aha!Math Whiteboard Edition

Armstrong-Hilton Limited, the language and communications training company, announced the launch of WebSwami 1.0, an online language and communications training system that combines interactive activities, personalized video feedback, rapid course development tools, and a student tracking interface.

Learning.com offers schools an easy and effective way to make the most of their interactive whiteboards and improve student math scores with its new Aha!Math Whiteboard Edition.

This special promotion gives teachers the elements of Aha!Math that are ideal for use with an interactive whiteboard, including lively instruction and math games that free teachers to focus on how well students are grasping critical math skills.

Read more...

Source: Learning.com; techLEARNING News

Mathematica 7 Released

Wolfram Research announced Mathematica 7, a major release that accelerates the drive to integrate and automate functionality as core Mathematica capabilities, adding image processing, parallel high-performance computing (HPC), new on-demand curated data, and other recently developed computational innovations—in total over 500 new functions and 12 application areas.

Key areas of innovation in Mathematica 7 include:

• Charting and information visualization
• Vector field visualization
• Comprehensive spline support, including NURBS
• Industrial-strength Boolean computation
• Statistical model analysis
• Integrated geodesy and GIS data
• Many symbolic computation breakthroughs, including discrete calculus, sequence recognition, and transcendental roots

Mathematica 7 is available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Mac OS X, Linux x86, Solaris UltraSPARC/x86, and compatible systems.
Read more...

Related link
The seminar is delivered live over the internet using Adobe Acrobat Connect. Use any one of the supported web browsers on your computer with Flash Player installed. Once you have registered for a session, you will receive a confirmation email with a seminar login link. To see and hear the presentation, click the link at the scheduled time, then simply log in to the free online seminar. Seminar Description:
S11: What's New in Mathematica 7

Source: Wolfram Research; techLEARNING News

Mathematica 7 Released

Wolfram Research announced Mathematica 7, a major release that accelerates the drive to integrate and automate functionality as core Mathematica capabilities, adding image processing, parallel high-performance computing (HPC), new on-demand curated data, and other recently developed computational innovations—in total over 500 new functions and 12 application areas.

Key areas of innovation in Mathematica 7 include:

• Charting and information visualization
• Vector field visualization
• Comprehensive spline support, including NURBS
• Industrial-strength Boolean computation
• Statistical model analysis
• Integrated geodesy and GIS data
• Many symbolic computation breakthroughs, including discrete calculus, sequence recognition, and transcendental roots

Mathematica 7 is available for Windows 2000/XP/Vista, Mac OS X, Linux x86, Solaris UltraSPARC/x86, and compatible systems.
Read more...

Related link
The seminar is delivered live over the internet using Adobe Acrobat Connect. Use any one of the supported web browsers on your computer with Flash Player installed. Once you have registered for a session, you will receive a confirmation email with a seminar login link. To see and hear the presentation, click the link at the scheduled time, then simply log in to the free online seminar. Seminar Description:
S11: What's New in Mathematica 7

Source: Wolfram Research; techLEARNING News

The Study Barn

Check out this fantastic learning resource called the Study Barn created by the twin brothers Chris and David Hobbs.


It is a 100% free online study guide that will allow any student to study any topic. They can create their own exam or study group using question they create or from material that is already in our system.
They encourage those who wish to leave their intellectual fingerprint on the world to be an integral part of this project. Experts and laymen alike can share their knowledge by creating or augmenting topical study guides. When this project began we envisioned a system where a Professor from Harvard could create content to help a student from Afghanistan become a doctor, or the child of a Bolivian farmer become a community leader. These are the first steps towards a better world.
Read more...

Related link
The Study Barn

The Study Barn

Check out this fantastic learning resource called the Study Barn created by the twin brothers Chris and David Hobbs.


It is a 100% free online study guide that will allow any student to study any topic. They can create their own exam or study group using question they create or from material that is already in our system.
They encourage those who wish to leave their intellectual fingerprint on the world to be an integral part of this project. Experts and laymen alike can share their knowledge by creating or augmenting topical study guides. When this project began we envisioned a system where a Professor from Harvard could create content to help a student from Afghanistan become a doctor, or the child of a Bolivian farmer become a community leader. These are the first steps towards a better world.
Read more...

Related link
The Study Barn

7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders

Look at the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, the "7 Things You Should Know about..." series.



Since its introduction, the Flip has quickly become extremely popular, reportedly capturing 13 percent of the camcorder market in its first year. This past spring, the Department of Communications at the University of Washington used the Flip in a student video expedition and documentary examining progress made in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
This fall, Duke University is providing Flip camcorders to faculty and students interested in exploring the technology and investigating the approaches to teaching and learning that it enables.
Unigo.com, an online guide to North American colleges and universities, provides Flip devices to students, who capture video on the fly and deliver it to the site promptly. Because the Flip is inexpensive enough to be taken into situations where it could be damaged or lost, it is a natural fit for everyone from bloggers documenting road trips to citizen journalists recording breaking news for Web presentation.
Read more...

Related links
7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders (PDF)
Review in The Wall Street Journal

Source: EDUCAUSE CONNECT

7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders

Look at the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, the "7 Things You Should Know about..." series.



Since its introduction, the Flip has quickly become extremely popular, reportedly capturing 13 percent of the camcorder market in its first year. This past spring, the Department of Communications at the University of Washington used the Flip in a student video expedition and documentary examining progress made in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
This fall, Duke University is providing Flip camcorders to faculty and students interested in exploring the technology and investigating the approaches to teaching and learning that it enables.
Unigo.com, an online guide to North American colleges and universities, provides Flip devices to students, who capture video on the fly and deliver it to the site promptly. Because the Flip is inexpensive enough to be taken into situations where it could be damaged or lost, it is a natural fit for everyone from bloggers documenting road trips to citizen journalists recording breaking news for Web presentation.
Read more...

Related links
7 Things You Should Know About Flip Camcorders (PDF)
Review in The Wall Street Journal

Source: EDUCAUSE CONNECT

New Adobe Creative Suite 4: Engage students and prepare them for the future

INTEGRATE ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE 4 INTO YOUR COURSE.

New Adobe Creative Suite 4 empowers students and educators to produce highly innovative print, web, video, mobile, and rich media projects while working in one comprehensive environment.

The tools are all new, the pricing is amazing, and the curriculum is free. And with the new Adobe Certified Associate Classroom License - developed by Certiport - students and faculty can validate skills while institutions lower costs, simplify budgeting, and plan for future product and certification releases.

Savannah College of Art and Design

From broadcast design to graphic design, advertising design, and visual effects, instructors throughout Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) are using Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection software.

Look at the Video Case Study

Source: Adobe Systems Incorporated

New Adobe Creative Suite 4: Engage students and prepare them for the future

INTEGRATE ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE 4 INTO YOUR COURSE.

New Adobe Creative Suite 4 empowers students and educators to produce highly innovative print, web, video, mobile, and rich media projects while working in one comprehensive environment.

The tools are all new, the pricing is amazing, and the curriculum is free. And with the new Adobe Certified Associate Classroom License - developed by Certiport - students and faculty can validate skills while institutions lower costs, simplify budgeting, and plan for future product and certification releases.

Savannah College of Art and Design

From broadcast design to graphic design, advertising design, and visual effects, instructors throughout Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) are using Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection software.

Look at the Video Case Study

Source: Adobe Systems Incorporated

The Future of Online Learning: Ten Years On by Stephen Downes

Make sure you take the time to read this new important and pertinent paper just published by Stephen Downes below.

In the introduction Stephen writes, "In the summer of 1998, over two frantic weeks in July, I wrote an essay titled The Future of Online Learning. (Downes, 1998). At the time, I was working as a distance education and new media design specialist at Assiniboine Community College, and I wrote the essay to defend the work I was doing at the time. “We want a plan,” said my managers, and so I outlined the future as I thought it would – and should – unfold."

At the end of the paper, he writes, “The Future today, and for the last century, education has been practiced in segregated buildings by carefully regimented and standardized classes of students led and instructed by teachers working essentially alone.
Over the last ten years, this model has been seen in many quarters to be obsolete. We have seen the emergence of a new model, where education is practiced in the community as a whole, by individuals studying personal curricula at their own pace, guided and assisted by community facilitators, online instructors and experts around the world.
Though today we stand at the cusp of this new vision, the future will see institutions and traditional forms of education receding gradually, reluctantly, to a tide of self-directing and self-motivated learners. This will be the last generation in which education is the practice of authority, and the first where it becomes, at has always been intended by educators, an act of liberty.” continues Half an Hour.

Related link
http://www.downes.ca/files/future2008.doc

Don’t Miss It!

The Future of Online Learning: Ten Years On by Stephen Downes

Make sure you take the time to read this new important and pertinent paper just published by Stephen Downes below.

In the introduction Stephen writes, "In the summer of 1998, over two frantic weeks in July, I wrote an essay titled The Future of Online Learning. (Downes, 1998). At the time, I was working as a distance education and new media design specialist at Assiniboine Community College, and I wrote the essay to defend the work I was doing at the time. “We want a plan,” said my managers, and so I outlined the future as I thought it would – and should – unfold."

At the end of the paper, he writes, “The Future today, and for the last century, education has been practiced in segregated buildings by carefully regimented and standardized classes of students led and instructed by teachers working essentially alone.
Over the last ten years, this model has been seen in many quarters to be obsolete. We have seen the emergence of a new model, where education is practiced in the community as a whole, by individuals studying personal curricula at their own pace, guided and assisted by community facilitators, online instructors and experts around the world.
Though today we stand at the cusp of this new vision, the future will see institutions and traditional forms of education receding gradually, reluctantly, to a tide of self-directing and self-motivated learners. This will be the last generation in which education is the practice of authority, and the first where it becomes, at has always been intended by educators, an act of liberty.” continues Half an Hour.

Related link
http://www.downes.ca/files/future2008.doc

Don’t Miss It!