Twitter can improve student performance, study says by Sarah Cunnane

"The sight of students fiddling with their mobile phones and laptops as they tweet their way through lectures is enough to drive many academics up the wall. 

But according to a study at Lock Haven University in the US, tweeting could be used to improve academic performance.", writes the Times Higher Education.

Photo: Mendeley

Rey Junco, associate professor in the department of academic development and counselling, assessed the impact of using Twitter as a teaching tool on students taking a pre-health course at the institution, which is a member of the Pennsylvania state system.

Separating the students into two groups, he asked one to use the social-networking site Ning to communicate with lecturers while the other used Twitter.

According to a paper published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, titled "The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades", the latter group scored on average a grade higher than their counterparts.

Read more...

Academic Excellence in 140 Characters

Related link Dr. Rey Junco's Blog 

Source: Times Higher Education

Twitter can improve student performance, study says by Sarah Cunnane

"The sight of students fiddling with their mobile phones and laptops as they tweet their way through lectures is enough to drive many academics up the wall. 

But according to a study at Lock Haven University in the US, tweeting could be used to improve academic performance.", writes the Times Higher Education.

Photo: Mendeley

Rey Junco, associate professor in the department of academic development and counselling, assessed the impact of using Twitter as a teaching tool on students taking a pre-health course at the institution, which is a member of the Pennsylvania state system.

Separating the students into two groups, he asked one to use the social-networking site Ning to communicate with lecturers while the other used Twitter.

According to a paper published in the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, titled "The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades", the latter group scored on average a grade higher than their counterparts.

Read more...

Academic Excellence in 140 Characters

Related link Dr. Rey Junco's Blog 

Source: Times Higher Education

Introducing The Daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.

Today Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation, unveiled The Daily -- the industry’s first national daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.

Introducing The Daily


“New times demand new journalism,” said Mr. Murdoch. “So we built The Daily completely from scratch -- on the most innovative device to come about in my time -- the iPad."

“The magic of great newspapers -- and great blogs -- lies in their serendipity and surprise, and the touch of a good editor,” continued Mr. Murdoch. “We’re going to bring that magic to The Daily -- to inform people, to make them think, to help them engage in the great issues of the day. And as we continue to improve and evolve, we are going to use the best in new technology to push the boundaries of reporting.” 

The Daily’s unique mix of text, photography, audio, video, information graphics, touch interactivity and real-time data and social feeds provides its editors with the ability to decide not only which stories are most important -- but also the best format to deliver these stories to their readers. 

“News Corp. is redefining the news experience with The Daily,” says Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think it is terrific and iPad users are really going to embrace it.”

As readers move through The Daily’s content, they will be helped by several highly intuitive navigation tools. And while The Daily lives on the iPad, most of its articles can be easily shared via Facebook, Twitter and email. The Daily will link out to the web, as well as bring the web into the app.

“In short, says Mr. Murdoch, “we believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told and consumed in this digital age.”

About The Daily
The Daily is a first-of-its-kind daily national news publication built exclusively as an application for tablet computing. It provides readers the engaging experience of a magazine combined with the immediacy of the web and the need-to-know content of a newspaper, all while elevating user experience beyond the printed word. The Daily is a subscription-based news product, published 365 days a year, at the cost of $0.99 cents a week or $39.99 a year.
For more information on The Daily go to: www.thedaily.com.

Introducing The Daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.

Today Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation, unveiled The Daily -- the industry’s first national daily news publication created from the ground up for iPad.

Introducing The Daily


“New times demand new journalism,” said Mr. Murdoch. “So we built The Daily completely from scratch -- on the most innovative device to come about in my time -- the iPad."

“The magic of great newspapers -- and great blogs -- lies in their serendipity and surprise, and the touch of a good editor,” continued Mr. Murdoch. “We’re going to bring that magic to The Daily -- to inform people, to make them think, to help them engage in the great issues of the day. And as we continue to improve and evolve, we are going to use the best in new technology to push the boundaries of reporting.” 

The Daily’s unique mix of text, photography, audio, video, information graphics, touch interactivity and real-time data and social feeds provides its editors with the ability to decide not only which stories are most important -- but also the best format to deliver these stories to their readers. 

“News Corp. is redefining the news experience with The Daily,” says Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We think it is terrific and iPad users are really going to embrace it.”

As readers move through The Daily’s content, they will be helped by several highly intuitive navigation tools. And while The Daily lives on the iPad, most of its articles can be easily shared via Facebook, Twitter and email. The Daily will link out to the web, as well as bring the web into the app.

“In short, says Mr. Murdoch, “we believe The Daily will be the model for how stories are told and consumed in this digital age.”

About The Daily
The Daily is a first-of-its-kind daily national news publication built exclusively as an application for tablet computing. It provides readers the engaging experience of a magazine combined with the immediacy of the web and the need-to-know content of a newspaper, all while elevating user experience beyond the printed word. The Daily is a subscription-based news product, published 365 days a year, at the cost of $0.99 cents a week or $39.99 a year.
For more information on The Daily go to: www.thedaily.com.

"The State of the LMS" Report Released by Expertus and Training Industry, Inc.

Expertus (www.expertus.com), a global provider of software that optimizes the business impact of learning, today released the results of recent research conducted among learning leaders in partnership with Training Industry, Inc. "The Current and Future State of Learning Management Systems,"  (PDF) which compiles top findings and offers analysis and charts.

The survey was designed to better understand how learning professionals would grade their LMS, identify top challenges, and define what features and functionalities are most critical to include in future LMS purchases. Learning professionals can use these results to make informed decisions on how to customize, upgrade or select their LMS.

The key findings include:

#1: LMS satisfaction is mixed, with a "B-" average. A majority of learning professionals gave their LMS an A or B, with nearly half (45 percent) grading their LMS with a C, D or F.

#2: The top challenge for learning professionals and learners alike is poor usability. In fact, fully 25 percent of learning professionals felt that learners have an issue with usability. Beyond this, learning professionals also felt learners' top challenges are in their search for training, as well as general IT issues.

#3: Reporting and integration are still top LMS challenges. Beyond usability issues, learning professionals continue to report difficulties with their LMS' reporting and integration, just as they did in our 2007 and 2008 studies.

#4: Personalized learning plans are both the most frequently used advanced LMS feature and are also the most often selected "essential" feature of future LMS purchases. This underscores its importance and indicates that the LMS market is becoming more learner-friendly.

#5: The greatest differences between what learning professionals want and have in their LMS are in universal integration and integration with formal, informal and social learning. Combined with the finding that the lack of integration remains a top challenge, this represents an area where there is significant opportunity for the market to improve.

Last year, Expertus introduced ExpertusONE™ (www.expertusone.com), a revolutionary new social learning platform that brings together formal, informal and collaborative learning for all audiences across the enterprise -- employees, customers and channel partners.
Read more... 

About Expertus
Expertus is the leading global provider of software that optimizes the business impact of learning. For more than a decade, the firm's 500+ learning management professionals have defined and implemented plans, processes and technologies that transform training organizations -- creating measurable value for the world's most successful corporations. Clients include ADP, Cisco, ConocoPhillips, EMC, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Every day at these and other companies, more than a million employees, customers and business partners are educated as a result of Expertus' innovative business strategies, outsourcing services and technology-rich solutions.

Based in Silicon Valley, Expertus serves its clients from offices in the US, UK and India.
For more information, visit www.expertus.com.

Source: PR-USA.net 

"The State of the LMS" Report Released by Expertus and Training Industry, Inc.

Expertus (www.expertus.com), a global provider of software that optimizes the business impact of learning, today released the results of recent research conducted among learning leaders in partnership with Training Industry, Inc. "The Current and Future State of Learning Management Systems,"  (PDF) which compiles top findings and offers analysis and charts.

The survey was designed to better understand how learning professionals would grade their LMS, identify top challenges, and define what features and functionalities are most critical to include in future LMS purchases. Learning professionals can use these results to make informed decisions on how to customize, upgrade or select their LMS.

The key findings include:

#1: LMS satisfaction is mixed, with a "B-" average. A majority of learning professionals gave their LMS an A or B, with nearly half (45 percent) grading their LMS with a C, D or F.

#2: The top challenge for learning professionals and learners alike is poor usability. In fact, fully 25 percent of learning professionals felt that learners have an issue with usability. Beyond this, learning professionals also felt learners' top challenges are in their search for training, as well as general IT issues.

#3: Reporting and integration are still top LMS challenges. Beyond usability issues, learning professionals continue to report difficulties with their LMS' reporting and integration, just as they did in our 2007 and 2008 studies.

#4: Personalized learning plans are both the most frequently used advanced LMS feature and are also the most often selected "essential" feature of future LMS purchases. This underscores its importance and indicates that the LMS market is becoming more learner-friendly.

#5: The greatest differences between what learning professionals want and have in their LMS are in universal integration and integration with formal, informal and social learning. Combined with the finding that the lack of integration remains a top challenge, this represents an area where there is significant opportunity for the market to improve.

Last year, Expertus introduced ExpertusONE™ (www.expertusone.com), a revolutionary new social learning platform that brings together formal, informal and collaborative learning for all audiences across the enterprise -- employees, customers and channel partners.
Read more... 

About Expertus
Expertus is the leading global provider of software that optimizes the business impact of learning. For more than a decade, the firm's 500+ learning management professionals have defined and implemented plans, processes and technologies that transform training organizations -- creating measurable value for the world's most successful corporations. Clients include ADP, Cisco, ConocoPhillips, EMC, Honeywell and Lockheed Martin. Every day at these and other companies, more than a million employees, customers and business partners are educated as a result of Expertus' innovative business strategies, outsourcing services and technology-rich solutions.

Based in Silicon Valley, Expertus serves its clients from offices in the US, UK and India.
For more information, visit www.expertus.com.

Source: PR-USA.net 

New education guide highlights centuries of black history in Canada

"Students across the country are being provided with a primer on black history in Canada just in time for Black History Month.", writes The Lethbridge Herald

Photo: The Historica-Dominion Institute

The Historica-Dominion Institute is behind the Black History in Canada Education Guide, which has been shipped to more than 3,000 high schools. The institute is the country's largest charitable organization dedicated to Canadian history, identity and citizenship.

Diamond said they found young people were starved for primary sources and popular culture references to help them learn about Canadian history. They encouraged the filmmakers to work with them on a public education campaign to help drive youngsters to the movies to learn more about the country's history and the First World War.

"What we wanted to do with this guide in a similar vein is to use a popular book, like `The Book of Negroes,' as a foray into learning about the experience of black history in Canada," Diamond said in an interview Tuesday.

He said the guide focuses on the story of black Canadians and black history in Canada over 400 years, while drawing on Lawrence Hill's award-winning novel as an example of the black Canadian experience in the 19th century. The guide also includes a message from the author.

"The Book of Negroes" tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who is abducted from her village in West Africa and enslaved in North Carolina. She forges her way to freedom years later, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the "Book of Negroes," a record of some 3,000 black Loyalists who left the U.S. to resettle in Nova Scotia.

Read more...

Related link

BLACK HISTORY in CANADA EDUCATION GUIDE (PDF)

Source: The Lethbridge Herald

New education guide highlights centuries of black history in Canada

"Students across the country are being provided with a primer on black history in Canada just in time for Black History Month.", writes The Lethbridge Herald

Photo: The Historica-Dominion Institute

The Historica-Dominion Institute is behind the Black History in Canada Education Guide, which has been shipped to more than 3,000 high schools. The institute is the country's largest charitable organization dedicated to Canadian history, identity and citizenship.

Diamond said they found young people were starved for primary sources and popular culture references to help them learn about Canadian history. They encouraged the filmmakers to work with them on a public education campaign to help drive youngsters to the movies to learn more about the country's history and the First World War.

"What we wanted to do with this guide in a similar vein is to use a popular book, like `The Book of Negroes,' as a foray into learning about the experience of black history in Canada," Diamond said in an interview Tuesday.

He said the guide focuses on the story of black Canadians and black history in Canada over 400 years, while drawing on Lawrence Hill's award-winning novel as an example of the black Canadian experience in the 19th century. The guide also includes a message from the author.

"The Book of Negroes" tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who is abducted from her village in West Africa and enslaved in North Carolina. She forges her way to freedom years later, serving the British in the Revolutionary War and registering her name in the "Book of Negroes," a record of some 3,000 black Loyalists who left the U.S. to resettle in Nova Scotia.

Read more...

Related link

BLACK HISTORY in CANADA EDUCATION GUIDE (PDF)

Source: The Lethbridge Herald

Edvantage group announces new version of its SaaS and cloud-based Learning Management System

Edvantage group, a leading European e-learning company, announces the latest version of its SaaS and cloud-based Learning Gateway, learning management system (LMS) version 5.6. This release focuses on helping large and small organisations gain more effect from their blended learning programmes with less administrative effort.

Photo: Edvantage group

A new resource repository will enable learning assets to be centralised, reused and shared more efficiently, while a host of new functions will help organisations deploy, track and share their learning assets with greater efficiency. LMS version 5.6 promises to deliver the best learning experience with less administrative effort.

The release also includes new reporting capabilities, reporting that will help training managers and business leaders both track learner progress and encourage course completion. A wider range of filtering options enables reporting at all levels of the organisation and on all types of learning methods, including classroom sessions, tests, evaluations and online modules. This release also includes increased functionality for visual presentation of graphs and charts, making it easier to analyse data, target areas for follow-up, and ultimately achieve better results.

Examples of other key enhancements include:

• configurable views for course listings and learning paths

• extended drill-down functionality allowing a full overview and improved follow-up of learner progress 

• a more visual overview of classroom enrollments 

• an enhanced mail template system with the ability to self-define elements and content 

• an improved password management system

Learning Gateway version 5.6 is available from 1 February, 2011. Clients received immediate access to the new features and capabilities as part of Edvantage group’s SaaS (Software-as-a Service) model

Read more... 

Related link
Learning Gateway Learning Management System (PDF)

About Learning Gateway

Learning Gateway is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Learning Management System designed to improve and accelerate the development of employees’ skills, leveraging knowledge across the organisation. This system is currently used by over 200 organisations and one half million users. Learning Gateway uses a Service Orientated Architecture to provide high levels of scalability, security, reliability and value. Learning Gateway is standards-based for interoperability with other business systems, and contains a library of over 15,000 on-demand courses.

About Edvantage group

Edvantage group is Europe’s leading e-learning company. Edvantage group helps organisations improve employee skills and transfer knowledge, leading to better performance and business results. The company seamlessly combines Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud-based technologies, including Learning Gateway and CourseBuilder, with exceptional learning experiences, on-demand content and professional services to deliver measurable value for clients. Edvantage group serves over 400 organisations from offices throughout the Nordic countries, Benelux and the UK. 

Visit www.edvantagegroup.com for more information.

Source: WebWire 

Edvantage group announces new version of its SaaS and cloud-based Learning Management System

Edvantage group, a leading European e-learning company, announces the latest version of its SaaS and cloud-based Learning Gateway, learning management system (LMS) version 5.6. This release focuses on helping large and small organisations gain more effect from their blended learning programmes with less administrative effort.

Photo: Edvantage group

A new resource repository will enable learning assets to be centralised, reused and shared more efficiently, while a host of new functions will help organisations deploy, track and share their learning assets with greater efficiency. LMS version 5.6 promises to deliver the best learning experience with less administrative effort.

The release also includes new reporting capabilities, reporting that will help training managers and business leaders both track learner progress and encourage course completion. A wider range of filtering options enables reporting at all levels of the organisation and on all types of learning methods, including classroom sessions, tests, evaluations and online modules. This release also includes increased functionality for visual presentation of graphs and charts, making it easier to analyse data, target areas for follow-up, and ultimately achieve better results.

Examples of other key enhancements include:

• configurable views for course listings and learning paths

• extended drill-down functionality allowing a full overview and improved follow-up of learner progress 

• a more visual overview of classroom enrollments 

• an enhanced mail template system with the ability to self-define elements and content 

• an improved password management system

Learning Gateway version 5.6 is available from 1 February, 2011. Clients received immediate access to the new features and capabilities as part of Edvantage group’s SaaS (Software-as-a Service) model

Read more... 

Related link
Learning Gateway Learning Management System (PDF)

About Learning Gateway

Learning Gateway is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Learning Management System designed to improve and accelerate the development of employees’ skills, leveraging knowledge across the organisation. This system is currently used by over 200 organisations and one half million users. Learning Gateway uses a Service Orientated Architecture to provide high levels of scalability, security, reliability and value. Learning Gateway is standards-based for interoperability with other business systems, and contains a library of over 15,000 on-demand courses.

About Edvantage group

Edvantage group is Europe’s leading e-learning company. Edvantage group helps organisations improve employee skills and transfer knowledge, leading to better performance and business results. The company seamlessly combines Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud-based technologies, including Learning Gateway and CourseBuilder, with exceptional learning experiences, on-demand content and professional services to deliver measurable value for clients. Edvantage group serves over 400 organisations from offices throughout the Nordic countries, Benelux and the UK. 

Visit www.edvantagegroup.com for more information.

Source: WebWire