4/1/2008
Software developer Panopto reported to us this week that hundreds of educational institutions have applied for its Socrates Project, which allows K-12 schools, colleges, and universities to adopt the company's CourseCast system at no charge. The program, launched late last year, is aimed specifically at academic institutions.
3/26/2008
Introducing new technologies to faculty members can be a challenge--they are often simply too busy or don't see the point of mastering yet another tool.
3/19/2008
In search of an inexpensive solution to engage students in challenging courses like physics and astronomy, a semi-retired professor has created a popular interactive software tool that reportedly increases classroom participation and boosts grades and learning.
3/12/2008
What does it take to convert a soon-to-retire engineering professor enamored of the chalkboard into someone who loves a technology tool? For Virginia Tech Alumni Distinguished Professor Charles Bostian, it took a collaborative teaching tool that he is using in engineering classes as large as 180 students.
3/4/2008
At the inaugural Wimba Connect 2008 user conference Tuesday, Wimba unveiled its new Wimba Pronto, a collaborative instant messaging tool geared specifically toward education.
2/26/2008
Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada has deployed an online video portal that lets students view, index, annotate, remix, search, and share class lectures. Although the school has been offering streaming video for three years, the new portal, run on the Gotuit platform, implements more interactive features.
2/12/2008
Collaborative technology developer Elluminate has brought its Live! virtual classroom software to the Moodle platform. The company released a piece of software Tuesday called Elluminate Bridge for Moodle, which is designed to integrate Live! into the open-source learning management system.
2/12/2008
Education developer Smart Technologies has debuted a new document camera designed specifically for classroom settings. The new model, set to ship this spring, incorporates an adjustable head for scanning any kind of physical object from a wide range of angles and features integration with existing classroom presentation technologies.
2/6/2008
Soldiers in the United States military who want to take college courses while they’re deployed overseas face some tough challenges. But they can also represent an attractive market for universities, especially those interesting in recruiting more business graduate school students to specific programs.
1/31/2008
AV technology developer AVerMedia this week launched a new contest for K-12 and higher education: to develop a lesson plan centered around the use of a document camera. An AVerVision document camera and $1,000 (to be used for classroom technology purchases) will be awarded to the winning lesson plan in each of six subject areas.
1/30/2008
Perhaps more than anything else, the sight of a group of students clustered around a single computer screen, jostling for space and a better view, made Karalee Woody aware of the need for better collaborative computing tools at the University of Washington.
1/30/2008
Education technology provider Panopto has released an update to its lecture capture and streaming tool, CourseCast. The latest version, CourseCast 1.5, adds several enhancements in the areas of lecture distribution, editing, and workflow. It remains free for educators through the Socrates Project, which provides access in exchange for participation in the software's ongoing development efforts.
1/29/2008
IBM has unveiled several new collaboration tools and Web 2.0 technologies, including IBM Lotus Mashups, a forthcoming commercial mashup maker designed to allow "non-technical users to easily create enterprise mashups." At the Lotusphere conference in Florida last Wednesday, the company also introduced new versions of Lotus Connections and Lotus Quickr, a rich collaboration tool.
1/24/2008
Education publisher Pearson Wednesday unveiled a new student response system for K-12 and higher ed at the FETC conference in Orlando, FL. The system, developed in partnership with technology provider Renaissance Learning, is designed to be integrated with Pearson's Prosper assessment system.
1/23/2008
Epson America has announced a new addition to its lineup of PowerLite 3LCD projectors, the PowerLite 400W. The new short-throw model sports a WXGA-native resolution (1,280x800) and is designed for classroom use with 16:10 interactive whiteboards.
1/22/2008
NEC has debuted a new high-end model in its MultiSync 90 Series of professional LCD displays, expanding the lineup to include a 30-inch widescreen unit. The new MultiSync LCD3090WQXi widescreen display is targeted toward high-end graphics applications, including design, photography, print production, and 3D/CAD applications.
1/21/2008
Smart Technologies has released an update to its whiteboard software, Smart Board 9.7. The update comes on the heels of a full-version upgrade for the company's Notebook software, announced last week at the Macworld expo in San Francisco. Smart Board software powers Smart's line of interactive whiteboards (Smart Boards), its Sympodium interactive pen display, and its AirLiner wireless slate.
1/15/2008
A new Web platform for publishing collections and exhibitions online got a nod of fame last week when it was referenced in The Washington Times profile of George Mason University's Center for History and New Media, which the paper called "at the forefront of the new wave of collecting history." The free, open-source platform is named Omeka, a Swahili word meaning "to display or lay out goods or wares; to speak out; to spread out; to unpack."
1/15/2008
At the Macworld Conference & Expo, Microsoft has officially released Office 2008 for Mac, the latest version of the company's ubiquitous office productivity suite. Office 2008 was originally supposed to have shipped last summer but instead arrives today in three versions, including a new education edition. The company is providing guided tours of the latest edition at the Macworld convention through Thursday.
1/14/2008
Microsoft today is providing Macworld Expo attendees with an in depth guided tour of Office 2008 for Mac, which is expected to ship starting tomorrow (Jan. 15). Microsoft will show off the software at a day-long training session entitled "A Day At The Office: Microsoft Office 2008" beginning at 9 a.m. PST and running until 6:30 p.m. Other sessions and labs wil be held throughout the expo.
1/9/2008
Smart Technologies this week debuted a new full-version update of its Notebook collaborative learning software and also launched new interactive whiteboard systems. The new Notebook 10, which will make its first public appearance at the Macworld Conference and Expo next week in San Francisco, adds 30 new features for lesson creation and delivery.
1/8/2008
Rich Media software developer Panopto is making its CourseCast lecture-capture technology available free to qualified educational institutions, including K-12 schools, colleges, and universities. The software is being distributed though the company's new Socrates Project to provide free access in exchange for participation in "ongoing beta and developer programs aimed at continually enhancing the technology...."
1/7/2008
Mitsubishi has launched a new high-definition projector targeted toward education, home theater, and corporate applications at the Consumer Electronics Show, happening this week in Las Vegas.
12/12/2007
Active, collaborative learning is a laudable goal in the classroom, but with individual students at computers throughout the room, it's not always easy to achieve.
12/12/2007
Whether you're participating in digital media instruction personally or merely supporting visual arts programs on your campuses, you no doubt have Wacom tablets up near the top of the equipment list. They're integral in the production of digital art, and they're ubiquitous in all realms of professional creative work.