In this first installment of our two-part "before and after" series, we look at preparations underway for a middle school distance education session that involves videoconferencing live with the "worst weather spot" in the Northeastern United States: the observatory on Mount Washington. Technology Coordinator Roy Bailey shares the details of the project--the costs, the equipment involved, and the educational goals, among other things, as his school gears up for the event.
- By Denise Harrison
- 10/22/09
Tandberg announced the Telepresence T1, an immersive video conferencing system based on the Telepresence T3 but with a smaller footprint.
- By Denise Harrison
- 10/21/09
A new study has shown that educational videos and interactive games can have a positive impact on preschooler literacy when incorporated into the curriculum in a classroom setting.
Blackboard is providing access to historical multimedia resources for its academic users. The company today announced that it's inked a deal with NBC News to provide historical and current events materials within the Blackboard Learn platform. [Updated 11:07 a.m.]
Moodlerooms is integrating the EQUELLA digital repository into its learning management platform, powered by the open-source Moodle LMS. Through a new partnership with The Learning Edge North America, the platform will incorporate EQUELLA without adding any new licensing fees.
Adobe has introduced a new version of its Digital School Collection, a suite of creative and productivity tools geared specifically for K-12 education. The new suite includes a significantly enhanced version of Premiere Elements, with expanded podcasting capabilities. Adobe has also brought Photoshop Elements back to the Mac (with education pricing) in the new version 8 release.
Panopto this week released an update to CourseCast, the lecture capture system that's made available to academic institutions at no cost through a special program offered by the company.
Elluminate has launched an update to Elluminate VCS, a video conferencing and collaboration tool designed for use by academic institutions. The new 2.0 release includes a range of interface improvements, as well as new collaboration capabilities.
TechSmith has released Camtasia for Mac OS X, a screen capture and audio and video editing tool (not to be confused with the Camtasia Relay lecture capture system, which already works on Mac).
Videoconferencing is not only an efficient way to conduct meetings or deliver distance learning; it's also opening up the world in ways that were never before possible. Thanks to an innovative program at Carnegie Hall, a number of New York high school social studies students are learning this first-hand and experiencing countries and cultures most would never see.
- By Denise Harrison
- 08/19/09