THE Journal — eLearning/Web
Verizon Awards Thinkfinity Grant to Kentucky Teachers
The Kentucky Department of Education received a $50,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to raise awareness and train teachers throughout the state to use thousands of free educational resources available on Thinkfinity.org, an online portal comprising educational and literacy resources for teachers, parents and students.
(4/7/2008)
Alabama Program Couples Real-World Science with Technology
PASCO scientific has partnered with the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) in a pilot program to explore how real-world scientific inquiry coupled with modern technology can accelerate the development of students' 21st century science skills.
(4/4/2008)
Defense Department Rolls Out Reading Around the World
Pearson has been awarded the contract from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to provide elementary reading programs for its schools around the world.
(4/4/2008)
Desire2Learn Launches Web Services for Learning Management
CMS/LMS developer Desire2Learn this week launched Web Services 1.0, a set of Web-based enhancements for the D2L Learning Environment and D2L Learning Platform. Modules included with the 1.0 release include "organization structure management, enrolment management, and gradebook entry and lookup," according to the company.
(4/4/2008)
Tegrity Bolsters Classroom Capture with Campus 2.0
Ed tech developer Tegrity has released an update to Campus 2.0, the company's enterprise classroom capture and student achievement system. The new version adds a wide range of features, from new recording and editing tools to enhanced administrative and reporting functionality.
(4/2/2008)
Blackboard Vows To Press On
Despite last week's apparent setback in the Patent Office, Blackboard is vowing not to go down without a fight even as Desire2Learn and the Software Freedom Law Center--the two groups that sought to have the patent revoked--celebrate victory. We have the first interview with Blackboard's chief legal officer, Matthew Small, since the action. He discussed Blackboard's plans moving forward and why he sees that patent as still being valid and strong.
(4/2/2008)
Free Lecture Capture System Gains Widespread Academic Support
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.
(4/1/2008)
IBM Updates Collaborative Software
IBM has released Lotus Quickr 8.1, an update to the company's collaborative learning tool. The new version adds Microsoft Outlook support and integration with Lotus Connections, among other enhancements.
(4/1/2008)
More States, Vendors Ally with Partnership for 21st Century Skills
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills recently reported that Iowa has joined its State Leadership Initiative--the seventh state to join to date. The group also told THE Journal that two more states are expected to join up within the next 45 days.
(4/1/2008)
Windows Search 4.0 Preview Unveiled
Microsoft published a trial version of its latest desktop search engine last week called Windows Search 4.0 Preview. The solution works with Microsoft's operating systems to search for files and to index them for faster access.
(3/31/2008)
Earliest Human Voice Recording Debuts Online
This weekend, Stanford University hosted the first public performance of the earliest known human voice recording--one that predates Thomas Edison's invention of the phonograph by 17 years. The organization that made playback of the sound possible, First Sounds, has also posted the recording online for the public.
(3/31/2008)
Spotlight: Free Science Resources Online
Looking for ways to encourage student interest in science? These authoritative sites arm teachers not only with free multimedia, projects, and other deep resources, but also lesson plans and standards-aligned, curriculum-focused materials that will help you make the most of these educational and entertaining tools.
(3/31/2008)
Blackboard Bumps Learning Systems to 8.0
Blackboard this week brought its Learning System CE and Learning System Vista in line with Learning System Enterprise edition, bringing the entire line to version 8.0. The company said the new releases represent a major advance toward its goal of unifying the codebase of its learning tools and infusing them with Web 2.0 technologies.
(3/28/2008)
Microsoft's 'Albany' Project May Take Aim at Google Docs
Microsoft appears to be working on a secret project called Albany, and while no one knows for sure exactly what it is yet, clues indicate that the company is looking to develop a stronger competitor to Google's free, online-hosted Google Docs service.
(3/28/2008)
USPTO Rejects Blackboard Patent Claims (Update 10)
Blackboard's e-learning patent looks to be going down. The United States Patent and Trademark Office this week sent out a "non-final" determination on the reexamination of Blackboard's patent in which all of the claims on the patent were rejected. Blackboard still has a period (two months) to respond to the determination.
(3/28/2008)
Yahoo! Backs OpenSocial; New Foundation Formed
Yahoo! announced Tuesday that it's joined forces with Google and MySpace to back OpenSocial, which aims to define a common API to allow social applications across multiple sites. Google, Yahoo!, and MySpace are also creating a non-profit foundation to "foster the continued open development of OpenSocial."
(3/26/2008)
Autodesk Revamps Educational Engineering Suites
Autodesk has introduced new versions of its three core education packages for K-12 and post-secondary institutions, including Autodesk Design Institute, Autodesk Design Academy, and Autodesk DesignKids, all of which will roll out between late May and early June.
(3/26/2008)
New Tool Lets Users View Facebook Messages from MySpace Page
Fuser.com, a free online tool that enables Internet users to consolidate their e-mail and social networking accounts into a single online inbox, announced the launch of Fuser MySpace. The application allows MySpace users to view Facebook messages and wall posts from their MySpace page. This application was developed under MySpace's new application development platform.
(3/25/2008)
Adobe Ships Director 11
Adobe has released Director 11, the first major update to the company's multimedia authoring tool in about four years. The new version expands 3D features with a new physics engine and new DirectX support and also introduces parity between JavaScript and Lingo for scripting. The new version supports Mac OS X (Intel only) and Windows.
(3/25/2008)
Creating a Collaborative Syllabus Using Moodle
A "collaborative syllabus" is one in which the students have the ability to help determine the specifics of a course--a novel concept in K-12 but one that is being applied in higher education. Those specifics can be any element that a professor is willing to be flexible with (such items as the objectives, grading, attendance policies, types of assignments, and so on). The logic behind this tool is that by actively participating in the creation of the syllabus, students are able to signal what they want to learn and how they want to learn it and then (potentially) set the standard by which they will be accountable.
(3/24/2008)
BEA Systems Releases WebLogic Portal 10.2
BEA Systems, a provider of enterprise infrastructure technology, announced the availability of WebLogic Portal 10.2 earlier this month. The solution is a Java-based portal for service-oriented infrastructure. It supports the creation of Web pages with dynamic content, as well as composite applications and Web 2.0 apps.
(3/24/2008)
Vantage, 8e6 Partner for Safe Search for Schools
Ed tech developer Vantage Learning and security technology provider 8e6 have teamed up to launch a new secure Internet search engine designed specifically for K-12 school districts. The partnership combines Vantage's iSEEK "natural language" search engine with 8e6's Web filtering to provide targeted searches for academic users while excluding material that might be deemed potentially inappropriate for school-aged kids.
(3/24/2008)
South Carolina Virtual Charter School To Open in August
South Carolina will open a new virtual public charter school this summer: the South Carolina Virtual Charter School (SCVCS). It was approved March 6 by the South Carolina Public Charter School District, South Carolina's statewide charter school authorizing agency.
(3/24/2008)
Tribrio Makes Online Test Creation Free
Education and training software developer Tribrio has launched a new site called TestDesigner.com that allows teachers to create tests free and browse through a library of subject-specific assessments created by other educators.
(3/21/2008)
Technology Immersion Turns Around Texas Middle School
Take a Title I urban school with fewer than 50 computers for some 850 students and a staff that wasn't strong in technology. Add an ambitious plan to roll out a new technology program that gave a laptop to every teacher and student. Sound like a recipe for problems? Actually, it wasn't.
(3/20/2008)
