THE Journal — eLearning/Web
Whitley County Deploys $95,000 Math Program
The Whitley County School System in southeast Kentucky is adopting Carnegie Learning's Bridge to Algebra and Geometry programs to help improve math scores and graduation rates for its students. The $95,000 investment in software, textbooks, and professional development services was made with federal Title I funds.
(4/16/2008)
Crossroads in Education: Issues for Web 2.0, Social Software, and Digital Tools
We are at a crossroads in educating our youth. Advancements in technology, principally Web 2.0, social software, and digital tools, have challenged what it means to be educated and how we proceed to educate our youth in a culture where innovation and creativity, lifelong learning, personalization, and knowledge from and with the collective vie for a rightful place.
(4/16/2008)
Spotlight: Free Social Media Tools for Educators
While most districts are still tackling Web-based collaboration tools from pedagogical and security perspectives, a large number of teachers are already out there using these tools to supplement instruction, engage learners, and encourage their students to become producers of information, as well as consumers of it. In other words, they're experimenting. And here are some of the free tools they're using to do it.
(4/16/2008)
Elementary Students Reach Out to Neighborhood with Web Project
Fourth-graders at Pleasant Glade Elementary School in Washington will be developing a Web site for their neighborhood using a $10,000 grant from the Qwest Foundation, which was awarded to teachers Tamara Campbell, Ann Chenhall, and Nora Strauch this week.
(4/15/2008)
Qwest Awards Technology Grants to 4 Schools
The Qwest Foundation this week has awarded grants to teachers in three schools through its Teachers and Technology program. The program is designed to fund technologies geared specifically toward improving student achievement, including interactive classroom technologies, online tools, and gear to support scientific work, in preK-12 schools.
(4/14/2008)
WebSphere Portal 6.1 To Couple Web 2.0, Enterprise Technologies
IBM revealed Wednesday that it will ship WebSphere Portal 6.1 this quarter (i.e. by the end of June) with new collaboration, administrative, deployment, and Web 2.0 features based on input gathered from some 4,000 beta testers. The company also announced that it's shipping three of its accelerators for WebSphere Portal this quarter.
(4/11/2008)
Autodesk, Innovation First Launch Robotics Curriculum
Robotics developer Innovation First has teamed up with software developer Autodesk to develop a new curriculum for robotics education. The curriculum will be included in the Vex Robotics Classroom Lab Kits and will also be available separately this spring.
(4/11/2008)
Students, Teachers Challenged To Define Role of Technology in Education
Ed tech developer eInstruction this week launched its new Content Meets Technology contest, which challenges educators and students to share their "vision of the role of technology in education." Winners of the competition will receive an interactive classroom makeover.
(4/9/2008)
Arkansas District Implements Math and Reading Interventions
Plato Learning, a provider of K-adult computer-based learning solutions, is working with the Texarkana School District in Arkansas to implement Plato Test Packs with Prescriptions on the Plato Learning Environment and Plato Exam Intervention for its middle and high school intervention, credit recovery and acceleration programs.
(4/7/2008)
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)
