Serious Potential in Google’s Browser
by David Pogue
Sept. 2, 2008, New York Times
“Does the world really need another Web browser? Google thinks so. Chrome, its new browser, was developed in secrecy and released to the world Tuesday. The Windows version is available for download now at google.com/chrome; the Mac and Linux versions will take a little longer. Google argues that current Web browsers were designed eons ago, before so many of the developments that characterize today’s Web: video everywhere, scams and spyware, viruses that lurk even on legitimate sites, Web-based games and ambitious Web-based programs like Google’s own Docs word processor. As Google’s blog puts it, ‘We realized that the Web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser.’ “. . .
The 2008 Republican Party Platform
by Andy Guess
Sept. 2, 2008, Inside Higher Ed
. . . “Proponents of distance education, who have had supporters within the Spellings Department of Education, receive direct treatment in the platform, which opposes legal differentiation between online and on-campus learning: ‘As mobility increases in all aspects of American life, student mobility, from school to school and from campus to campus, will require new approaches to admissions, evaluations, and credentialing. Distance learning propelled by an expanding telecommunications sector and especially broadband, is certain to grow in importance — whether through public or private institutions — and federal law should not discriminate against the latter.’ ”
When IM is the Best Way to Stay on Top
Aug. 29, 2008, Inside HigherEd
“[Ivy Tech Community College] which serves more than 115,000 students a year on 23 separate campuses across the state, adopted an instant messaging platform called Pronto, from the collaborative learning software company Wimba. Like a turbocharged AOL Instant Messenger or Google Talk, it lets students chat online with their professors in text, audio or video form, for virtual office hours or impromptu question-and-answer sessions. Unlike the free IM clients students are already familiar with, though, the software integrates with existing course management systems, such as Blackboard and Moodle, so that their buddy lists are populated with the classmates already signed up for a specific course. Students also see each other’s real names, with identities that are validated through the system — no “sk8rdude21″ who may or may not be your group partner — and they can save their chats for later consultation.” . . .
New Structures and Spaces of Learning: The Systemic Impact of Connective Knowledge, Connectivism, and Networked Learning
by George Siemens, University of Manitoba
to be presented on Oct. 10, 2008, Universidade do Minho
“Since Illich’s 1970 vision of learning webs, society has moved progressively closer to a networked world where content and conversations are continually at our finger tips and instruction and learning are not centered on the educator. The last decade of technological innovation – mobile phones, social media, software agents – has created new opportunities for learners. Learners are capable of forming global learning networks, creating permeable classroom walls. While networks have altered much of society, teaching, and learning, systemic change has been minimal. This presentation will explore how potential systemic responses leverage the transformative potential of connective knowledge and networked learning.” . . .
The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn
by Jeremy Hsu
to be published Sept. 18, 2008
Scientific American Mind
. . . “Popular tales do far more than entertain, however. Psychologists and neuroscientists have recently become fascinated by the human predilection for storytelling. Why does our brain seem to be wired to enjoy stories? And how do the emotional and cognitive effects of a narrative influence our beliefs and real-world decisions? The answers to these questions seem to be rooted in our history as a social animal. We tell stories about other people and for other people. Stories help us to keep tabs on what is happening in our communities. The safe, imaginary world of a story may be a kind of training ground, where we can practice interacting with others and learn the customs and rules of society. And stories have a unique power to persuade and motivate, because they appeal to our emotions and capacity for empathy.” . . .
Will Colleges Friend Facebook?
by Andy Guess
Aug. 19, 2008, Inside Higher Ed
“As colleges have worked over the years to solidify their Web 2.0 presence and reach out to students where they’re most likely to congregate online, there’s often a glaring omission from their overall Internet strategies: social networks. That’s not so much an oversight as a hesitation, with many institutions still debating whether to adopt social networking capabilities of their own or grit their teeth and take the plunge into Facebook, with all the messiness and potential privacy concerns that would imply.”
“A new start-up company [Inigral] believes colleges’ wariness about joining the Facebook fray — despite the advantages they could theoretically reap from keeping tabs on alumni, soliciting donations and marketing to would-be applicants — leaves an opening in the market for an application that would combine the ubiquity of the social networking site with the privacy and authentication sought by institutions.” . . .
Findings From Community Colleges: A Special Supplement to The Condition of Education 2008
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
August 2008
Among the report’s findings:
▪ In 2006-07, there were 1,045 community colleges in the United States, enrolling 6.2 million students (or 35 percent of all postsecondary students enrolled that year).
▪ Average annual community college tuition and fees are less than half those at public 4-year colleges and universities and one-tenth those at private 4-year colleges and universities.
▪ About two-thirds of these immediate community college enrollees reported that they planned to pursue a bachelor’s degree or higher when they were still high school seniors; the other one-third reported that they expected an associate’s degree or less would be their highest attainment.
▪ Community colleges enroll larger percentages of nontraditional, low-income, and minority students than 4-year colleges and universities.
▪ In fall 2006, about 62 percent of community college students were enrolled part time compared with a quarter of students at 4-year institutions.
▪ Compared to 4-year institutions, community colleges rely more heavily on part-time faculty and staff. In addition, compared with the faculty and staff at 4-year institutions, the main activity of a greater percentage of community college faculty and staff is teaching compared to research or administrative duties.
Dropout and Completion Rates in the United States: 2006
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
Sept. 3, 2008
“This report builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reports on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It presents estimates of rates for 2006 and provides data about trends in dropout and completion rates over the last three decades (1972-2006), including characteristics of dropouts and completers in these years. Report highlights include: The averaged freshman graduation rate (AFGR), which provides an estimate of the percentage of public high school students who graduate with a regular diploma 4 years after starting 9th grade, was 74.7 percent for the class of 2005. Students living in low-income families were approximately four times more likely to drop out of high school between 2005 and 2006 than were students living in high-income families. In October 2006, approximately 3.5 million civilian noninstitutionalized 16- through 24-year-olds were not enrolled in high school and had not earned a high school diploma or alternative credential.”
Most Aware of Deadline for Digital TV Signal
by Ryan Kim
Aug. 17, 2008, San Francisco Chronicle
“With six months to go before television broadcasting makes its long-awaited switch from analog to digital, the emphasis is shifting from simple awareness to action. Broadcasters, government leaders and community groups are finding that most over-the-air TV viewers – about 34 million people – are aware that their set will go dark on Feb. 17 unless they make the switch to digital. The challenge now is getting the holdouts to take a step to ensure they don’t get left with a blank TV screen. The government has set aside 33.5 million $40 coupons that, when redeemed, allow consumers to purchase a converter box for about $20 – the simplest, least expensive option to continue service. The box will take in a digital signal and convert it to analog so older televisions can continue to receive it. The last holdouts are more likely to be low-income, non-English speaking, minority or disabled viewers, said Todd Sedmak, a spokesman for the coupon program.” . . .
University of New Hampshire Cell Phone Study
by Chuck Martin, Whittemore School of Business and Economics
[According to this survey of 707 students at the University of New Hampshire,] “Students . . . want pragmatic and practical feature on their cell phones. Their top current uses of cell phones are to make phone calls, text message, and use their phone as an alarm clock. These practical features on the cell phone are similar to the practical features students are looking for on the cell phone of the future. Students are not looking for a high tech phone. Now and in the future, students ranked the most technologically advanced features as the least used and the least desired. Features like music, global positioning satellite (GPS), email, and video messaging were among the lowest used features on current cell phones. This was a similar trend when they were asked about the features they would want on a future cell phone. Features such as video editing, a friend locator, and using the cell phone as a credit card were all ranked low in regards to the importance of being a feature provided on future cell phones.”
Wikis in Higher Education: Pros, Cons, and How-Tos
by Olga Hart, University of Cincinnati
Dec. 12, 2006
This paper includes an outline with: definition, characteristics of a Wiki, Wiki features, important characteristics of Wikis as social software, examples of Wikis in higher education, uses in teaching, benefits for the teacher, challenges for the teacher, benefits for students, challenges for students, how to start a Wiki, additional sources for this presentation, and related readings.
PhysClips
written and presented by Joe Wolfe, multimedia by George Hatsidimitris
School of Physics – The University of New South Wales and the Australian Learning and Teaching Council
A multimedia introduction to mechanics and areas of electricity and magnetism. For mechanics, it covers approximately the syllabus of an introductory university course in that discipline. Because it starts from the beginning, it also covers much of the material taught in high school physics courses. Physclips works at three levels: elements, introductory presentations and supporting pages. The site includes film clips, animations, still photos, montages, diagrams, and supporting Web pages.
NSF and the Birth of the Internet
April 29, 2008
Includes timelines, images, videos, interviews, etc. “The Internet is now a part of modern life, but how was it created? Learn how the technology behind the Internet was created and how NSFNET, a network created to help university researchers in the 1980s, grew to become the Internet we know today.”
ITC News 