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Saturday, July 30, 2011

Turnitin Whitepaper: Plagiarism and the Web: Myths and Realities


An Analytical Study on Where Students Find Unoriginal Content on the Internet

Students are being raised in a digital culture where sharing, re-using and copying is routine. This study examines which Internet sites students rely on for unoriginal content in their written work. The data was extracted from 110 million content matches in 40 million student papers that were submitted to Turnitin over a ten-month period. MORE
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Campus Technology: Higher Ed E-Learning Growth To Continue at Modest Pace Through 2015


While electronic learning will continue to grow in higher education, that growth will be a bit slower than previously anticipated, according to a new report released this week. In fact, that slowing trend will be felt worldwide across nearly all segments--with a few notable exceptions.
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University Business: The Peril of Cutting Pell Grants (Opinion)



Funding reductions in the Pell Grant program will result in many deserving lower-income students not being able to achieve middle class status and will have huge implications for the standard of living of the entire nation. MORE
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University Business: An iPad University: Giving It the Old College Try


When you think of an online degree, you might imagine a pajama-clad thirty-something, clicking through slides on a text-filled screen, occasionally watching an instructional video or lecture to spice things up. According to University of Southern California’s Melora Sundt, that picture is all wrong. MORE
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Dillard University: Dillard Today E-Newsletter, July 2011

A monthly e-newsletter for Dillard University students, alumni and friends.

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Thursday, July 28, 2011

eSchoolNews: New framework aims to shape K-12 science


New science guidelines aim to shape K-12 science education, a study reveals that the ability to search for facts online has changed how the human brain remembers facts, a cyber bullying partnership includes a multi-platform campaign, and much more.
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Campus Technology CT 2011 Days 1 & 2 Technology News from the Show Floor


CT 2011, Day 2: Technology News from the Show Floor


Highlights of new products, partnerships, and other higher education technology news coming out of the Campus Technology 2011 conference.
 http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/07/26/ct-2011-day-2-technology-news-from-the-show-floor.aspx


CT 2011, Day 1: Technology News from the Show Floor

Highlights of new products, partnerships, and other higher education technology news coming out of the Campus Technology 2011 conference.
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/07/25/ct-2011-day-1-technology-news-from-the-show-floor.aspx
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University Business: Online Courses: Task Force Wants To Allow Fees


Hundreds, maybe thousands, of California community college students take online classes that require them to pay an access fee to a commercial publisher on top of their registration fee for the course. MORE
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Campus Technology: Customize Our Conference Program To Address Your Unique Budget Challenges!


Campus Technology Forum is the new, must-attend event from the award-winning Campus Technology team that brings campus leaders together in an intimate, collegial setting to strategize how technology can be leveraged to cope with diminishing resources while still maintaining institutional excellence.

Whether you are a C-level decision maker, an academic leader, directing/managing IT infrastructure, or a tech-savvy faculty member—you will find sessions in our targeted education tracks that address your unique budget challenges.

Then Select your topics and session formats:


Leadership Challenges and Opportunities

W04 The 21st Century Campus

W14 Electronic Dashboarding and Strategic Planning: A Marriage Made in Heaven

TH17 IT Leadership: Building a Better IT Project and Support Model

MORE...

Infrastructure and Learning Environments

W02 Creating a Dynamic Virtual Community for Online Instructors

W05 The Case for the InCommon Federation

W10 Impact of Student Support Services on Retention of Online MBA Students

MORE...

Pedagogy and Instructional Resources

W03 Evidence-Based Use of Mobile Technology in F2F, Blended, and Online Learning

W06 Beyond the eTextbook: Writing Mobile Webapps for the Liberal Arts

W09 The Book Stops Here: Electronic Materials Changing Textbook Adoptions

MORE...

IT in Changing Economic Times

W07 Exploring and Building Effective Vendor Partnerships for IT

TH23 If You've Got It, Use It! Low-Cost Strategies That Improve Service

Industry Directions

W08 Good Form: Going Digital in a "Print and File" Campus Culture

W12 Virtualization—It's not just for servers anymore!

W16 Challenges of Designing the 21st Century Classroom Multimedia System

MORE...

Register today to participate in and benefit from this intimate, peer-to-peer learning experience! Book before August 26 and save $100 with our Early Bird Discounts on conference, conference + workshops, and conference / hotel combo options!


Register using Priority Code NX7


►Please note: The number of conference / hotel combination packages available is extremely limited, so book your combo package now!
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Under the Microscope - Inside Higher Ed


Members of Congress examine the peer review process used to allocate much federal science funding. Proposed changes could make the process cheaper and more efficient, but at what cost?
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TLT Group Inc. Annual Summer Symposium starting next week: "You are not alone! Queries and Strategies for Collaborative Change"


You are not alone! Queries and Strategies for Collaborative Change


Aug 3, 9, and 11 at 1:00 - 2:00pm Eastern. Free to TLT Group Individual Members; Fee for non-member registrations.

The topic of this year’s Symposium focuses on the use of collaboration by small groups of faculty and academic professionals to improve teaching and learning with technology in specific courses as well as address current major challenges in higher education.

Guest presenters will demonstrate specific kinds of collaboration already being successfully implemented at some institutions: Student-Faculty, Faculty-Faculty, Faculty-Librarian, Faculty-Faculty Development, and Faculty-Tech. Participants should expect a high level of interaction among and with presenters. We encourage all in higher education - faculty, librarians, faculty developers, administrators - to attend our annual symposium.

We believe that focusing on small, realistic steps will lead to more widespread, long-lasting changes. We invite you to join us in transforming teaching and learning with technology.
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Academic Impressions: Managing Copyright Risk and Policy Conference


Examine key issues and trends in copyright and intellectual property for colleges and universities.
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University Business: Delgado Community College Wrongly Paid Some Instructors, Louisiana Inspector General Says


A Delgado Community College instructor was paid for classes she did not teach, one of several instances in which employees were paid hourly wages while also being improperly compensated through teaching contracts, according to an inspector general's report released Tuesday. More
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Inside Higher Education: Pell as a Paycheck



A pilot program looks at whether disbursing financial aid for living expenses every two weeks might make students more likely to stay enrolled. more
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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Innovative Educators Webinar: New Faculty: Managing Academic Responsibilities


Training for New Faculty: How To Manage Your Academic Responsibilities

Wednesday, August 24 ~ 1:00-2:30pm EDT

Tuesday, September 13 ~ 1:00-2:30pm EDT

Flexible Date Webinar

This webinar will be presented live on both dates listed above.

Institutions can participate on one date or both.

Registration includes institutional access to the live webinar and the recording for 1 year!


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The Arts and Humanities Research Council [AHRC] July 2011


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“11 Momentous Female Firsts in Academia”


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Campus Technology: Moodlerooms, Cengage Partner for Joule LMS Integration


At the Campus Technology 2011 conference, happening this week in Boston, Moodlerooms and Cengage Learning revealed a new partnership that will allow the companies' learning tools to interact and bring new integration features to the open source learning management system Moodle.

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eCampus Newsletter for Educators


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Campus Technology White Papers: July 2011


The Silent Transformation: Evolution and Impact of Digital Communication Skills Developmentin Post-Secondary Education https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9_KwJdDOiGrNzk1ZDJiZDUtMWZiMi00NmFjLTk1MGQtMWE1Y2VjNjU3YTM1&hl=en_US


Blackboard Collaboration: The Five Critical Elements of a Collaboration Solution for Education
A GUIDE FOR ACADEMIC TECHNOLOGISTS AND CHIEF ACADEMIC OFFICERS
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9_KwJdDOiGrOTVmZmZhMWItODcyNi00NDRlLWE1ZDYtZmNiODZiOTQxOWYz&hl=en_US


WEPA Print Better Changing the Way Students Print on Campus
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B9_KwJdDOiGrYTY4MzVmOWEtZmEyMS00YzhmLWI1NTQtNmUxZjY1N2MzYTNi&hl=en_US
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Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Sloan-C: The Sloan Consortium

Thank you for a Successful Emerging Technologies for Online Learning Symposium!


4th Annual Emerging Technologies for Online Learning International Symposium
A joint symposium of The Sloan Consortium and MERLOT
July 11-13, 2011
Fairmont Hotel, San Jose, California

A Note from the 2011 Conference Chair, Karen Vignare
The 4th Annual International Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Online Learning concluded in San Jose on July 13th and was a resounding success. The keynote by Bryan Alexander asked us what the education environment will become over the next decade. He brought us through a series of research and research methods, and asked us to think through future scenarios. The possibilities and potential pitfalls made making good technology choices all that more important. The two plenary panels challenged our abilities to work with for-profit partners in publishing and higher education. The publishing panel provided insight on just how many public private partnerships exist and just how many are successful. It seems that open resources will allow wide dissemination, but to be successful the private for-profit expertise is absolutely essential. The for-profit higher education providers and research foundations made it abundantly clear they are willing to address many concerns held by the Department of Education and critics and they will use enterprise wide technologies to make improvements and change. This is a significant resource that many public universities can’t easily tap into due to financial conditions and the structure of business.

The sunshine of beautiful, downtown, San Jose, CA streamed in and invigorated the conversations and networking. With well over 200 sessions, attendees were sharing online through the Sloan-C Commons site to Twitter and to YouTube. While the conference proceedings are available at http://sloanconsortium.org/conferences/2011/et4online/proceedings  (you must be logged in to your Sloan-C account to access), the documents simply don’t provide the critical discussion that happened in many sessions. The conversations that were sparked in the exhibit hall, in the hallways and in the sessions brought richness to the symposium that transcends the proceedings. Even the virtual sessions had ongoing and deep conversations that mixed with the onsite attendees.

For those that attended, thank you for being there and look for the announcement of where we will be next year; for those that joined virtually, thanks for sharing your time; to the exhibitors, you brought your latest tools and we learned from you; to the program committee—reviewers, track chairs, Cathy Swift and Phylise Banner—thanks for the hard work; to the presenters—amazing work and thanks for sharing; to the Sloan Consortium and MERLOT staff thanks for the hours of preparation and support, and; to the Steering Committee—you know who you are—all your time and effort made ET4OL very successful.

Post Conference Evaluation
Please assist us with a brief evaluation of the conference, including your suggestions on how we might improve your experience in 2012. Your feedback and comments are integral in our conference planning for next year.

Conference Proceedings
Presenters have been asked to upload their presentations and handouts to their individual session pages. Presentations that are uploaded will be accessible through the conference website proceedings page. Only presentations or handouts that have been uploaded by the presenter will be viewable on the website.

View Recorded Sessions
The recorded sessions are available on the conference social networking site for all registered onsite and virtual attendees*. Access was provided to you prior to the conference. The links for the live and archived versions of each session are the same. If you are a registered attendee who missed the earlier access e-mail, please email conference@sloanconsortium.org for assistance.

*Please note that individual pre-conference workshop recordings will be available only to onsite and virtual attendees who paid to participate in that particular workshop.

Sloan-C Membership Discount Offer Extended
If you didn’t have a chance to take advantage of the discounted Sloan-C individual membership offer during your conference registration, you can still sign up at the $72 (regularly $120) price through July 31, 2011. Go here for membership details and to register. Use the discount code provided at the conference and in the post-conference e-mail at checkout for the discounted price.

Conference Highlights – Coming soon!

The Sloan-C staff is hard at work creating a conference highlights section on our website to share some of the great things that came from the conference, including photos of the event, news stories, and more.


Call for 2011 Sloan-C Awards Submissions
The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) has recognized outstanding work in the field of online education through an annual awards process since 2001. The Call for 2011 Nominations for a number of Sloan-C awards is now available on the Sloan-C website:

The 2011 Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning Awards
The 2011 Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education
The 2011 A. Frank Mayadas Leadership Award in Online Education

The submission deadline for all of the 2011 Sloan-C awards is August 15, 2011.

Please visit the awards page for more details.

17th Annual Sloan-C Online Learning Conference (Orlando) - Early bird registration Plus Hotel Reservations!

17th Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning

November 9-11, 2011

"Online Learning, Teaching, and Research in the New Media Ecology"

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, Lake Buena Vista, FL

The full program is expected to be posted to the conference website later in August. Email notification will be sent when the program is posted.

Be the early bird that gets the worm…register and make your hotel reservations now

For 3 years running, Sloan Consortium has held the early bird registration fee for our Annual Online Learning Conference registration fee at $445 for Sloan-C members and $495 for regular attendees. Don’t miss this opportunity to register at 2009 prices! Early bird registration deadline is October 9. Register now! Onsite attendee and virtual attendee options are available.

This year’s conference moves to a new venue - the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. Make your hotel reservations now. Attendees of the conference must book their hotel room through the conference website no later than Friday, October 14, 2011 in order to receive discounted rates starting at $177.00* per night plus taxes. The special conference rates also apply for three days prior to and three days after the conclusion of the conference, so come early or stay late to enjoy a little Disney magic. Important: If you plan to arrive the weekend prior to the conference or stay the weekend after, make your hotel reservation NOW! The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin is expected to be sold out during those weekends due to the EPCOT Food and Wine Festival. There are very few rooms available for Friday, November 4 through Monday, November 7. We recommend making hotel reservations to stay post-conference if you plan to add a few days to your trip.

Speaking of Disney magic, did you know you can purchase special After 2pm and After 4pm Disney tickets as an attendee of the Sloan-C conference? These special order tickets are only available for sale prior to the conference; they cannot be bought onsite. Purchase your discounted park tickets here.

ALT-C 2011: Thriving in a Colder and More Challenging Climate

The 18th international conference of the Association for Learning Technology will be held at the University of Leeds, UK, September 6 - 8 2011.

In 2011, education systems throughout the world are attempting to do more, better, and often with less. As the political, economic, social, agency and technological landscapes change, it is tempting for people in the learning technology community simply to "go on with vigour, hoping for the best"*. But this would be to miss a major opportunity. Innovation is strongly stimulated by crises and pressures of all kinds.

Keynote and invited speakers are shown at http://www.alt.ac.uk/alt-conference/alt-c-2011/programme-events/keynote-and-invited-speakers
 
Register here or click here for more information.

Calling All Administrators - Featured Sloan-C Workshop

Talent Management in Online Education - Aug 3 - 12

What is the best way to manage faculty and staff in an online program? Join Industrial/Organizational Psychologist and Online Educator, David Mohr as he guides you though tips and strategies to effectively manage online staff and faculty in the new Sloan-C Institute Talent Managment Workshop that begins August 3rd. This workshop is specialized for administrators and managers of online programs to review the unique challenges and benefits of working within an online education department to help enhance the experience for staff and students. Participants will have the opportunity to review current research, philosopies, and best practices of human resource management in relationship to online education and reflect on techniques that can be implemented in your online programs. In addition, the session will also look at how to plan ahead for future changes from the external environment and strategies to assist staf in adapting to change while remaining motivated.

Register here or find out more about the Sloan-C Talent Management Workshop.

2011 Sloan-C Webinars

Sloan-C has added webinars to its resources for educators. Webinars typically last anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half. Most are free to Individual Members. Institutional members and non members pay a separate fee. New webinars will be added soon. Check the webinar site frequently.

Supporting Faculty Virtually with Tools That Anyone Can Use - FREE - August 2, 2011 2:00 - 3:30PM ET

If you are responsible for providing faculty training, this webinar will show you ways to use new online tools to create and deliver effective professional development. The presenter will discuss and demonstrate how he used screen recording software (Jing [free version] and Camtasia) to develop just-enough, just-in-time training modules and how he offered live faculty support using webinar software (Elluminate vRoom [free version]).

Quality Standards for Using Mobile Apps for Teaching, Learning, and Workforce Development PreK-20 - August 10, 2011 2:00 - 3:30PM ET

This webinar will outline the standards of quality measures for mobile apps in education including how to search for appropriate apps and how to submit apps for peer reviews. It will also include the system wide approach for identifying, purchasing, piloting, and evaluating mobile devices and apps. In addition, mobile app resources will be presented of apps by discipline areas including PreK though Ph.D., subject areas including various specialized disciplines in higher education, education level from preschool to professional development, and workforce development and clusters; providing app resources and accessories for specialized areas such as student services, special needs, assistive technology (partnering with Griffin Technologies) educational games, and productivity apps for office and businesses. The webinar will conclude with participants providing feedback of the quality standards and in sharing mobile apps that they have found to impact teaching and learning.

Cloud Computing Solution for Rural Schools Networks. Project "Rural Schools & Cloud Computing" - September 7, 2011 10:00 - 11:30AM ET

This webinar will offer an insight on a pilot project on cloud computing and open source solutions applied to a rural school network in Spain, carried out by Galicia Supercomputing Center in Spain, and financed by HP Labs.

For more information or to register, please go to the webinar page.


View recordings of previous webinars.


Are You Prepared to Teach Online in 2011?

The next cohort of the Sloan-C Certificate starts September 7, 2011.

Watch a recording of the informational webinar about the certificate program.

The Sloan-C Certificate prepares educators to teach and improve online courses using the Sloan-C pillars of quality in online education—learning effectiveness, scale, faculty and student satisfaction, and access. A unique feature of the certificate program is that expert mentors work individually with each certificate candidate to accomplish specific goals. The certificate consists of a 9-week foundation course and a variety of electives and specializations that focus on improving overall competency within a specific area of academic focus. The workshops in each specialization are structured to encourage skill development and practical application within the participants' specific job function. Upon completing the 9-week foundation course, individuals can select 3 individual electives, one specialization, or multiple specializations that best suit professional development objectives.

The Sloan-C Certificate foundation costs $1,499 plus three (3) required electives; priced at $345 (10-day workshop) or $495 (3-week workshop). Elective workshops, which should be registered for individually, may be funded by coupons available through Sloan-C membership discounts and the Sloan-C College Pass professional development package.

Click here for more details.

Institutional Membership - More Benefits, Same Price

The reality for institutions everywhere is tighter budgets, more travel restrictions, and less available resources. Institutional Membership is for organizations that are ready to give their faculty and administrators access and discounts to resources dedicated to quality online learning at an affordable price.

New benefits are frequently added such as the Quality Scorecard for the Administration of Online Programs, a tool used to measure and quantify elements of quality within online education programs in higher education. Also new for this year are more options for the College Pass Professional Development package, which gives an institution seats to our online workshops at a bulk discount rate. We now offer a 25 and 50 seat package along with our 100 seat package for smaller institutions.

NEW - Quality Scorecard for evaluating your online programs: full access and use ($150 value)

NEW - 1 free workshop (archived, from selected list) ($345 value)

20 Workshop Discounts $150 value each ($3,000 total value)

10 Conference Discounts $50 value each ($500 total value)

Free Webinar: Topical issues in online higher education for $25/participant ($99 each for non members)

10% discount on Sloan-C publications

Full Sloan-C web access: JALN, Effective Practices, Practitioner Documents from Sloan-C workshops, JobLine, Listserv, Sloan-C Commons Community Site

Awards: Eligibility for institutional awards

Institutional Member Pricing (value of over $4,000)

$1,495/Institution or Campus

$1,046.50 for HBCU schools (30% off)

$1,270.75 for Community Colleges (15% off)

Click here to register.

The College Pass Professional Development Package - Membership Add On

Looking for a cost effective way to give your staff and faculty access to the full range of Sloan-C online workshops?

The College Pass Professional Development Package is a membership add-on that includes bulk discounted seats in the widely acclaimed Sloan-C online workshop series for one year.

100, 50, or 25 seats per year in over 75 Sloan-C online workshops in a variety of key online education topics at a highly discounted price.

Once you purchase the College Pass, your faculty, staff or anyone you select can register for workshops using your College Pass Code. Simple.

Workshops are regularly priced at $345-$495. College Pass enables you to pay as little as $35 per workshop

Sloan-C Institutional Membership is required in order to take advantage of these savings.

Institutional Membership + CP (for non members)

Institutional Membership +CP-100 seats: $4,990

Institutional Membership +CP-50 seats: $3,995

Institutional Membership +CP-25 seats: $2,995

College Pass Membership Add-On (for existing members only)

100 seats: $3,495 ($35/seat)

50 seats: $2,500 ($50/seat)

25 seats: $1,500 ($60/seat)

Community Colleges receive a 15% discount and HBCUs receive a 30% discount.

Click here to register.

*Join the Sloan Consortium on Linkedin, Twitter & Facebook*

Stay connected with The Sloan Consortium and its members through the Sloan-C networking groups on Twitter and Linkedin. Learn what others in online education are doing as well as receive news and conference updates from the Sloan Consortium.

Follow us on Join Sloan-C’s Join Sloan-C’s Join Sloan-C’s


2011 Sloan-C Workshop Deadline Reminders

July 27 - Aug 5 : Impact Assessment

July 27 - Aug 5 : Online Learning and the Military Student: How to Better Serve Those Who Serve

Aug 3 - 12 : Talent Management in Online Education

Aug 10 - 19 : Encouraging Your Faculty to Use MERLOT to Enhance Their Classes

Aug 10 - 19 : Collaboration and Group Work: Using Teams Effectively

Aug 10 - 19 : The Mindful Classroom: Identifying, Understanding, and Managing Student Stressors

Aug 17 - 26 : Leadership Principles

Aug 17 - Sep 2 : Getting Started: The First Step Towards Online Teaching

Aug 24 - Sep 16 : Synchronous Teaching

Aug 24 - Sep 2 : Providing Effective Feedback in Online Courses for Enabling Student Learning
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WIAReport Weekly Newsletter 7-26-11


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Campus Technology: Teaching with the Cloud


All educators today, but especially those in post-secondary roles, need to learn how to make the most of cloud-based resources in their teaching practices, according to education consultant John Kuglin.

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Campus Technology: Oregon Colleges Implement Online Teacher Evaluations


By Tim Sohn07/25/11


Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Southern Oregon University, Mt. Hood Community College, and Rogue Community College are all moving to What-Do-You-Think? Web-based evaluations.

What-Do-You-Think?, from Portland, OR-based CollegeNet, is different from Web sites such as ratemyprofessors.com in that the evaluations are not made public. They are accessible only by students, faculty and administrators. Rate My Professors allows the public to search anonymous evaluations by professor for free.


Features of What-Do-You-Think? include:
Evaluation results, accessible in real time by students, faculty, and administrators only;
Allowing students to post evaluation comments anonymously;
Letting students start an evaluation and complete it later;
Receiving e-mail notifications when evaluation periods open and close, and when results are available;
Exporting reports in PDF or Microsoft Excel formats;
Letting teachers print evaluation results and reports;
Allowing administrators to view and print evaluation results for specific schools, departments, instructors, courses, etc.;
Tracking of participation in real time; and
Letting teachers and administrators customize evaluations per course.

"The number of evaluations we've seen students complete rose dramatically after implementation," said Laura Jacek, assistant registrar for course evaluations at the University of Oregon. "More than 75,000 evaluations were submitted in fall term 2010 as compared to only 32,000 printed in the term before we went online with CollegeNet. The increase in response means that we have more data to work with, and the data we have is more representative and more reliable."

The university, which piloted the evaluations site in 2007 and has since completed 26 evaluation sessions, previously used Scantron forms and supplemented with an additional page for comments. She explained that the university has realized a substantial cost savings by using What-Do-You-Think?

"Much of the savings is related to retained staff time that can now be spent on things more valuable than stuffing and delivering envelopes. Another savings is in class time no longer spent doing evaluations. Another hour of class time means a student who is just that much better prepared for the next step in their education, and that's priceless," said Jacek.

Further information can be found on the What-Do-You-Think? site.
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Monday, July 25, 2011

Tuskegee University News: Tuskegee student one of 37 UNCF/Merck scholarship and fellowships awardees

 

July 20, 2011
Michael Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF (United Negro College Fund), recently challenged an audience of black scientists and science students to make sure that as they build their careers, they also reach out to help younger students get the pre-college education they need to study science in college. Lomax spoke at the annual 2011 UNCF/Merck Fellows Day, celebrating the 2011 class of 37 black students and postdoctoral professionals receiving scholarships and fellowships under the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative. A Tuskegee student, Sara Robertson, is among the new class of students awarded scholarships.

"Merck's investment in these promising students and scholars is a major commitment to developing the next generation of researchers, professors, and teachers in biological science and engineering and an investment in longer and better lives for millions of people not only in America but around the world," Lomax said. "Merck Fellows and alumni can invest too, by getting involved to help educate the middle- and high-schoolers of today prepare to become the next generation of African-American science majors and graduate students."

Robertson, a native of Vallejo, Calif., is a junior majoring in animal science. She will receive a scholarship for the 2011-2012 academic year. In 2010, Tuskegee University Ph.D. fellow, Jacqueline Jones Triche, was selected to receive the UNCF/Merck Science Initiative Fellowship Award. Triche, a native of Springfield, Mass., is a 2007 graduate of Alabama State University and currently works in the George Washington Carver Lab on the Tuskegee University campus. She is the first Tuskegee University student to receive the UNCF/Merck fellowship.

Now in its 16th year, the UNCF/Merck initiative is a 20-year partnership that has supported over 550 scholarships and fellowships to promising undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral science students pursing careers in biomedical research. The UNCF/Merck scholarships and fellowships provide the future scientists with financial support, hands-on training, close mentoring and networking relationships, and institutional support. Recipients are chosen through a competitive application process that selects candidates based on their academic achievements and potential in the fields of biomedical research and engineering.
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Thursday, July 21, 2011

Educational Technology Network


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eSchool News: ‘Google effect’ leads to changes in memory


New study reveals that the human brain will forget facts that are easily found online

From staff and wire reports



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eInstruction Professional Development Website


You and your faculty and staff will receive the knowledge to effectively implement eInstruction® technology into the classroom. We have programs in place that give you great ways to implement instructional strategies to help increase student achievement. You receive all the benefits eInstruction has to offer so you gain the full value from your investment.



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Southern University and A&M College News: SU exposes youth to the business world



July 12, 2011


Eleven-year-old Kaela Moore knows about video games and Facebook, but she would rather discuss the New York Stock Exchange, personal finance and résumé building.


She’s not alone. A number of her friends in the Southern University College of Business Garrett A. Morgan/Ford PAS Summer Business Institute talk about the importance of saving money and future job opportunities as often as possible.


And, Kaela Moore knows number better than most. She earned a perfect score on the math portion of the state’s Integrated Louisiana Educational Assessment Program, or iLEAP, examination. The iLEAP exam combines a norm-referenced test, which compares a student’s test results to the performance of students in a national sample, with a criterion-referenced test, which reports student results in terms of the state’s achievement levels


Moore, who will be sixth grader at Southern University Laboratory School in the fall, is in her second consecutive year at the camp which focuses on math instruction, improving test-taking skills for the iLEAP, entrepreneurship, computer mentoring, management, marketing and basic economics.


Garrett A. Morgan Co-Director Toni Jackson said the program gives the students something beneficial during their summer vacation and puts them ahead of the peers for the following school year.


“We try to make sure children don’t fall victim to the summer slide. It also helps to prepare students for college,” said Jackson, with the SU College of Business.


Moore said she has seen immediate benefits of the program. She said her 5th grade year was a breeze because “I was surprised that I learned the same things” while in the Morgan program the prior summer. “I was at the top of my class because I already learned the information at the Garrett A. Morgan Institute.”


“I also plan to use what I have learned to advance in my weakest subjects in math, such as positive and negative numbers, in case I see it again in the sixth grade,” Moore said.


The camp, which has participants from a number of elementary and middle schools, introduces students to the business world by using topics they are familiar use with. Students must have a 2.2 or above grade point average to be eligible to participate in the institute. High school students participate in the program through a partnership with the Urban Restoration Business Center.


Maya Jones, a six grader to be at Southern Lab, said she is being taught about the New York Stock Exchange “and I learned how to trade stocks such as Apple, the iPhone and the iPod.” Financial literacy games are also used to teach students about inflation, deflation and credit accounts.


“We want to show the students the world of work and that they can work for themselves,” said Elizabeth Sorrell, co-director of the program. “But they have to have the knowledge and skills to do it.”


As reinforcement, the students are working on their own business plans that they will present during the camps closing ceremony later in July.


“When I grow up, I plan to be a teacher and an entrepreneur and the Garrett A. Morgan Institute has prepared me for what I can expect in the real world,” Moore said.


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Teacher Reboot Camp: What Will You Learn this Summer? 26 Professional Development Resources


Summer has officially started for many of you! I know that you will probably be relaxing for the first few days, but eventually you may feel the need to be inspired and motivated for the upcoming 2011-2012 school year! Social media provides us with incredible opportunities to choose the way we want to develop professionally. You can choose the topic, the medium, and who you want to learn from. You can choose the way you like to learn, because social media provides us with several multimedia experiences, such as webinars, LMS, live video, and more. The experience is usually dynamic and motivating because you are learning with others around the world! Additionally, you will be developing your Personal/ Passionate Learning Network (PLN). MORE











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bab.La: Top 10 Language Teaching Blogs 2010



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Teacher Reboot Camp: Challenging Ourselves to Engage Our Students


9 Reasons to Attend The Reform Symposium Free Worldwide Online Conference

Written on July 20, 2011 – 7:36 pm by Shelly Terrell

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iLearn Technology: An edublog about integrating technology into the classroom

PBS Learning Media 14,000+ k-12 resources!



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The Interactive Classroom: Free or Open Source


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The Nerdy Teacher Blog


My name is Nicholas Provenzano and entered the blogging world January 1st, 2010. Since then, I have been involved in many exciting projects and events.

I have a Masters Degree in Educational Technology from Central Michigan University.

I have presented around the country at multiple #edcamps and was an organizer for #edcampDetroit ( @edcampDetroit ).

I also spoke at the #140 Character Conference in Detroit about the value of Twitter in the classroom.

I recently presented at MACUL about the importance of blogging in the classroom and using Twitter to connect to educators around the world.

I presented at ISTE11 in Philly in June 2011.

I will be on a panel for the College Board's National AP Conference in San Francisco in July 2011.

In December, my blog was voted the 3rd Most Powerful Blog in the World. I was also nominated for Best Teacher Blog as well.

I blog for Edutopia on occasion because they are an awesome group of people and I can say I technically write for George Lucas. :-)

I am very active on Twitter and participate in the various chats so I can share ideas with educators from all over the world. You can follow me @TheNerdyTeacher if you are interested in connecting.

I am co-founder and co-editor of ProjectPLN. ProjectPLN is a montly e-zine dedicated to sharing stories with educators all over the world. You can follow @ProjectPLN for updates on the upcoming issues. You can also email us your stories at ProjectPLN10@Gmail.com

Besides writing blog posts for my site, I've written for the ISTE Blog and Lifetime's The Balancing Act. I am currently blogging for Edutopia. I love to write, so if you are interested in a guest post, please send me an email and we can chat!

I'm currently spending my time reviewing amazing websites, books and apps and sharing my thoughts on my site. If you would like me to review your product, feel free to contact me.

Here are some examples reviews:

Adobe
Be Confident in Who You Are: Middle School Confidential
EasyBib
SAT Remix
StrataLogica

I'm also available to do consulting and would be happy to talk to you about working together.

On top of all of the fun things, I'm a high school English teacher trying new and innovative ways to connect my students to the world and literature around them. I'm always looking for fun projects to collaborate on with different teachers. Drop me a line if you have an idea.

Personally, I'm happily married and have a beautiful baby boy name Leo (@BabyProvenzano). I love to garden in the Spring and Summer and play video games in the colder days.

The views expressed on this site are own and do not reflect the views of the school district I currently work.

Contact Information:
Nicholas Provenzano
@TheNerdyTeacher


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Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Teaming Up to Develop a Faculty Institute on Teaching, Learning and Technology


by Janet R. de Vry, Judy A. Greene, Sandra Millard, and Patricia Sine

A week-long Faculty Institute on Teaching, Learning, and Technology was developed at the University of Delaware through the collaborative effort of four different areas of the University, each with significant experiences in offering faculty instruction and service. The response from faculty was overwhelmingly positive. This article describes this collaborative experience and suggests some keys to success for other institutions that may be planning faculty technology development programs. MORE

Copyright 1996 CAUSE. From CAUSE/EFFECT Volume 19, Number 3, Fall 1996, pp. 22-27, 32-34. Permission to copy or disseminate all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for commercial advantage, the CAUSE copyright and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of CAUSE, the association for managing and using information resources in higher education. To disseminate otherwise, or to republish, requires written permission. For further information, contact Julia Rudy at CAUSE, 4840 Pearl East Circle, Suite 302E, Boulder, CO 80301 USA; 303-939-0308; e-mail: jrudy@cause.colorado.edu  
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Lincoln University News (PA): Lincoln University Spreads Its Mission of Training Media Professionals to Louisiana

July 11, 2011

New and used light fixtures, microphones, and mixers are some of the items that were donated to Tara High School in Baton Rouge, LA to help establish the first media center in a public school in the area.

Tara High School, for years, has envisioned a space where its students can have a creative outlet and develop a specific craft in the multimedia industry.

In 2010, Lincoln University opened its state-of-the-art Media Center, a training facility for the Mass Communications Center of Excellence and students interested in multimedia. The Center is comprised of two high-definition television studios (LU-TV), two digitally automated radio studios (WWLU) and Avid and Final Cut Pro editing stations.

The digital upgrade left the University with a surplus of operational equipment from its previous, analog radio and television studios.

“Lincoln University is totally dedicated to equipping students with skills to navigate through the evolving multimedia industry,” said President Ivory Nelson. “Our Media Center provides students with a unique and unmatched learning experience in the digital era of multimedia. We are fortunate to have the opportunity to assist other learning environments in accomplishing the same mission.”

Lincoln University became partners with Tara High School when the University’s Media Manager Ashley Sims learned of the school’s vision from Joseph Redmond, and realized that the University had the equipment to make it possible.

“Joseph told me of his desire to provide the Tara High School students with a media facility for their professional and personal development,” said Sims. “He and I both believe that every young person needs to be exposed to the power of the media and the value of being a media producer. Through this donation the Tara students will be able to voice their unique experiences to their community. We’re just glad that Lincoln could help them in reaching this goal.”

In the 1970s through the early 1980s, Tara High School was home to a thriving radio station. Federal cuts to the arts in education spelled the end of the station in 1982. Upon its return, the station’s mission statement will be to educate, entertain and preserve Louisiana’s unique musical heritage. In addition, the planners intend to use Tara students as the primary source of broadcast talent. Putting the radio station back on the air is just the first step in the process. When it is all said and done, Tara Student Media intends to operate a student-run TV, video and news photography operation in addition to a computer platform that mimics the functions of Newsy.com.

The East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS) is one of the largest school districts in the state of Louisiana and home to nine U.S. Blue Ribbon Schools, a nationally renowned Magnet Program, the student winner of the 2011 national Raytheon MATHCOUNTS competition, three Gates Millennium Scholars and the state High School Student of the Year. The urban school district is located about an hour outside New Orleans in the state's capital, Baton Rouge, and has an enrollment of about 43,000 students in grades Pre-K through 12. The total enrollment includes a diverse population of students in regular, Gifted, Talented Arts, English as a Second Language, Magnet and Vocational Education programs. In addition, there are Exceptional Student classes for challenged students through the age of 21. EBRPSS also serves about 4,000 Adult Education students annually.

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Lincoln University - founded in 1854 as the nation’s first Historically Black University – combines the best elements of a liberal arts and sciences-based undergraduate core curriculum and selected graduate programs to meet the needs of those living in a highly technological and global society. The University enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students.

Internationally recognized for preparing learners and producing world-class leaders in their fields, Lincoln has created five academic Centers of Excellence-programs of distinctions. They are: Lincoln-Barnes Visual Arts, Grand Research Educational Awareness and Training (GREAT) for Minority Health, Mass Communications, Teacher Education and Urban Pedagogy and Business and Information Technology.
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eLearners.com: Travel Tips for Students Taking Online Classes


Traveling this summer? Whether it's for business or recreation, you can always tote along your online classes.

"I took some of my materials with me, in particular my ethics textbook, for a reason, and that's to make sure I don't fall behind," says Steve Slawin, who took a family vacation to Edinburgh, Scotland this summer. He is currently studying online at St. Petersburg College in Florida to earn an associate's degree in business.

If you are traveling and need to study, set daily goals for yourself, such as reading a chapter, then logging into your class for 30 minutes. Here are a few essentials to remember:

• Internet fees vary depending on your lodging; budget anywhere from $10 - 18 a day for service
• Laptop batteries typically last no more than 2 hours; pack a power adaptor for your computer (international travelers may need to pack an adapter plug as well)
• Touchpads, or trackpads, on laptops can be cumbersome; bring a small mouse with you for extra comfort
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Blackboard Launches New, Real-Time Collaboration Platform Built for Education


Blackboard Inc. announced the launch of Blackboard Collaborate, the only education-focused platform for real-time collaboration that helps institutions shift more learning, networking, and communication online to improve education quality while reducing the cost of academic operations. Combining the strengths of the Elluminate and Wimba products, the innovative, easy-to-use platform goes beyond Web conferencing to deliver robust Web, video and voice conferencing as well as presence, instant messaging and voice authoring. MORE


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University Business: Paine College Accreditation Reaffirmed


Paine College received reaffirmation of its accreditation for the next 10 years by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC). The announcement comes after a three-year self-assessment conducted by Paine College officials and an on-campus visit by a SACS-COC approved team of administrators from peer institutions.

Read more >>
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University Business: College Presidents' Paychecks Raise Brows

There's probably not a very good time to announce that a college president is going to be making $100,000 more than his predecessor. The California State University System probably picked one of the worst. MORE
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Spelman College News: SPELMAN JOINS $18.5 MILLION EFFORT TO CREATE MIND-MACHINE INTERFACE




July 11, 2011
ATLANTA (July 15, 2011) Spelman College will participate in a new multi-institution research center established to work on robotic devices that interact with, assist and understand the nervous system. Funded by an $18.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering will combine advances in robotics, neuroscience electromechanical devices and computer science to restore or augment the body’s ability for sensation and movement.

"I'm thrilled that Spelman computer science and STEM students and faculty will have educational opportunities, research experiences, and faculty exchanges with CSNE and the University of Washington where the center is based,” said Andrew Williams, Ph.D., chair, associate professor of Computer and Information Sciences, Spelman. “Spelman's experience with humanoid robotics research and education make us a natural fit for learning how the brain and nervous system interfaces can be extended to help people with disabilities move robotic or natural limbs."

At the center, which launches this month, researchers will develop new technologies for amputees, people with spinal cord injuries and people with cerebral palsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease or age-related neurological disorders.

“We already see chips that interface with neural systems and then stimulate the right muscles based on that information, and we have purely mechanical lower-limb prostheses that are fast enough to compete in the Olympics,” said Yoky Matsuoka, a UW associate professor of computer science and engineering and director of the new center. “Our center will use sensory and neural feedback to give these devices much more flexibility and control.”

Partners include Spelman, MIT, UW, San Diego State University, Morehouse College, Southwestern College, the University of British Columbia and the University of Tokyo. Faculty and students from Spelman's robotics research group along with partner institutions will work to perform mathematical analysis of the body’s neural signals; design and test implanted and wearable prosthetic devices; and build new robotic systems.

CSNE has 23 industry partners including Microsoft Corp., Intel Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. as well as smaller companies and startups such as Impinj Inc., NeuroSky Inc. and NeuroVista Corp. Industry organizations and venture capitalists will also help turn ideas into products and companies.

Collaborators also include nonacademic research institutions such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science and the La Jolla Bioengineering Institute, and hospitals in Seattle and San Diego.

The grant is for five years of funding, with the possibility of renewal for another five years. The majority of the funding will support undergraduate and graduate student research. Early systems might involve remote or wearable devices that help guide rehabilitation exercises to remap brain signals and restore motor control. Ultimately, researchers hope to develop implantable prosthetics that are controlled by brain signals and include sensors that shuttle information back to wearers so they can react to their environment – creating robotic systems that are truly integrated with the body’s nervous system.

This NSF-funded engineering research center’s primary mission is to integrate research with education and community outreach. The center will work with school districts in Seattle and San Diego to develop neural robotics curriculum for middle school and high school students. It also will reach out to women, underrepresented minorities and people with disabilities.

Terrilyn Simmons
(404) 270-5822
tsimmons8@spelman.edu

Tom Daniel
(206) 543-1659
danielt@uw.edu


Spelman College:
Founded in 1881, Spelman College is a prestigious, highly selective, liberal arts college that prepares women to change the world. Located in Atlanta, Ga., this historically black college boasts an 83 percent graduation rate, and outstanding alumnae such as Children's Defense Fund Founder Marian Wright Edelman; former U.S. Foreign Service Director General Ruth Davis, authors Tina McElroy Ansa and Pearl Cleage; and actress LaTanya Richardson. More than 83 percent of the full-time faculty members have Ph.D.s or other terminal degrees, and the average faculty to student ratio is 12:1. More than 2,100 students attend Spelman. For more information, visit: http://www.spelman.edu/
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"The best film on birth in America" - New Chaptered DVD

Broadcast on PBS' Independent Lens series, BORN IN THE USA is the groundbreaking and award-winning documentary that follows an obstetrician, a nurse-midwife, and a licensed homebirth midwife as they work---each with a dramatically different idea about what is best for birthing women. Their stories shed light on the medical, legal, and cultural factors influencing women's choices in the birthing room today.


- "The best film on birth in America." -Marsden Wagner, Former Director of Maternal and Child Health at the World Health Organization

- Featured on the Oxygen Network and in Self and Fit Pregnancy.

- Free online resources include a BORN IN THE USA Viewing Guide.

BORN IN THE USA

A film by Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider

60 minutes. Now Chaptered on DVD!

To view a segment from the film, for more information, or to order click here: http://patchworksfilms.net/films/born_usa.html

BORN IN THE USA is especially recommended for these fields:

Women's Studies
American Studies
Family Studies
Women's Health
Medicine
Sociology
Nursing
OB/GYN
Public Health
Film/Media/TV
Gender Studies
Cultural Anthropology
Osteopathic Medicine
Health Care Administration
Allied Health
Complementary Medicine
Alternative Medicine
Kinesiology
Biology
Careers
Consumer Health and others...

----------------------------------------------------------

"Captures the complexity of birth and clearly points out the involvement of today's women in the process. " -Library Journal

"With consummate skill, the makers of this thought-provoking and compelling documentary explore how beliefs about childbirth translate into care and care into consequences, a subject of no small importance. Bravo for tackling a complex and controversial subject in a way that produces much light and no heat." -Henci Goer, author of The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth and Obstetric Myths Versus Research Realities

"Beautifully produced, well balanced, and comprehensive in its portrayal of contemporary childbirth in America." -Richard Feinbloom, M.D., Former Director, The Family Health Care Program, Harvard Medical School

"Outstanding." -Robbie Davis Floyd, Medical/Cultural Anthropologist, author of Birth as an American Rite of Passage

"...traces the birthing industry in America and explores the shifting social and cultural beliefs about women, technology and the perceived ability to control natural events." -New York Times

Click here for more information or to order: http://patchworksfilms.net/films/born_usa.html
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Campus Technology Smart Classroom: Amazon Launches Cross-Platform Textbook Rentals

By David Nagel 07/18/11

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CHEAmail [CHEAmail@chea.org]: Reflections on the Future of Accreditation

Just Released!


Recently, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) published Reflections on the Future of Accreditation. This 80-page collection of focused and thoughtful essays addresses the implications of a potentially profound transformation of U.S. higher education accreditation, examining key issues for accreditation and its future.

Edited and with an introduction by CHEA President Judith Eaton, this CHEA Initiative volume features original contributions from widely respected leaders in higher education accreditation, including:

Barbara Brittingham
Stephanie Cole
Michael B. Goldstein
Milton Greenberg
Mary Jane Harris
Joshua Kim
Michael P. Lambert
Doug Lederman
Elise Scanlon
Peter Williams
David B. Wolf

CHEA members will receive a complimentary copy of Reflections on the Future of Accreditation.

Additional copies of the book are $24.95 for CHEA members ($29.95 for non-members). Use the online registration form or call (202) 955-6126.

A national advocate and institutional voice for self-regulation of academic quality through accreditation, CHEA is an association of 3,000 degree-granting colleges and universities and recognizes 60 institutional and programmatic accrediting organizations. For more information, visit CHEA's Website at http://www.chea.org/

Council for Higher

Education Accreditation
One Dupont Circle NW
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20036
(tel) 202-955-6126
(fax) 202-955-6129
chea@chea.org
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Friday, July 15, 2011

University of Delaware: Wikis in Higher Education


An exploratory report about the value of wikis in higher education, from a faculty perspective.

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Prezi: Create game-changing presentations online!


About Prezi

At Prezi, we're all about helping people understand each other better. Presentations have not evolved much in the 50 years since the slide was invented, but Prezi is changing that. Prezi lets you bring your ideas into one space and see how they relate, helping you and your audience connect. Zoom out to see the big picture and zoom in to see details — a bit like web-based maps that have changed how we navigate through map books.


Brief History
Adam Somlai-Fischer is an architect and has been working with zooming presentations since 2001. Back then, he was coding each presentation by hand but it allowed him to show a floor plan (big picture) and individual rooms (details). Adam became an internationally desired speaker and as more people saw his zooming presentations they wanted to create their own. In 2007, Adam met Peter Halacsy who was one of these people. Peter convinced Adam to work on an editor so that anyone could make zooming presentations. After creating a prototype they convinced Peter Arvai to become the CEO of Prezi — to help them build a product and a company. Prezi was launched in April 2009 from Budapest, leading to an investment from TED Conferences and Sunstone Capital. The San Francisco office was established in November 2009 and the company has been cash flow positive since 2010.






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LiveBinders.com: The Knowledge Sharing Place


LiveBinders is your 3-ring binder for the Web


•Collect your resources

•Organize them neatly and easily

•Present them with pride

Best of all, it's free!
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Harvard Education Letter - September/October 2008 issue


Teaching 21st Century Skills: What does it look like in practice? by Nancy Walser


Getting and Spending: Schools and districts share lessons on the effective uses of philanthropy by Lucy Hood

Creating a Culture of Reciprocal Accountability: How five new principals won their faculties' support for schoolwide reforms by Gerald C. Leader

• Content Type Journal Article

• Pages 1-8

• Authors

o Nancy Walser

o Lucy Hood

o Gerald C. Leader

o Journal Harvard Education Letter

o Online ISSN 1943-5053

o Print ISSN 8755-3716

o Journal Volume Volume 24

o Journal Issue Volume 24, Number 5 / September/October 2008
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