CHINA: Internet pornography clean up reaches college campuses.

This post comes from Asia Media staff writer Melissa Wang. "Last Sunday, China's Education Ministry condemned several school websites for using porn to make money. The ministry described the profits from these Internet sites as "unlawful" and said that the pornographic materials will influence and pervert students.

As part of its crack down on illegal online activities, the Education Ministry's website will allow the public to report on schools with pornographic materials. The ministry is also drafting a guideline for campus web services, according to state media Xinhua. Vice-minister of education Li Weihong called on college professors to become Internet experts in order to monitor their students' online activities as well.

In April, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) along with nine other governmental departments launched a six-month campaign to end the distribution of pornographic materials and organization of cyber strip shows, among other illegal online practices.

According to MPS, as of mid-May, the Chinese police had cracked 244 cases and detained 270 suspects involved in online pornography. Approximately 1000,000 college students have also made online pledges to say no to pornographic websites."

Will education make the grade by 2017?

This article is from MSNBC. Economists, technology experts and health care leaders predict that the pace of change in our everyday lives, already too fast for many, will only accelerate. Within a decade, they say, educators will face a major challenge preparing the people responsible for keeping it all running.

If it’s not already a cyberworld, it’s getting closer. By 2017, the Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies projects, advances in miniaturization and wireless communication mean technology will be almost invisible, but it will be pervasive, threaded throughout bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms and workplaces.

Schools are searching for novel ways to keep up. Quite likely, shifting demographics will mean many children won’t be going to school at all. They’ll be learning at home, instead, at a cyberschool. Click here to read the rest of this article.

Pearson buys eCollege in $538M deal.

This post comes from eSchool News. In a move that could strengthen competition in the market for online course management systems, educational publishing giant Pearson PLC said its Pearson Education unit is buying eCollege.com, which sells eLearning systems to K-12 and higher-education institutions, in a deal worth approximately $538 million.

Under terms of the transaction, eCollege shareholders will receive $22.45 in cash for each share they own--a 28-percent premium over the company's average closing share price during the previous 90 trading days. In addition, eCollege's Datamark enrollment marketing division will be sold for $41 million to an investor group led by Oakleigh Thorne, eCollege's chairman and chief executive. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to eCollege shareholder approval.

eCollege, founded in 1996, works with schools to design, build, and support online degree, certificate, diploma, and professional development programs. It provides a full range of on-demand software services, including course management, virtual campuses, and assessment, reporting, and retention monitoring tools. The company also provides a suite of support services, including hosting, help desk, course development, technical consulting, instructional design, and faculty training. Click here to read the rest of this article.

Fabulous 150 Sought for Tuition Free Online Education.

This post is from PR Leap. DiUlus Institute & University is recruiting 150 distance learner scholars from member nations of the UN. The University offers the scholars a tuition free e-education. It is being made available to scholars who otherwise might never have the opportunity to attend college due to distance, work commitments, and/or financial circumstance.

University builder Global Academy Online, Inc. created and designed the University to be a 21st century online e-education powerhouse with cutting edge virtual environments. It included in the development a patent pending self-accreditation system that rivals the strictest interpretations of rigor in academia and flaunts a world-class faculty who are among the leaders and experts in e-education today. To read the rest of this article click here.

NACOL issues online learning primer.

This post comes from eSchoolnews.com. The North American Council for Online Learning has published a guidebook intended to help policy makers and educators implement online learning programs in their schools--and to help parents understand how online learning works.

Educators and education stakeholders interested in online learning have a brand-new resource at their disposal. The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) has released a free, comprehensive guide to online learning intended to help school leaders implement virtual education programs of their own and help parents understand how online instruction works. "A National Primer on K-12 Online Learning" gives answers to common questions and provides facts about online learning.

The report answers questions such as what an online course looks like, how students will interact with their teacher, and whether online instruction really works. (The short answer: Yes, if done correctly.) It also addresses issues for educators and policy makers who are considering developing their own online learning initiatives, such as what courses can be taught online effectively, what qualifications and training teachers will need, and what policies states or school districts should have in place before starting an online learning program. Click here to read the rest of this article.

Case Western Reserve U. Builds Virtual Campus to Woo Prospective Students.

This post comes from the Chronicle of Higher Education. College students who give campus tours usually have to learn a few tricks, like how to walk backward while talking. When Mir Bear-Johnson, a freshman at Case Western Reserve University, was asked to give tours to prospective students in Second Life, a 3-D virtual world, she had to adjust to a whole new set of norms.
I
n the virtual world, she was initially a lot clumsier than in the real world. The good news: "You will not wake up with any bruises from running into walls in Second Life, thankfully."

Administrators at Case Western recently built a virtual version of the campus in Second Life, complete with several campus buildings, some athletics facilities, and a favorite diner. They decided to give campus tours there for those who could not get to a regular campus tour.

Ms. Bear-Johnson says she had long been curious about Second Life — in which users appear as cartoonlike characters in a virtual landscape where they can explore and chat with others — but had never used it before being asked by the university to greet prospective students there.

At first Ms. Bear-Johnson selected a character, or avatar, that looked much like she does in real life. Later, though, she tried purple and then green hair.

"We had one person come in who was a frog," she says. "He had the head, he had the feet, he hopped, everything. Which was pretty cool, if a little surprising." Click here to read the rest of this interesting article.

In rural Uruguay, education goes high-tech for a low cost.

This post is from the Star-Telegram. VILLA CARDAL, Uruguay -- Big smiles spread across the faces of the 160 pupils at a public elementary school in this rural South American hamlet: Each sat gawking at a brightly blinking laptop given to them days earlier.

"This is like an early visit from Santa Claus," beamed 11-year old Eduardo de los Santos, clutching his computer with its shiny white case and bright green trim.

The machines are the first in South America from the much-publicized "One Laptop Per Child" project, which hopes to put low-cost portable PCs in the hands of children in developing countries. Still in a pilot phase, the group has also placed machines at one school in Nigeria and another in Thailand.
At the only public elementary school in this community of 1,300 people, children who never used computers are now being exposed to the digital age.

"Thanks to this, I'm going to be able to study tons of science," said Joel Nicoletti, 8, who wants to be a scientist. The nonprofit project was launched in 2005 by Nicholas Negroponte, then director of the media lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Click here to read the rest of this article.

Study finds 25 countries censor websites.

This post is from the Associated Press. At least 25 countries around the world block websites for political, social or other reasons as governments seek to assert authority over a network meant to be borderless, said a U.S.-British-Canadian study out Friday.

The actual number may be higher but the OpenNet Initiative had the time and capabilities to study only 40 countries and the Palestinian territories. Even so, researchers said they found more censorship than they had initially expected, a sign the Internet has matured to the point governments are taking notice.

“This is very much the revenge of geography,” said Rafal Rohozinski, a research fellow at the University of Cambridge in England.

China, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Tunisia and Vietnam had the most extensive filters for political sites. Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen had the strictest social-filtering practices, blocking pornography, gambling and homosexual sites.

In some countries, censorship was narrow. South Korea, for instance, tends to block only information about its neighbouring rival, North Korea.

Yet researchers found no filtering at all in Russia, Israel or the Palestinian territories, despite political conflicts.

Governments generally had no mechanism for citizens to complain about any erroneous blocking, with Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates being among the exceptions.

The OpenNet Initiative, a collaboration between researchers at Cambridge, the University of Oxford, Harvard University and the University of Toronto, has previously published reports detailing censorship in specific countries. The latest study was its attempt to compare filtering worldwide.

The study did not attempt to chronicle the effectiveness of the efforts. Some technical approaches are better than others in blocking sites but all can be bypassed with enough technical know-how to use “proxy” techniques or special software.

The organization said the regions chosen for review should not be considered comprehensive. It didn't include any countries in North America or Western Europe on grounds filtering practices there have been better known than elsewhere. It also excluded North Korea and Cuba for fear of risks to collaborators it would need in those countries.

The group supplied software to volunteers in each of the countries tested. Websites checked include those for gambling, pornography and human-rights abuses.

Jonathan Zittrain, professor of Internet governance and regulation at Oxford, said filtering appeared to occur most widely in countries where Internet penetration is higher.

Ivy League Crunch Brings New Cachet to Next Tier Schools.

This post comes from the New York Times. TLehigh University has never been as sought after as Stanford, Yale or Harvard. But this year, awash in applications, it churned out rejection letters and may break more hearts when it comes to its waiting list.

Call them second-tier colleges (a phrase some administrators despise) or call them the new Ivies (this, they can live with). Twenty-five to 40 universities like Lehigh, traditionally perceived as being a notch below the most elite, have seen their cachet climb because of the astonishing competitive crush at the top.

“It’s harder to get into Bowdoin now than it was to get into Princeton when I worked there,” said William M. Shain, who worked at Princeton in the 1970s and is now dean of admissions and financial aid at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Me. Bowdoin is one of those benefiting from the spillover as the country’s most prestigious colleges turn away nearly 9 out of 10 applicants. To read the rest of this article click here.

Google launches new Universal Search services.

Some of you might have noticed some visual changes to Google's landing page in the past few days. If you go to Google.com and look at the upper left hand portion of your monitor you will find these additional search choices:

Images Video News Maps Gmail more ▼ Blog

Google is calling this new feature Universal Search. This makes a lot of sense with all of the new media arriving on the web. Google also has to continue to expand their services in efforts to stay ahead of competitors like Yahoo. Search experts and web site owners are raising the question, "how will these changes impact my SERPs (search engine ranking positions)?"

Google's search algorithm is an incredibly complex and evolving machine. However the fundamental nature of determining search relevancy (through link popularity) and providing text based results is incredibly successful. In my opinion this formula won't be tinkered with dramatically even as you are given more search options. Here are some great observations by Gord Hochkiss about this new twist in Google search. This post is called, "Universal Search and Other Surprises from Google’s Searchology."

Posted by Daryl Clark, Director of Online Marketing, Gatlin Education Services.

Residents of the virtual world Second Life rise up in protest!

This post comes from Technology Review. The overseers of Second Life, a complex and booming virtual world hailed by many as the first step toward an immersive 3-D Internet, attempted yesterday to calm angry cyber-citizens who have petitioned for fixes to technical bugs recently plaguing the world.

The main problem, in members' eyes: Second Life is growing so fast that it's straining Linden Lab's resources to the limit, including its developers' ability to fix old bugs and roll out new software versions that don't introduce new problems. In a town-hall meeting yesterday inside Second Life, the company appealed for patience. To read the rest of this article click here.

UCEA April 2007 Infocus Newsletter.

One of our favorite traditional newsletters is "Infocus" by the University Continuing Education Association. The April 2007 edition of Infocus has some great articles. We hope you enjoy it!

Read up and head out for the best get-together in town.

Today's post is from the Star Telegram online. Have you ever gone to a party attended by English majors? If not, why not? Maybe it's time you permitted yourself an unforgettable experience.

What you'll notice at these incomparable gatherings is sophisticated wit, rapid-fire banter and hilarious repartee. It takes only one person to get it started with a comment such as "Once plastered, you are ready to paint your walls," which invariably is followed by a moment of repressed mirth, then another offering such as "When well oiled, I find my door easier to open," then "Once loaded, you are ready to launch your program," then "When well stewed, you add the tomatoes to the pot" and "When pickled, I think herring tastes like caviar."

A favorite game among English majors is called Gotcha, which usually begins when someone makes an error in grammar or word choice, sometimes intentionally, something like "You know, I hate how these political polls skewer public opinion," at which point everyone hollers, "Skew!" and from then on you better be careful about what you say. To read the rest of this fun article click here.

Iraq's Universities Near Collapse!

Today's article is from The Chronicle of Higher Education. Hundreds of professors and students have been killed or kidnapped, hundreds more have fled, and those who remain face daily threats of violence

Saad Jawad does not like to take chances. The University of Baghdad political-science professor goes to the campus only once or twice a week, varying the days to throw off any would-be assassins. His courses are less than one-third full, and he often has to wait hours until students show up.

When a class does finally convene, he assigns enough work to keep students busy for as long as possible because he does not know when they may meet next.

"I used to attend the college five days a week, stay there, and mix with my students," Mr. Jawad says, by telephone. "Not anymore." He does most of his work and research at home over the Internet, and most of his private meetings with students are by phone. "Other than my short trips to the campus, I'm at home almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he says.

The enormous challenges Mr. Jawad faces every week are just one example of how fragile Iraq's higher-education system has become. Thousands of academics have fled the country, classes are frequently canceled, students often stay away for fear of attack, and research is at a standstill. To read the rest of this interesting article click here.

Gatlin launches new Entrepreneurship online training program.

We are pleased to announce the release of our new Entrepreneurship: Start-Up and Business Owner Management online training program. This brand new course teaches students the skills needed to start their own business. The Entrepreneurship: Start-Up and Business Owner Management program provides an excellent foundation for not just the start-up business owner, but also the business owner or manager who wants to gain a deeper understanding of some of the essential principles associated with owning and operating a start-up or on-going business.

The program includes modules focusing on business plan development, financing, legal issues in operations, and buying and selling businesses. Students will broaden their understanding of financial and accounting terms, gain confidence and improve their communication skills, and explore some of the topics of running a business in accord with legal requirements. It’s never been easier to get your own business up and running!

Rule change poses new challenges for online education.

Today's post comes from the Great Falls Tribune Online Edition. The Montana Board of Public Education is prepared to vote on a rule change on Friday that could impact online courses for students and the instructors who teach and supervise some classes.

Under current rules, the Board of Public Education allows high school students to take distance-learning courses and be supervised by the instructor, usually from a college, as they complete the class. Click here to read the rest of this article.

Scientists compile massive biology web site.

Today's interesting post comes from Science Daily. Realizing a dream articulated in 2003 by renowned biologist E.O. Wilson, Harvard and four partner institutions have launched an ambitious effort to create an Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), an unprecedented project to document online every one of Earth's 1.8 million known species. For the first time in history, the EOL would grant scientists, students, and others multimedia access to all known living species, even those just discovered.

The effort, announced May 9, will be supported by a new $10 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and $2.5 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
With a Wikipedia-style Web page detailing each organism's genome, geographic distribution, phylogenetic position, habitat, and ecological relationships, organizers hope the EOL will ultimately serve as a global beacon for biodiversity and conservation.

Harvard joins the Field Museum in Chicago, the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., the Smithsonian Institution, and the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) to initiate the project, bringing together species and software experts from across the world. An international advisory board of distinguished individuals will help guide the EOL.

Harvard's EOL participation will be led by James Hanken, director of Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Harvard scientists will partner with colleagues at the Smithsonian to spearhead the education and outreach facets of the project.

"EOL is an audacious project, but one that is doable with existing technology," Hanken says. "It has the potential to transform how people learn and communicate about biology." To read the rest of this article click here.

Results from The Survey of College Marketing Programs.

Today's interesting article comes from The Primary Research Group. "More than 47% of American colleges use web advertising of some type to market the college including more than 59% of private colleges, according to a new study from Primary Research Group, The Survey of College Marketing Programs. The 170 page study presents more than 650 tables of data relating to college marketing efforts, exploring television, radio, newspaper and magazine advertising, direct mail, college viewbook and magazine publishing, and use of web ads, blogs, search engine placement enhancement, and other internet related marketing. The study also presents data on the percentage of distance learning programs that are managed and marketed by the central administration of the college and the percentage that are managed by separate administrative entities." To read the rest of this article click here.

State of Indiana yanks the plug on two virtual schools.

Today's article comes from eSchoolNews.com. Two virtual charter schools were set to open this fall in Indiana, but the state Legislature did not provide funding for them in the final state budget. The move has left parents scrambling to find other options for their children.

Pamela Bless thought she had found an exciting alternative to traditional instruction when she enrolled her three children in a new online charter school slated to open this fall. Instead, she's wondering where her 13-year-old triplets will end up after the Indiana General Assembly decided not to fund the schools.

"My kids were as or more disappointed than I was," said Bless, of Greenwood, Ind. "They feel that it's a statement that children are not important to officials in state government." Ball State University had proposed opening two virtual charter schools--the Indiana Virtual Charter School and Indiana Connections Academy--this fall, with a total of about 2,200 students.

The budget proposed by the GOP-led Senate would have allowed the two schools to open. Democrats who control the House, however, objected to having any state money fund such programs, and the final budget approved April 29--the last day of the legislative session--explicitly stated that virtual charter schools cannot receive funding from the state or any distribution of property taxes. To read the rest of this article click here.

Gatlin launches new mediation and dispute resolution online education program.

We are pleased to announce the immediate availability of our new Mediation and Dispute Resolution online certificate program offered in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Dispute Resolution™ and our network of more than 600 college and universities.

Gatlin launches new Purchasing Management online training.

We are please to announce the immediate availability of our new Purchasing Management Online Training. This program is particularly well suited to anyone working in or interested in working in purchasing, supply chain management, procurement specialists, and buyers. In this program students will be introduced to the various aspect of the supply chain environment, including enterprise resource planning systems and requirement systems.

Music education moves online.

Today's post comes from eSchool News. "Thanks to advancements in so-called Web 2.0 technologies, music education is extending beyond the classroom with the help of software that allows for virtual, real-time music lessons and collaboration online. These technologies can supplement and reinforce the traditional teaching that occurs during private music lessons or school classes, their proponents say.

Software from new companies such as eJamming, WorkshopLive, and In the Chair can connect students and teachers in online groups or in solo sessions to record and edit music online. The growing number of homes with access to broadband internet service has helped fuel this emerging trend." Click here to read the rest of this story.

Learning Chinese the Skype way.

Today's interesting post comes from the Taipei Times. "Skype is rapidly turning into the classroom of the 21st century. Aside from videophone, it also checks spelling on the digital whiteboard.

London-based stand-up comedian Tommy Campbell's iPod is packed with recordings made by a mother-of-one who lives in China's southernmost province of Hainan.

The two have never met, but every week they spend three hours in each other's company, as Tommy struggles to form the distinctive tones and sounds of Mandarin Chinese.

Lily Huang is Tommy's Mandarin teacher. Rather than pay exorbitant prices for a UK-based face-to-face tutor or hide in the back of the class at night school, Tommy can take Lily's lessons in the comfort and privacy of his own home via the Internet, direct from China.

Lily teaches students across the globe via Skype, the Internet telephony system that allows people to communicate for free across the world, often using Web cams.

The videophone service was set up in 2003 by two Scandinavian entrepreneurs and sold to Ebay in September 2005 for US$4.1 billion. It is now available in 27 languages. Asia reportedly represents 30 percent of its 171 million subscribers and has become its fastest growing market. To read the rest of this article click here.