Google Project Sunroof shows how much solar juice is on your roof, no math needed : Google wants to make it easier for people to consider the use of solar energy for their homes. Today has launched a tool called Sunroof Project, which uses data from Google Maps to calculate the solar power potential of ...

by Fox 35 In a ballet studio near Downtown Orlando, they’re giving new meaning to the term "modern dance." The techniques are ones you’d expect, but the students are not. Because not all of them are in the room. The class put on by the Interactive Academy of Performing Arts—or IAPA—uses modern technology to allow [...]

By Cheryl V. Jackson, Blue Sky Innovation The University of Illinois College of Business has launched an iMBA program that it says provides flexibility through blocks of study that it calls "specializations," including core specializations in leadership and organizational management; business tools for successful execution; improving business finances and operations; and strategic financial management. The program, [...]

by DEIDRE MUSSEN, NZ Stuff No bars to education is the Corrections Department’s mantra with its new programme to allow internet into prisons. Corrections Minister Peseta Sam Lotu-liga launched the secure online learning project at Rimutaka Prison on Thursday morning, which will run in prisons around New Zealand. Two-thirds of the country’s prisoners were "basically illiterate", [...]

Catering to the growing numbers and the varied learning needs, e-learning opens us to a world of possibilities. In recent times, our experience in creating e-learning for the Healthcare Sector has been growing and we bring forth the learning from some of these experiences. Regulatory bodies closely scrutinize the healthcare sector to ensure that every organization is working within the.... Continue Reading

According to a recent survey, 69 percent of consumers attributed their good customer service experience to quick resolution of their problem. A good knowledge management system: Breaks down silos to enable more collaboration between employees. Ensures that important resources and … The post 3 Ways to Employ Knowledge Management for Customer Service appeared first on Bloomfire.

Welcome to the 21st Annual Online Learning Consortium International Conference This year’s conference promises outstanding keynotes, features sessions and workshops. In addition, our Technology Test Kitchen and Discovery sessions will once again provide you with the opportunity to interact with experts in new and emerging technologies and topics, reinforcing why this is the premiere conference […] This post was first published on eLearning Industry.

By Ann Iverson, Instructional Designer  A recent study from Microsoft Corporation shows that the average attention span for humans has dropped from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to 8 seconds today. Oh look, a squirrel! According to scientists, the age of mobile devices has left humans with a shorter attention span than the common goldfish. Apparently, Goldie beats us out by one second. What’s for dinner? Fish again? Does this mean the end of human civilization as we know it?

One of the greatest benefits of eLearning, is the ability to incorporate multimedia. Moodle’s multimedia capabilities are available through plugins. By enabling your Multimedia plugins filter in Moodle, multimedia will be transformed from a link that points to a multimedia resource, to the appropriate multimedia player. An example of this is if a teacher places a video file as a resource in a course, or includes a URL link to an external video file. When the multimedia plugin is turned on, students will then be able to play video files from a screen within their Moodle interface.

Today the NMC, the University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur, the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB), Hannover, and ETH-Bibliothek Zürich are jointly releasing the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition during a special online event. This is the second edition of the NMC Horizon Report that explores the realm of academic and research libraries in a global context. NMC Horizon Report: 2015 Library Edition  The report describes findings from the NMC Horizon Project, an ongoing research project designed to identify and describe emerging technologies likely to have an impact on teaching, learning, and creative inquiry. Six key trends, six significant challenges, and six important developments in technology are identified across three adoption horizons over the next one to five years, giving library leaders and staff a valuable guide for strategic technology planning.The format of the report was designed to provide these leaders with more in-depth insight into how the trends and challenges are accelerating and impeding the adoption of technology, along with their implications for policy, leadership, and practice. "Nowhere on university campuses has technology had a more sweeping impact than on their libraries," says Larry Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the NMC and co-principal investigator for the project. "It is critically important for the field that the unique needs and perspectives of those who work in academic and research libraries are at the center of this second annual report." Download the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition (PDF) Trends Accelerating Technology Adoption for Academic and Research LibrariesThe NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition identifies "Increasing Value of the User Experience" and "Prioritization of Mobile Content and Delivery" as short-term impact trends driving changes in academic and research libraries over the next one to two years. The "Evolving Nature of the Scholarly Record" and "Increasing Focus on Research Data Management" are mid-term impact trends expected to accelerate technology use in the next three to five years; and "Increasing Accessibility of Research Content" and "Rethinking Library Spaces" are long-term impact trends, anticipated to impact libraries for the next five years or more.  "The trends identified by the expert panel indicate that libraries are doing a better job of making their content more accessible and adapting library spaces to meet the needs of the contemporary, connected academic community," says Rudolf Mumenthaler, Professor of Library Science at HTW Chur and co-principal investigator of the report. "The outcomes of the report are very compelling, and it is an honor for HTW Chur to be deeply involved in this project."Challenges Impeding Technology Adoption In Academic and Research LibrariesA number of challenges are acknowledged for presenting barriers to the mainstream use of technology in academic and research libraries. "Embedding Academic and Research Libraries in the Curriculum" and "Improving Digital Literacy" are perceived as solvable challenges - those which we both understand and know how to solve. "Competition from Alternative Avenues of Discovery" and "Rethinking the Roles and Skills of Librarians" are considered difficult challenges, which are defined as well understood but with solutions that are elusive. Described as wicked challenges are "Embracing the Need for Radical Change" and "Managing Knowledge Obsolescence," which are complex to define, much less address."Do we still need libraries? Wrong question! The release of the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition brings us many examples of the lively adoption of new technologies in libraries around the globe," shares Andreas Kirstein, Vice Director and Head of Media and IT Services at ETH-Bibliothek and co-principal investigator of the project. "These forward-looking approaches are the answer to the better question: What kind of libraries do we need in the future?"  Important Developments in Technology for Academic and Research LibrariesAdditionally, the report identifies "Makerspaces" and "Online Learning" as technologies and digital strategies that are expected to enter mainstream use in the first horizon of one year or less. "Information Visualization" along with "Semantic Web and Linked Data" are seen in the second horizon of two to three years; "Location Intelligence" as well as "Machine Learning" are seen emerging in the third horizon of four to five years."This report is another crucial step forward for academic and research libraries, which are now being seen as incubators for experimenting with emerging technologies and are even leading the way at many university campuses across the world," says Lambert Heller, Head of Open Science Lab at the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) and co-principal investigator of the project. The subject matter in this report was identified through a qualitative research process designed and conducted by the NMC that engages an international body of experts in libraries, education, technology, research, business, and other fields around a set of research questions designed to surface significant trends and challenges and to identify emerging technologies with a strong likelihood of adoption in academic and research libraries. The NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition details the areas in which these experts were in strong agreement."The report has highlighted key themes and technological trends that are shaping the evolution of academic and research libraries," says Franziska Regner, Head of Innovation and Development at ETH-Bibliothek and co-principal investigator of the report. "This has been an exciting project to be a part of, and I look forward to seeing how library leaders and staff in innovation units use these findings to inform their strategies and methodological approaches for the long-term." The NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition is available online, free of charge, and is released under a Creative Commons license to facilitate its widespread use, easy duplication, and broad distribution.Download the NMC Horizon Report > 2015 Library Edition (PDF) About the New Media Consortium  'The New Media Consortium is an international not-for-profit consortium of learning-focused organizations dedicated to the exploration and use of new media and new technologies. For 22 years, the NMC and its members have dedicated themselves to exploring and developing potential applications of emerging technologies for learning, research, and creative inquiry. To learn more, visit www.nmc.org.About ETH-Bibliothek ZürichThe ETH-Bibliothek, established in 1855, is the main library serving the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and the largest public natural scientific and technical library in Switzerland. It has a major influence on technical developments in Swiss libraries in general. The extensive information resources held by the ETH-Bibliothek range from traditional media such as printed books and journals to electronic data resources. The collections cover all the specialist fields of education and research at ETH Zürich: −               Architecture and Civil Engineering−               Engineering Sciences−               Natural Sciences and Mathematics−               System-oriented Natural Sciences−               Management and Social SciencesFor more information, visit: http://www.library.ethz.ch/en.About the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB), HannoverFounded in 1959 by the German Research Foundation, the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB), Hannover provides students, researchers, and teaching staff with literature and specialized information in printed and electronic form from all faculties of the Leibniz Universität Hannover. It is the German National Library for technology as well as civil engineering, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics. The TIB is also the world's largest specialized library for science and technology and part of the national research infrastructure. Its function is the comprehensive procurement and archival storage of technical scientific literature from all over the world. To learn more about TIB, visit: http://www.tib.uni-hannover.de/en.html.About University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur The University of Applied Sciences (HTW) Chur was founded in 1963 and is a member of the Universities of Applied Sciences of Eastern Switzerland (FHO). With approximately 1600 students, HTW Chur is a public federal institution with national and international flair, where bachelor, master and further education studies are offered in the six faculties of "Civil Engineering and Architecture," "Information Science," "Management," "Media and Communication," "ICT/Technology," and "Tourism."For more information on HTW Chur, visit: http://www.htwchur.ch/en.html. Source: New Media Consortium and NewMediaConsortium Channel (YouTube)