PROGRAMMES
Blackboard unveils plagiarism prevention service
Blackboard Inc., a leading provider of educational enterprise software and services, announced a new plagiarism prevention service, SafeAssign(tm). This new service helps prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers and delivering reports within the Blackboard Learning System(tm).
SafeAssign empowers academics and students to protect the originality of work, as well as creating an opportunity to educate students on the importance of proper attribution and citation. It is currently available at no additional cost to all enterprise licensees of the Blackboard Learning System.
Tata Interactive Systems in Second Life Online Symposium
Tata Interactive Systems (TIS)'s Software Solutions practice is collaborating with the Federation of American Scientists, a non-profit organisation on a project in SL.
13 Indian IT cos among top 100
Thirteen Indian technology firms have been named among the top 100 in the Asia-Pacific region by global media company Red Herring, even as China dominates with 37 names.
The '2007 Red Herring 100 Asia' awards recognise private companies with cutting edge technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. The winners have been selected from 200 finalists, including 43 Indian companies, on the basis of criteria varying from vision and technological achievements to market leadership and financial health. This year, the number of Indian winners has come down to 13 from 24 in the last year while the 37 Chinese firms have have been named this year against 33 in the previous year. Among the other Indian firms include, SatNav Technologies (www.satnavtechnologies.com) which offers products and services in IT, and primary education.
PARTNERSHIPS
NIIT District Learning Centre
NIIT Education Society has set up the first-of-its kind District Learning Center (DLC) in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh in India to harness talent and skilled manpower for global readiness.
These graduates will be equipped with IT skills, Communication skills (verbal and written), Professional Life skills and Business Etiquette skills that will enable them to accomplish gainful employment and secure future.
The unique initiative has already garnered support from leading global organisations such as IBM, Wipro Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services and NIIT Technologies to utilise the talent pool created by this District Learning Centre.
Edutech to launch Arabic-enabled version of Blackboard Academic Suite
Edutech Middle East, a leading international learning solutions provider, in collaboration with Blackboard Inc., will launch the Arabic-enabled version of Blackboard Academic Suite across Middle East, which integrates Blackboard's widely-accepted applications for higher education institutions.
With an Arabic user interface,students and teachers from the Middle East region can easily adopt the technology and utilise it effectively to produce better results. The new Arabic version allows users to view all features and tools in the Learning, Community and Content systems from right to left according to the orientation of the Arabic written language. The Arabic Language Pack can be selected at the system, course and user level, providing flexibility to all users to choose their preferred language.
InfoPro Learning named among World's Top 19 Specialised Learning Process Providers
New Jersey based InfoPro Learning having a growing front-end presence in the US, Europe, and now India, has been named among the world's top 19 specialised learning process providers by TrainingOutsourcing.com. TrainingOutsourcing.com is the world's first, and leading, Internet knowledge community that focuses on the training outsourcing industry worldwide. InfoPro Learning has been selected to the prestigious Top Specialised Learning Process Providers list in the category: e-Learning Development & Delivery.
InfoPro's assessment was based on its corporate competency in 22 business processes, and 13 business capabilities in areas including financial stability, geographic reach, talent of leadership, and use of best practices, especially relating to the strategic alignment of training with clients' business goals.
PRODUCTS
QAI launches Edista Suite of Education Ventures
QAI, the world's leading process consulting organisation addressing Operational Excellence for the IT, BPO and knowledge intensive services sectors announced a series of education, testing and certification initiatives under the Edista brand.
QAI has announced an online curri-culum, EdistaLearning, an initiative in the Software Testing sphere, Edista Testing Institute, and a skills assessments and measurements initi-ative, EdistaCertifications, targeted at both the corporate and the retail sectors. EdistaLearning is an exclusive coming together of expert content from subject matter “gurus” and practical insights from QAI's training and consulting experience. Edista in Finnish language means “to enhance, to facilitate”.
QAI has also announced another venture called EdistaTesting Institute, an independent industry – academia collaborative venture, with the focus on training, certifications, and assessments in the field of Software Testing.
Philippines firm develops software for kids
Philippines based firm TechFactors Inc has developed edutainment software to make technology education interactive and fun for children.
Around 90,000 Filipino kids from 170 to 180 private schools nationwide are using company's courseware. The software combines ideo games, laboratory simulation and other interactive exercises to make ICT education fun and engaging. The company has developed courseware modules for pre-schoolers, elementary, and high school students. The company is providing two books and a CD to every students and also providing training to teachers to use the courseware.
SumTotal launches new version of Talent Management Software
Highlights of SumTotal 7.6 include: a variety of performance-management capabilities for evaluating employee goals and reviewing succession plans, new workflows for assigning training based upon a company's unique organisational structure, a learning content management system that supports the latest edition of SCORM 2004, a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-Learning, and enhanced language capabilities to meet the needs of customers across Asia and Europe.
Dimensions E Services launches new LMS tool
Dimensions E Services announces the launch of a new LMS tool, branded as uLearn. Some of the key features of uLearn are ability to customise itself to customer needs, ability to run multiple sessions through the same set of training titles.
uLearn's off the shelf features include an ability to run multiple sessions through the same set of training titles. There are multiple level access points for administrators, trainers and users. The technology allows SCROM compliant courseware to be plugged in. The key to uLearn's unique value proposition is the strong core which allows customisation around itself. Customers can name their needs and they would not even realsze the tailoring on the tool.
KESDEE launches e-Learning course library
KESDEE Inc., a leading provider of e-Learning courses in Finance, has launched its e-Learning course library on “Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC)”. These courses give important insights into the intricate working of Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Regulatory Compliance in corporate environment.
The course library is interspersed with audio clips containing voice over by the author giving additional insights and information about important concepts. KESDEE is headquartered in San Diego, California, with a state-of-the-art development center in
Bangalore, India. 
