Customers in the near future will be able to make their utility purchases and payments with CAT cards using a one-stop service called a CAT Kiosk
Computer lets parents track kids’ eating
This could be a common occurrence at Houston schools when the district, Texas's seventh-largest with more than 250,000 students, becomes one of the largest in the nation with a cafeteria automation system that lets parents dictate and track what their kids get.
Primero Food Service Solutions, developed by Houston-based Cybersoft Technologies, allows parents to set up prepaid lunch accounts so children don't have to carry money. It also shows the cashier any food allergies or parent-set diet restrictions for his or her account, and the student is not allowed to buy an offending item.
Parents also can go online to track their child's eating habits and make changes. The company's system already is being used in schools in Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan and Tennessee, as well as other Texas cities. Several other companies have similar cafeteria monitoring programs at other schools.
Prepaid cafeteria accounts have been around for five to 10 years, but programs that allow parents to say what their kids can or can't eat are a more recent development. It's good for parents because they can track what their kids are spending. The system, which will cost the Houston district US$5.3 million, also serves as an accounting program that lets the school district plan menus and allows for faster enrollment of students in free and reduced lunch programs. School officials and nutrition experts say this type of monitoring program could help tackle child obesity. In the past 20 years, the number of overweight children ages 6 to 11 more than doubled and the number of overweight adolescents ages 12 to 19 more than tripled, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Noted film star is goodwill ambassador for Akshaya literacy project
South Indian film star Mammootty will be the goodwill ambassador for the State Government's Akshaya computer literacy project in the Indian state Kerala.
Mammootty will take up the responsibility of spearheading the Akshaya campaign through special appearances in print and visual media and other publicity material. Officially launched in the district of Malappuram in year 2002, Akshaya completed its first phase by training 5.8 lakh people in the district on computers. Subsequently, it was rolled out to seven more districts – Kasaragode, Kannur, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Kollam and Pathanamthitta. This is expected to add another 35 lakh to the list of the computer-literate in the State. The State Government recently decided to extend the project to the remaining six districts, and preparatory works to this effect are on.
Plan: Primary education upto VIII standard
The primary draft, with the recommendations of extending the primary education level upto class VIII with a public examination at end, prepared by the Education Policy Formulation Committee is going to complete its primary draft within July 10. 42 concerned organisations will hold the discussion with the committee, for the required opinions and suggestions on the draft after the deadline and the draft polciy will be placed before the government on completion of the discussions. Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, Co-Chairman of the committee disclosed the above information at a symposiumon 'Learning from neighbours: The trajectory of educational progress' at a city hotel. He described that all mediums, general, madrasa and English, regardless of types of education system and education institutes, will have to study several subjects in the primary level to have better understanding about certain things of the country.
He informed that the subjects are Bangla, Mathematics, Basic Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Environment and Bangladesh Studies. Campaign for Popular Education (CAMPE) in association with Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and Institute of Educational Development, Brac University organised the symposium. The two-day symposium will be focused on pre-university education in Thailand. On the primary education, the co-chairman said there are about 11 types of primary education in the country that perpetuates disparity in society. Emphasising the need for vocational education, Kholiquzzaman mentioned that basic ICT and pre-vocational training will be introduced in class VI. He added that English would be made mandatory from class III. The co-chairman also said the policy will have some special clauses for those areas where education is lagging behind.
More bytes for girls in IT and multimedia in Australia
Responding to the decreasing participation of girls in IT subjects, Swinburne University in Australia is running a program to motivate girls into using IT and multimedia in schools. The programme More bytes: Girls in IT is part of the Australian School Innovation in Science Technology and Mathematics (ASISTM).
The unique program aims to engage a diverse group of girls from Year 8 to 10 in IT and multimedia by giving them the chance to network and build their story of girls' culture using technology. The project brings together a diverse mix of high school girls from different backgrounds, and increases their opportunities to think creatively, to share ideas and resources, and inspires them to consider IT and multimedia as possible careers. Students will be working in groups initially within their schools to develop a project that will be shared through an electronic magazine. They will then create a brief introductory documentary which they will digitally showcase on an online forum in the near future.
The girls will work on a series of group projects using IT and multimedia challenging the popular view that IT 'is for nerds'. The idea is that by giving them a hands-on experience they will form an emotional connection with their work by giving it a sense of reality and motivation. Other projects are likely to include the development of characters through animation, use of mobile phones and Flash animation interface, and digital art pod-casting to produce a radio show. The projects will be presented at a Girl's Multimedia Conference at Swinburne in May 2006. Fitzroy Crossing District High School students in Western Australia will participate using teleconferencing. In an all girls' effort to boost female representation in the industry the final stage of the program will see female Swinburne undergraduates studying IT and multimedia mentoring the girls.
International Finance Corp supports to expand ICT in Nigerian varsities
Pursuant to its drive to link universities across Nigeria to the information and communication technology (ICT) world, SocketWorks Limited has signed a $2.5 million (about NGN350 million) agreement with International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group.
The first such initiative in Nigeria’s higher education sector, the facility is to support SocketWorks’ rollout of CollegePortal into select Nigerian universities. CollegePortal is a package of information and communication technologies that will provide students with the tools to become fully computer literate. IFC’s loan will also enable SocketWorks to develop software and purchase computers and other hardware for Nigeria’s universities. University students, faculty, and administrators will have access to a full suite of online management systems and study tools, including offshore libraries and other information sources.
The education project which the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is supporting will help to lay a strong educational foundation and arrest the declining standards of Nigerian educational system since Information and Communications Technology (ICT) clearly represents the best opportunity to help these institutions to pull together their current assets, to minimize internal handicaps, to layer on new sources of intelligence, optimize their resources, maximize their potential and increase the value of education they provide. By October, working with the Minister of Education in an initiative called, “Digital Bridge for Nigerian Schools” SocketWorks intends to introduce all Federal Government-owned schools to a thriving digital culture by deploying a bundled ICT solution that includes software, access devices, power systems, connectivity, multimedia resources and digital content.
Tegrity and Blackboard bring enhanced podcasting to colleges and universities
Tegrity, a worldwide leader in student achievement systems, and Blackboard Inc., a leading provider of technology to educational institutions, are making it possible for college students to watch and listen to class lectures on their iPods at any time and from any location.
Through Tegrity Campus enterprise software and the Blackboard Learning System, recorded instruction from every class can now be automatically converted to enhanced podcasts for students to review later. The Tegrity Campus enterprise software seamlessly integrates with Blackboard, and includes a Blackboard Building Block, described and available for download at http://www.blackboard.com/extend/b2/. Blackboard Building Blocks are third party applications which enable academic institutions to extend and customize their Blackboard application. The Tegrity Campus Blackboard Building Block enables institutions to automatically capture, store and index every class on campus for later replay by every student. The on-demand content is accessible through Blackboard on any computer, and is now available on iPods as well. Each podcast is automatically indexed and enhanced with instructor audio, slides and annotations from class, making it much more engaging than audio-only podcasts.
Blackboard provides the e-Learning platform used by colleges and universities across the country and abroad. For more than a decade, Tegrity's technology has enabled educational institutions to automatically record every class on campus and deliver them online for students to access . Together Blackboard and Tegrity will enable greater access to educational resources and content providing significant convenience and flexibility to the members of academic institutions around the world. Podcasts Automatically Created from Class Tegrity Podcast setup starts at the beginning of the semester as the Tegrity Campus Blackboard Building Block adds a podcast subscription button in every Blackboard course and sends a personalized email to students with a one-click link for subscribing to their podcasts using iTunes. During class, instructors press one button to start and stop recording and the software automatically creates visual podcasts broken down by chapter, that are automatically uploaded after class to the right place on the Tegrity Server . The Tegrity Campus Blackboard Building Block component uses information already available in the Blackboard Learning System to automatically catalogue the recordings by course. While listening to their podcasts, students can easily navigate to specific parts (chapters) of their class and get right to the information they need.
SAC US’s largest online-degree provider
United States News and World Report ranked San Antonio College as the sixth largest online degree-granting program in the United States, according to the magazine's e-Learning Guide.
The University of Phoenix, which maintains a campus in San Antonio, based in Arizona; Park University in Parkville; St. Leo University in Saint Leo; the University of Maryland, University College in Adelphi; and Central Texas College in Killeen, Texas, were listed as the top five schools. According to the publication, students were enrolled in 19,000 online classes at San Antonio College during the 2004-2005 academic year. Classes include a combination of content on CD-ROM, video and some on-campus meetings. San Antonio College offers 195 distance-education courses toward the completion of an associate in arts and science degree, and an associate in applied science degree. The school also offers online associate's degrees in mathematics and criminal justice.
University of Toronto selects Blackboard for e-Learning
Blackboard Inc., a leading provider of technology to educational institutions and corporate and government agencies, announces the University of Toronto, a leading teaching and research university in Canada, has licensed the Blackboard Academic Suite(TM), a suite of three integrated software products which support a Networked Learning Environment(TM).
A Networked Learning Environment enables students and teachers to learn, connect and share educational materials and resources from practically any location and at any time. The Blackboard Academic Suite fosters Web-based and Web-enhanced learning and is used by hundreds of universities, colleges and K-12 schools in North America and abroad.
The university plans to utilize the system immediately to enhance the student experience by providing improved integration of digital resources, better communication and collaboration utilities and a consistent, web-based interface across courses. Instructors will benefit from possibilities for new methods of instruction and more effective and efficient class administration.
President of India calls for joint design and development of tablet PC
Citing the successful joint venture of India and Russia to harness the core competencies of the two nations for the benefit of the humanity, President of ndia A P J Abdul Kalam called for a joint design, development and Manufacturing of handheld tablet PC with multilingual capability.
According to the President, missions of world knowledge platform should include the convergeance of bio, nano and the Information and Communication Technology. Areas such as electronics, ICT and Automobile sectors should be focussed in the areas of design, development leading to productionisation for meeting the market demands of the respective countries and also for the world market. Development and manufacturing of handheld tablet PC should be done with a cost effective factor and open source operating system and software configured for the school students and common citizen who wanted to benefit from the e-Governance initiatives to meet requirements of Asia Pacific and African countries. This PC would have wireless connectivity so that it could take care of communication needs and possibly even the telephone besides sufficient video capability to act as an entertainment platform. For young students it should serve as a boon in ensuring substantial reduction of carrying heavy books and note books.
