Virgil Varvel, distance education guru, presents ongoing commentary and notes on educational research, issues, and publications.« September 2006 | Main | November 2006 »
October 27, 2006
Educause Urges BlackBoard to drop patent. BlackBoard do not take kindly to request
The leaders of higher education's main technology association have written a powerfully worded letter urging Blackboard to relinquish the rights it gained under a controversial patent of online learning technologies in the public domain and to drop a patent infringement lawsuit it filed in August against a Canadian competitor, Desire2Learn. BlackBoard officials do not take kindly to the request.
Posted by vvarvel at 09:20 AM | Comments (0)
Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning
This review of state-level policy and practices is an interesting read and is available as a free online pdf from Learning Point Associates.
Posted by vvarvel at 09:17 AM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2006
Standards opening up online learning
"three dozen academic publishers, providers of learning management software, and others have agreed on a common, open standard that will make it possible to move digital content into and out of widely divergent online education systems without expensive and time consuming reengineering."
Posted by vvarvel at 11:19 AM | Comments (0)
October 16, 2006
Senator's Introduce Bill to Create Controversial Student-Tracking Database
"Fourteen U.S. senators formally introduced a bill today to authorize spending to set up databases to track college students’ educational progress—an idea opposed by private colleges—and to produce more scientists and engineers."
Read Full Story from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Posted by vvarvel at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2006
Strong Copyright + CRM + Weak Net Neutrality = Digital Dystopia
Charles Bailey Junior provides an interesting look atseveral processes threatening the future of the Internet in the September 2006 issue of Information Technology and Libraries.
Abstract
Three critical issues—-dramatic expansion of the scope, duration, and punitive nature of copyright laws; the ability of Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems to lock-down digital content in an unprecedented fashion; and the erosion of Net neutrality, which ensures that all Internet traffic is treated equally—-are examined in detail and their potential impact on libraries is assessed. How legislatures, the courts, and the commercial marketplace treat these issues will strongly influence the future of digital information for good or ill.
Posted by vvarvel at 08:32 AM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2006
Desire2Learn fires back at BlackBoard
Desire2Learn has filed a response to Blackboard’s infringement suit. They claim that the patent is invalid because Blackboard knowingly refrained from disclosing relevant prior art (including software they had purchased such as Prometheus and previous standards work done through the IMS).
The company basically calls for that immediate dismissal, payment of their legal fees by Blackboard, and also opens the door for possible punitive damages...
This blog entry quoted from Smart Classroom
For the filing see inmagic.com
Posted by vvarvel at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)
October 03, 2006
University of Phoenix will pay Arizona Cardinals for stadium name
For $154 million. I'm saddened by this news. Advertising money apparently equals quality in the minds of some people.
Posted by vvarvel at 10:19 AM | Comments (0)