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Vodcast Welcome
Dear Thought Leader,
Welcome to the June edition of The MindShare Learning Report™ -- Canada's Source for Learning & Technology Industry News. This month's theme is focused on 'GreenIT.' There's been a tremendous buzz of late around the Green IT movement. I must confess, it's becoming a passion of mine as I become more immersed with this school of thought. We are pleased to share the latest in news and research to assist you in gaining further knowledge around this movement through the addition of the new 'GreenIT' section of the MindShare Learning Report eNewsletter I'm pleased to share that my kids have increasingly influenced my personal eco system around the green theme. They are truly becoming independent learners and more mindful of the global issues and the environment. Hence, as we prepare students for the 21st Century global economy, GreenIT cannot be ignored. Think for a moment of the tremendous savings and reduced greenhouse gases that could be achieved given soaring energy costs, if we were to incorporate more blended eLearning models such as the one I experienced through Pepperdine University while completing my Masters in EdTech. Did you know that it is estimated only 20% of IT systems are utilized while 80% of energy is wasted through data centres, IT systems and computers? 
Robert Martellacci, M.A. EdTech
Publisher & Managing Editor, The MindShare Learning Report™
President, MindShare Learning™
 Before printing think about the Environment. Avant l' impression, il faut penser � l'Environnement.
 P.S. As it's graduation month for University and College graduates, I felt compelled to share with you a thought provoking YouTube video that my wife emailed me today of Randy Pausch Insping Carengie Mellon Graduates. Please click on the following picture below to access the video. I welcome your comments.
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Readership Comments....
"I loved your newsletter, it definitely is in touch with the educational pulse and who's who in education technology! Thanks for putting your experiences in print and sharing with the rest of us."
Karen StefanishynCanadian Sales & Service Manager,
frontrow a division of Phonic Ear
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Funding Opportunity of the Month
Innovative Classrooms Technology Funding
Alberta Learning | 23/05/08
Alberta Education will invest $18.5 million per year over the next three years to support the further integration of technology into Alberta's classrooms to assist all publicly funded school jurisdictions and charter schools in attaining a classroom technology standard identified through extensive educational research and stakeholder consultation.
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Secondary School Students Compete Using GIS at Skills Canada - Ontario's 19th Annual Ontario Technological Skills Competition
ESRI Canada | 21/05/08
ESRI Canada had the privilege to provide staff expertise at the GIS component of Skills Canada - Ontario's 19th annual Ontario Technological Skills Competition (OTSC) held May 5-7, 2008, in Waterloo, Ontario.
Digital Book 2008 Showcases Emerging eBook Standard & Global Marketplace
International Adoption of EPUB Format & Cell Phone Reading to Accelerate eBook Business
Marketwire | 13/05/08
At the Digital Book 2008 Conference on Wednesday, May 14, the world's leading digital book publishers, e-reading technology companies, and content distributors will explore the expanding eBook marketplace and the emergence of the EPUB digital publication standard.
Simcoe County School District Wins Skills Canada Silver in TV-VIdeo Competition
Simcoe County School District | 15/05/08The competition was fierce on May 6 as the top 1500 technology students from across the province battled for medals at the Skills Canada - Ontario competitions in Kitchener-Waterloo. Over 27,000 spectators viewed the six Barrie North students representing Simcoe County at the annual event.
New version of SMART's response system offers extensive tracking and reporting
SMART Technologies | 27/05/08
Version 2.0 of Senteo interactive response system available in July. SMART Technologies announces that a significant upgrade to the Senteo™ interactive response system will be available in July 2008.
Microsoft pledge could cut tech costs for schools
Microsoft agreed this week to make its Office Open XML file format compatible with OpenDocument Format
eSchool News | 23/05/08Conversion to open software programs for creating spreadsheets, documents, and other standard office files could become more commonplace in school districts, if a May 22 pledge by software giant Microsoft Corp. comes to fruition.
Innovative Classrooms Technology Funding
Alberta Learning | 23/05/08
Alberta Education will invest $18.5 million per year over the next three years to support the further integration of technology into Alberta's classrooms to assist all publicly funded school jurisdictions and charter schools in attaining a classroom technology standard identified through extensive educational research and stakeholder consultation.
High School Students to Transform Everyday Objects into Innovative Technologies
CNW | 20/05/08
The BCIC Young Innovator Scholarship celebrates its provincial launch today and is stirring up new technology ideas from high school students across B.C., announced Dr. Don Cozzetto, Board Director of the British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC) and President of the University of Northern British Columbia.
Rural kids on web unsupervised
Survey finds 65 per cent of teens surf with no oversight
Calgary Herald | 15/05/08Many teens are unsupervised as they surf online into potentially treacherous areas, according to new research from the University of Lethbridge that tracked the web activity of southern Alberta teenagers.
Outstanding Educators Honoured
McGuinty Government Celebrates Excellence in Education
CNW | 02/05/2008During Education Week, twenty-three educators and support staff were recognized with a provincial education award. Education Minister Kathleen Wynne presented the Premier's Awards for Teaching Excellence at a special ceremony.
Healthy Schools Website Update
ON Min of Ed | 13/05/2008
This is the second year that schools across Ontario have participated in the Healthy Schools Recognition Program. Over the last two years, more than 1,700 schools participated, pledging more than 4,500 new activities. We are still processing applications.
National Media Education Week gains partners and momentum in its third year
CTF | 12/05/2008 Media Awareness Network (MNet) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) will join with collaborators and participants across the country to celebrate Canada's third annual National Media Education Week, November 3-7, 2008. Media Awareness Network (MNet) and the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF) will join with collaborators and participants across the country to celebrate Canada's third annual National Media Education Week, November 3-7, 2008.
SMART celebrates 100 Showcase Schools
Naperville Central High School in Illinois is 100th SMART Showcase School
SMART Technologies | 05/05/08SMART Technologies announces that Naperville Central High School in Naperville, Illinois, is the 100th SMART Showcase School. The high school, part of Naperville Community Unit School District 203, exemplifies the qualities of all SMART Showcase Schools. Each school demonstrates the benefits of using SMART education solutions to create an engaging 21st-century learning environment, and staff is committed to sharing results with the education community.
SMART reduces price of wide-format interactive whiteboard
Price reduction makes popular SMART Board more affordable for North American educators
SMART Tech | 12/05/2008 SMART Technologies announces a 10 percent price reduction for North American educators on its 94" (238.8 cm) SMART Board™ 690 interactive whiteboard. The lower price will help more educators integrate wide-format boards into their total classroom solution. The 690 was launched in June 2006 and offers a 16:9 aspect ratio and 33 percent more active working surface than SMART's most popular 680 model.
Event: ....... Blackboard K-12 Canadian Academic Suite Online Webinar
Date: ......... June 12, 2008
Location: ... N/A
Event: ....... NECC San Antonio, Texas
Date: ......... June 29-July 2, 2008
Event: ....... Canadian Association of School Administrators
Date: ......... July 10-13, 2008
Event: ....... Blackboard World
Date: ......... July 15-17, 2008
Location: ... Las Vegas
Event: ....... Constructing Modern Knowledge-A Minds-On Institute for Educators
Date: ......... July 28-31, 2008
Event: ....... ABEL SUMMER INSTITUTE 2008
Date: ......... August 18-20, 2008
Event: ....... EdNet
Date: ......... September 14-16, 2008
Location: ... Boston, MA
Event Link
Event: ....... ELEVATE 2008Date: ......... August 24-27, 2008 Location: ... Banff, Alberta Event Link
Event: ....... ECOO 2008 ConferenceDate: ......... November 13-14, 2008 Location: ... Richmond Hill, ON Event Link
Event: ....... The 2nd IEEE International Conference on Digital Game and Intelligent Toy Enhanced Learning
Date: ......... November 17-19, 2008
Location: ... Banff, Alberta
Event Link K-12 Ask A Teacher
 Joni Turville, B.Ed, M. Ed (Instructional Technology) , Educator, AISI Coordinator, St. Albert Protestant Schools, MindShare Learning Report Board member
Q: As a Differentiated Instruction expert, how can technology enable teachers to implement D.I. strategies in their teaching practice?
A: Differentiated Instruction (DI) is a philosophy - a way of thinking about teaching and learning. Fundamental to this philosophy is the belief that students are different and learn in different ways. It aims to engage all students and to use many different approaches to help them achieve learner outcomes.
Wondering what to do with your old computer equipment? Dell has recycling programs that allow for the free return of all Dell branded products.
Nine Ways to Save the World with Your College Degree
WWL | 24/04/08
The virtual classroom streamlines the educational process, making college degrees more accessible to students--and a lot easier on Mother Nature. As we finally start trying to reverse the effects humans have had on the planet, it's not a moment too soon.
All colleges 'forced to go green'
BBC | 28/04/08
All newly or partly built colleges will have to adopt wind turbines, solar panels or other renewable energy, under plans to cut global warming.
With energy costs soaring to record levels, taking steps to reduce energy consumption isn't just good for the environment--it's also essential for the fiscal health of schools
eSchool News | 30/05/08At a recent webinar on "green" computing, panelists discussed several ways school leaders can reduce the power consumption of their technology systems...and ways they can use technology to cut other energy expenditures, too. GreenIT Education Links :
Web 2.0 Sites of the Month by Timothy Gard
Timothy Gard, B.Ed, M.A. has had over a decade of hands-on involvement with students and teachers in information and communication technology. He loves innovative ideas, integrating technology across the curriculum and engaging students in the ever-changing world of technology. He currently teaches media literacy and communication at Sir Adam Beck J. S. in the Toronto District School Board. www.iterasi.comwww.livemocha.com - Online language learning. Very effective! www.buzzword.com - In my opinion, the best web-based word processor! Easy collaboration and very intuitive user-interface. www.eyejot.com - Free 60 second video email clips. Nothing to download and easy to use! www.clipmarks.com - Pretty much as indicated! You can clip from the web and mark it here! Searchable database... www.picnik.com - Online photo editing; definitely easy! Give it a whirl with some of the photos they've provided to see how easy it is. www.easycropper.com - Simple, and easy as pie! Upload an image, crop it and voila, your cropped image ready for download. www.podcastpeople.com - Straight from the 'horse's mouth': PodcastPeople.com is a simple web-based service that allows individuals to create audio and video episodes, write blog posts, and interact with their audience. From free to $30.00/mth.
21st Century Leadership Spotlight--University of Saskatchewan
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Higher Education: Introduction
Vodcast Welcome
Welcome to the June 2008 Edition of the MindShare Learning Report, Canada's Premier Education and Technology Publication. Our focus for this months issue is Green IT.
This Higher Education Section contains an article on requiring all new or partially built Colleges in England to be carbonless by 2016, articles on the formation of new Canadian Universities, a York University briefing about Canadian participation during the upcoming American NASA Phoenix Project, Mars landing, as well as articles on developing academic websites, Mobile GMAT testing and using technology to better understand and improve Higher Education student retention.
The Ask a Professor Section features an essay by Dr. Richard Levy, Director of Computing at the University of Calgary's Faculty of Environmental Design. He presents information on Virtual Learning Environments and their effects upon the Green IT movement.
Mitchel N. Townsend, M.A. EdTech
MindShare Learning Associate
Editor, Higher Education
Before printing think about the Environment. Avant l' impression, il faut penser � l'Environnement.
Higher Education: Headlines
Apollo Group, Inc. Launches New University
APO | 13/05/08Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL) ("Apollo Group," "Apollo" or "the Company") today announced that it plans to establish a new Canadian institution, named Meritus University ("Meritus" or "the University").
Student Retention: Are Schools Taking Advantage of Technology?
Cam Tech | 13/05/08
College and university administrators consider personal attention to be the most critical factor in retaining at risk students. But what role should technology play in the effort? York U to hold media briefing on upcoming Mars landing
CNW | 14/05/08
York University researchers leading the Canadian science team for NASA's Phoenix Mission will hold a media briefing on Friday, May 16, prior to the spacecraft's May 25 landing on Mars. GMAT Mobile Testing Centre Set to Begin Journey Across Canada
CNW | 20/05/08
Aspiring business school students in Canada have a new way to take the Graduate Management Admission Test(R) (GMAT(R)), the entrance exam used by more than 4,000 graduate business schools around the world, this summer - a mobile testing unit that will travel to 14 universities in cities across seven Canadian provinces. Building a Competitive Web Strategy for an Academic Site
Cam Tech | 21/05/08
In this fictional scenario, Trent Batson examines a typical department's struggle to redesign its Web presence, posing questions like: "We can't help but notice that social sites like YouTube and Facebook are awfully easy to use -- why can't our academic site be more like them?" Algoma University is Ontario's newest university
CNW | 30/05/08Legislation creating Algoma University, Ontario's newest university, passed third and final reading today in the Ontario legislature.
Higher Education: Upcoming Events
Event: ....... Distance Education Technology Symposium
Date: ......... June 12 - 14, 2008
Location: ... Edmonton, Alberta
Event: ....... CANHEIT 2008
Date: ......... June 14-18, 2008
Location: ... Calgary, Alberta
Event: ....... 6th Annual Canadian E-Learning Conference
Date: ......... June 17-20, 2008
Location: ... University of Calgary Campus
Event: ....... Leveraging Learning for Regional Development: An International Forum, Learning Cities and Region
Date: ......... June 24-27, 2008
Location: ... Thunder Bay, ON
Event: ....... IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society
Date: ......... June 26-28, 2008
Location: ... Fredericton, NB
Event: ....... SCUP's Annual International Conference and Idea Marketplace
Date: ......... July 19-23, 2008
Location: ... Montreal, QC
Higher Education: Ask a professor?
Q: "What Impact do you feel your work in the area of virtual learning environments will have on the GreenIT movement?"
A: Green IT is a key concern among leaders in business, government and education. Over 1.5% of all electricity in the US and Canada goes to computing resources. A triple bottom line approach to computing must consider many factors: the life cycle of equipment, the virtualization of server resources, and the potential savings in energy and resources from telecommuting.
Richard M. Levy, M.Arch, Ph.D.,AIA Assoc., MCIP Professor of Planning
Director of Computing
Faculty of Environmental Design
University of Calgary
2500 University Dr. NW
Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4
(403) 220-3633
FAX:(403) 284-4399
http://www.ucalgary.ca/evds/levy
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Career Opportunities
The NECTAR Foundation has an immediate need for two programmers to develop educational software programs. Candidates must be proficient in Mathematics, Flash, and Flash ActionScript 2 or 3 programming. Strong preference will be given to successful graduates of a university or college computer science program. Candidates must be creative individuals with excellent problem solving, communication, time management, interpersonal and teamwork skills. NECTAR offers a creative atmosphere and a productive teamwork environment. Send resumes to: info@nectar.ca
2. Associate Dean, Graduate Division of Educational Research Faculty of Education University of Calgary
You can view more details about this position by visiting the AcademicKeys.com website:
The Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary invites applications for a tenure-track position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor for the position of Associate Dean, Graduate Division of Educational Research (GDER) in the Faculty of Education.
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Research and Tech Tools
The Way Forward: Simcoe County District School Board Consults Stakeholders about the use of Information and Communication Technologies
The Learning Partnership | 29/05/08
How would you like to use computers and other kinds of technology at your school?
Class, Open Your Phones
School CIO | 01/06/08
Trends suggest that mobile phones have educational potential.
Cell phones are often tolerated in schools as long as they are turned off during lessons; sometimes they're banned outright. But as mobile technologies continue to improve and pioneers find innovative ways to use them, it's only a matter of time before students are admonished for not bringing their phones to class.
EDUCAUSE Review
May-June 2008
Which IT issue is of top concern to technology leaders in higher education today? Did the number-one issue of 2007-Funding IT-continue to be of prime importance to college and university IT leaders? Did new issues emerge on the top-ten list? Did issues from last year drop off the list this year?
Computer-based learning is on the cusp of transforming traditional public education
06/05/08
Hoover say Harvard Business School's Clayton M. Christensen and his colleague Michael B. Horn in the summer 2008 issue of Education Next
Researchers identify key ed-tech trends -- One-to-one computing, online assessment on the rise in schools--but keeping up with bandwidth needs is a problem
eSchool News | 15/05/09
Widespread adoption of one-to-one computing programs and the growing use of online assessments are among the key ed-tech trends occurring in schools across the country, according to the 2008 America's Digital Schools report.
People for Education Releases Annual Report on Ontario's Schools
PFE | 23/05/08
How are schools faring in Ontario?
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June continues to be a busy travel and conference month. I recently returned from meetings in Long Beach last week with my client, EPSON. I was intrigued by the knowledge I gained in LCD projection technology which EPSON incidentally invented and currently hold the #1 brand leadership position in the world. I took the opportunity to connect with fellow Pepperdine Alums and professors while in the L.A. area. I had a visual lesson in paraskiing from Dr. Paul Sparks, while Dr. Gary Stager shared news of his Constructing Knowledge Conference July 28-31 in New Hampshire www.constructingmodernknowledge.com over dinner. Gary and his partner Sylvia put on quite a spread. Gary's Ribs were to die for. I need to get myself a smoker! I enjoyed meeting up with Dr. Eric Hamilton associate dean, Graduate School of Education and Psychology, Pepperdine University. I was impressed with his passion for technology and his past connections with Canada through SMART Technologies. Max Valiquette's keynote at the ECNO conference recently was outstanding, best ever in my opinion! His research on youth and 21st Century Learning is very insightful, entertaining and peppered with humor, checkout his website, http://www.youthography.com. It was great to see Mike Parkhill and his team from Microsoft while at the ECNO conference. I was interested to learn about Microsoft's Live@ edu space, check it out, https://try.liveatedu.com MindShare Learning was featured in last month's issue of the Mississauga Business Times. I'll be attending the Mississauga Technology Awards, June 16 at the Living Arts Centre. MindShare Learning is honoured to be nominated in the small business category, www.mississaugatechnologyawards.com Rheal Dumont from NECTAR Foundation tells me that Education PD looking for pilot sites EDPD for FREE, please don't hesitate to contact Rheal directly, rheal.dumont@nectar.ca. Jeff Hainbuch, Toronto District School Board Superintendent NW4, is breaking new ground using the latest in Wiki technology to create his region's school improvement plan in collaboration with his team of area principals and administrators. I spent the morning working with his team in exploring the power of Wikispaces, www.wikispaces.com. This is quite ground breaking for a district in Canada to embark on such an ambitious project that will include teachers, administrators and students. Jeff, I commend you for taking a leap of faith, you're well on your way to transforming into a 21st Century Sup! MindShare Learning board member, Joni Turville is happy to announce that her second book in a series for Eye on Education is coming out in about 2 weeks. Here is the link: http://eyeoneducation.com/prodinfo.asp?number=7082%2D2. The book series has a "Technology Connection" throughout. The new book will be a feature on the publisher's website called "Tales from a Teacher's Heart," will be released this month. Congratulations Joni! Mitchel Townsend, the Higher Education Editor has just returned from his journey to Tahiti where he was a guest of InterContinetal Hotels. The management arranged a visit to the University of French Polynesia, where he was able to evaluate their IT and Online Education programs. His visit presented some unexpected opportunities that we will share with you in future issues around eLearning. As a member of the York University Chair's Cup golf tournament committee, I'm pleased to report we raised $600, 000 to support 40 student scholarships at York University. It was a great day of golf at Copper Creek and a great opportunity to invest in future leaders. Congrats to co-chairs Guy Burry and Greg Stack, and Paul Marcus, president of the York University Foundation for their leadership. Mr. Marcus also announced that York's Power of 50 Campaign is well on its way to achieving and surpassing the $250 million goal. I will be attending the NECC conference later this month in San Antonio, http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008 to learn about the latest technologies on tap at North America's leading EdTech conference. As always, please keep the news coming! It's great to share success stories and other inspiring newsworthy items from across Canada. Until next time, it's about passion and a call to action! Cheers, R.
Publisher & Managing Editor, The MindShare Learning Report |
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Congratulations to The Learning Partnership Tribute Dinner Honourees--True Champions of Public Education
In this picture:
Left to right - Michael McCain, President, Maple Leaf Foods and Master of Ceremonies, Dr. John Evans, honouree, Dr. Indira Samarasekera, honouree, Veronica Lacey, President and CEO, The Learning Partnership, Gordon M. Nixon, honouree, Claude Lamoureux, Board Chair, The Learning Partnership
The Tribute Dinner honours outstanding individuals whose life long passion, dedication and hard work have contributed to continuing to make the Canadian public education system strong, effective and recognized the world over as one of the very best.
Advisory Board Members
Dr. Greg Malszecki, Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences, York University
Dr. Ron Owston, York University, Director, Institute for Research on Learning Technology
Dr. Paul Sparks, Pepperdine University, Director, Online Masters in Education Technology
Joni Turville, B.Ed, M. Ed (Instructional Technology) , Educator, AISI Coordinator, St. Albert Protestant Schools
Tim Gard, B. Ed. M.A., Media Literacy & Communication Teacher, Toronto District School Board
Cathy Phillips, M. Ed., Director, Round Table on Technology, The Learning Partnership
Ron Sedran, MD, Equity Capital Markets, Canaccord Adams
Marty Keast, President, Pearson Learning K-12 Canada
David Marsi, Program Manager, Practice Management, AIM Trimark Investments |
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About Us
The MindShare Learning Report team is made up of the following individuals:
- Robert Martellacci, M.A. Ed Tech., Publisher and Managing Editor, contact: robert@mindsharelearning.com,
- Mitchel N. Townsend, M.A. Ed Tech., Editor, Higher Education, contact: mitch@mindsharelearning.com
- Muhammad Noman, B.A Comp. Sci., Design & Development
About the MindShare Learning Report
The MindShare Learning Report is a publication of MindShare Learning. Editorial content for the monthly issue is due the third week of each month. Please forward your news releases as web links to info@mindsharelearning.com
Annual subscriptions to the MindShare Learning Report can be purchased at $99 CDN.
MindShare's Learning is a privately held company (a division of Martellacci & Associates, Inc.) based in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. Its hallmark is providing strategic sales & marketing solutions to learning & technology companies in the K-12, HED and corporate learning markets. MindShare Learning's partial client list includes: Adobe (Macromedia), Blackboard Inc., EPSON, Essential Skills Software Inc., RM PLC UK, Softease Ltd. UK, THINKronize (netTrekker), IMSI (ClipArt.com), CERC (Canadian Education Resources Council), NECTAR Foundation and ERDI Canada. MindShare Learning is a proud publisher of the MindShare Learning Report--'Canada's Source for Learning & Technology Industry News.'
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