An e-Learning platform for SME Manager Upgrade and its Evolution Toward a Distributed Training Envir
The purpose of this paper is to describe the work in progress related to the customisation, the trial and the evaluation of an innovative e-learning platform for manager upgrade in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in the framework of an EC funded project named InTraServ and its forthcoming re-engineering process aimed to the adoption of distributed services in the framework of another EC funded project named Diogene.
The present e-learning solution includes several state-of-the-art technologi
Human and Artificial Agent's Conversations on the GRID
This position paper supports a conversational and social view of future e-Learning activities on the GRID.
This evolution of the Web seems to be nicely synergic with current developments in Agents and Agent Communication Languages.
Exactly what e-Learning needs in order to go over from a multimedia-based, passive or at best retroactive view of e-Learning resources to a proactive, peer-to-peer approach of social conversations among human and (progressively) artificial autonomous Agents.
How GRID could improve E-Learning in the environmental science domain
This paper will outline the requirements for an interactive e-learning system defined as part of the German research project GIMOLUS [1].
After a short overview over the Open Grid Service Architecture (OGSA) it will be shown that the capabilities of existing e-learning solutions are too limited in order to fulfil these requirements.
The last part will show how a GIMOLUS system could be built using a GRID service architecture and what the benefits are in doing so.
Resource-adaptive Selection of Strategies in Learning from Worked-Out Examples
Most tasks can be pursued by using different strategies (Logan, 1985; Reder & Schunn, 1998). In this paper we focus on strategies of learning from worked-out examples. Within a resourceoriented framework these different strategies can be classified according to their costs and benefits. These features may determine which strategy will be selected for accomplishing a task in situations with certain resource limitations. We investigate specific hypotheses about strategic adaptations to resource li
Kaleidoscope JEIRP on Learning Patterns for the Design and Deployment of Mathematical Games: Final R
Over the last few years have witnessed a growing recognition of the educational
potential of computer games. However, it is generally agreed that the process of
designing and deploying TEL resources generally and games for mathematical
learning specifically is a difficult task. The Kaleidoscope project, "Learning patterns
for the design and deployment of mathematical games", aims to investigate this
problem. We work from the premise that designing and deploying games for
mathematical learning re
Movement Music Medley
This collection of songs and images highlights the role of music in the Civil Rights movement.
Dancing after Dark: A Rural Woman Recalls Farm Life in the Early 20th century
Although we sometimes think of farm and factory as antithetical, many people moved easily between the two. Icy Norman grew up in North Carolina, the daughter of a miner. As a young woman she worked long hours in a textile mill, but she also helped with the farm chores, especially seasonal chores like the corn shucking described here. In this excerpt from a 1979 interview conducted by the Southern Oral History Program at the University of North Carolina, she recalled family and friends rolling up
Ballad to a Massacre: Private Prather's Portrait of Wounded Knee
In 1888 Plains Indians enacted a religious ritual seeking delivery from white domination, which took the form of a five-night dance (dubbed the "Ghost Dance" by whites). Two years later, the U.S. Army extinguished this vision of hope and defiance at the battle at Wounded Knee Creek on December 29, 1890. W. H. Prather, an African-American private in the Ninth Cavalry and the regimental poet, wrote "The Indian Ghost Dance and War," which recounted in ballad form the military's perspective on the m
"The Baby Was Made 'Delegate No. 800'": Frances Willard Meets Elizabeth Rodgers in the 1880s
The commitment of the Knights of Labor to equality for women was more than rhetorical, as seen in the career of Elizabeth Rodgers, the Master Workman, or head, of the organization's giant Chicago District No. 24. This 1889 portrait of Rodgers, offered by leading national anti-liquor activist Frances Willard, underscored the desire on the part of many Knights, both men and women, to connect the struggle for labor reform with a broader vision that included vehement opposition to liquor. It also sh
"Organize among Yourselves": Mary Gale on Unemployed Organizing in the Great Depression
The Communist-led Unemployed Councils were the first and the most active of the radical movements that sought to mobilize the jobless during the Great Depression. In this interview, which is taken from the radio series "Grandma Was an Activist," relief worker Mary Gale, who was sympathetic to radicals and the jobless, described how she worked behind the scenes to encourage her clients to organize and demand better treatment. The jobless and the poor had few advocates for them, and radicals like
Kissing Rudy Valentino: A High-School Student Describes Movie Going in the 1920s
Fears about the impact of movies on youth led to the Payne Fund research project, which brought together nineteen social scientists and resulted in eleven published reports. One of the most fascinating of the studies was carried out by Herbert Blumer, a young sociologist who would later go on to a distinguished career in the field. For a volume that he called Movies and Conduct (1933), Blumer asked more than fifteen hundred college and high school students to write "autobiographies"of their expe
"I Am Obliged to Reside in America": A Gay Immigrant Tells His Story in 1882
The reasons immigrants had for leaving their homelands and coming to America were as diverse as the backgrounds of the immigrants themselves. Although most immigrants came to the United States for economic reasons some sought a new home because of persecution based on their politics, religious beliefs, or even their sexual orientation. In this 1882 letter sent to medical writer and sexologist Dr. Richard von Krafft-Ebing, a thirty-eight-year-old German-born merchant explained how a homosexual ar
Super Bowl parties and alcohol
For Americans, Super Bowl Sunday means laughter, cheering, camaraderie, plenty of food and for many -- alcohol. Watching sporting events and consuming alcohol go hand-in-hand, and this year is likely to be no different. But if you plan to imbibe, you could be contributing to a serious public health risk.
University of Minnesota School of Public Health expert Darin Erickson offers some tips on a successful Super Bowl Sunday that includes alcohol
"Everything Was Lively": David Hickman Describes the Prosperity Late Nineteenth-Century Railroads Br
The availability of rail connections often determined whether a western community would survive or die. The rails fostered prosperity by bringing both goods and people. This trade, and the local service industries that sprouted up to capitalize on the movement of people and goods, drove many local economies. Here, David Hickman talked about the boom years that followed the arrival of the railroad in the Latah County, Idaho town of Genesee in the 1880s.
Breaking down Super Bowl advertising
Why is a 30-second commercial in Sunday's Super Bowl worth $3 million? How can viewers score the advertising winners and losers? And what role will social media play in the marketing game plan this year?
University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management professor George John discusses these issues surrounding the "Big Game" and more.
"Nobody Would Eat Kraut": Lola Gamble Clyde on Anti-German Sentiment in Idaho During World War I
When the United States went to war against Germany in 1917, German Americans faced vicious and unfair attacks on their loyalty. Many anti-German incidents were not recorded, but they lived on powerfully in people's memories. In this 1976 interview, Lola Gamble Clyde, the daughter of an Irish-born Presbyterian minister and a teenager during World War I, described the "hysteria" that faced German Americans in rural Latah County, Idaho.
The Grand Canyon
Over the course of several lessons, this lesson plan deals with the consequences of damming in the Grand Canyon area. Students act as scientists investigating the damming of the Colorado River by the Glen Canyon dam and experimental flooding that took place in 1996. They then write a proposal as to whether or not more experimental flooding should be done on the area considering the ecological effects. This topic has great potential for an Earth Systems Science class, as the consequences of dammi
Exploration to Mars... or Not? An Exercise with Split-Screen Electronic Peer Review
Split-screen technology is utilized for an electronic peer review assignment that has students justify whether humans should continue their investigations of the Red Planet or not. This Starting Point page builds a context for the activity by describing the learning goals, teaching notes and materials, and recommending assessment methods. References and resource links are included.
TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS)
This site provides users with a friendly web-based interface for visualization and analysis of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), gridded rainfall products and other precipitation data. It is applicable to variety of researches and applications, such as climate study and monitoring, weather events study and monitoring, agricultural crop monitoring, rainfall algorithm study, and data products comparison.
The Tofte Project
This site provides a description of a cabin in Tofte, MN on the North Shore of Lake Superior. The new owner of the cabin decided to remake it into a model of sustainable building practices. The site includes several dozen flash animations looking at sustainability from many angles as well as the specifics of the house and its surroundings.
A pdf of the project goals is available at http://www.tofteproject.com/misc/project_goals.pdf
