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The Annual IT Futures Education Summit: Friday, May 18th at Microsoft

The 2007 Washington State IT Futures Education Summit is scheduled for Friday, May 18th, 2007 at the Microsoft Corporate Conference Center. Be sure and save the date (online registration link below) so you can join your fellow technical and workforce development instructors across our state in discovering new and innovative ways to improve IT education. This one-day free event features several industry and education speakers in various disciplines of IT to share the impacts, challenges, growth and demands of technology.Sessions will include: Digital Natives & Social Networking, Science, Math, & Technology for Health Care; Effective Power Point Presentations/Camtasia Studio; Microsoft’s “Classrooms of the Near Future”; Office 2007; Vista; and, Presentation Platforms. Included within the day’s activities are drawings for great giveaways (books, seats to the 2007 Working Connections IT Faculty Development Institute, and more)! Morning and afternoon refreshments will be served, as well as lunch, and parking is free.

Keynote Speaker:

Daniel Rasmus, Director of Information Work Vision, Microsoft

As director of Information Work Vision in Microsoft Corp.’s Information Worker New Markets group, Daniel Rasmus guides the research process that allows Microsoft to envision how people will work in the future. As part of these efforts, he oversees the Center for Information Work and manages the Industry Innovations and Future of Information Work programs. Rasmus analyzes trends in technology, society, education, labor and economics to devise scenarios used by Microsoft in developing products for tomorrow’s work force.

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Microsoft Windows Vista Training Available Online for Teachers Statewide

Are you getting ready to teach and/or support Windows Vista at your campus? The NWCET and Center for IT Excellence at Bellevue Community College (BCC) is working with Microsoft Learning to promote and offer a series of Vista training workshops online. These sessions are available beginning in April 2007 and can be a great addition for those of you getting ready for more in-depth and in-person educational opportunities with Vista at our faculty professional development Working Connections Institute later this summer (August 21-24) at BCC.
The online Vista modules include a series of six 2-hour online courses for faculty and staff at academic institutions. As a participant in the online courses, you will receive complimentary copies of select Microsoft Official Academic Curriculum (MOAC) titles. Topics for the six online courses include

Vista’s Role in the Next Revolution of Computing
Security Enhancements in Windows Vista
User Productivity Enhancements in Windows Vista
Monitoring and Managing Windows Vista
Windows Vista and Active Directory
Upgrading Existing Installations to Windows Vista

Cost is $30 per course, including a Virtual Lab or you can sign up for all 6 courses for a discounted price of $150. Registration is now available! Please note that you must register using your email address from your institution so that your status as an academic faculty or staff member can be validated.

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The 9th Annual Washington Working Connections Institute: August 21-24, 2007 at Bellevue Community College

Mark your calendars for the 9th annual Washington State Working Connections IT Faculty Development Institute which will be taking place at Bellevue Community College from August 21st through August 24th. The tracks have been selected for this year’s Institute and include: Office 2007; Access 2007; Vista for the User and the Administrator; Podcasting; Digital Forensics; Adobe Creative Suite and Flash. Faculty across the state are already registering.

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Microsoft Certification Exam Discounts Available through June
All Microsoft certification exams are 40% off the regular price from now thru the end of June. For more information about this great discount for faculty, staff and students at schools statewide go to http://www.microsoft.com/learning/offers/cert/ or contact CITE.

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Bellevue Community College Designated the Second Microsoft® IT Showcase School in the Nation

Microsoft Corp. has designated Bellevue Community College (BCC) the second Microsoft® IT Showcase School in the nation, recognizing the college’s leadership in preparing students for the digital age. "The future economic health of our region and the nation depends on preparing students for the growing opportunities provided by advances in technology," said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. "That's why we support Bellevue Community College's trailblazing efforts in technology education. We want to help other colleges learn from BCC’s success, so that even more students can benefit."The IT Showcase School program seeks to recognize those institutions of higher learning that have demonstrated leadership in information technology (IT) education and teaching and help them share that knowledge and experience broadly.
Read the full story

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Job Shadow Faculty Reports for 2006: "Linking IT Educators with Washington State Businesses"

The CITE Instructor Job Shadow Program provides an opportunity for instructors to observe first-hand the advances of technology in the workplace. The goal is to equip instructors with the knowledge and skills to infuse relevant IT practices in the classroom to benefit their students and programs. Participating businesses, or Workplace Hosts, can contribute by matching the instructor with an employee who can provide advice, examples, and real-work experience as it applies to the area of study.
Read the 2006 Job Shadow faculty reports

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News for the Classroom

The Challenge of Teaching "Digital Natives"

This month (April 2007) the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET) will publish Information Technology Trends Assessment 2007-2008: Industry, the New Learner and Implications for Education. A PDF copy will be sent out through the Workforce Education Council list serve. Go to http://www.nwcet.org to order a hard-copy of this text.

Emerging IT Trends in Careers, Skills & Technologies
Collaborative Tech-Enabled Work & Education
New Generation Digital Natives Preferences and Behaviors

The report includes sections on trends in the IT workforce, technology, the workplace and education, as well as a focus on specific industry sectors: Business Intelligence, Healthcare Informatics, and Global and Public Health Informatics. In each section of the report, a summary of how these trends impact education, with an emphasis on community colleges, is included along with recommendations for curricular revision and new program directions.
Trends Assessment 2007-2008 relies heavily on research conducted by large industry research and professional organizations and by the US and Washington State Departments of Labor. The report includes references from industry experts, professional organizations, education leaders and government agencies for more in-depth reading and analysis.

Preview the IT Trends Assessment
As technology tools become less expensive, present increasingly user-friendly features, provide enhanced information access and mobility and offer progressively more sophisticated business applications, technology-enabled processes are becoming an integral part of more and more business functions.
Even though the pace of technology infusion varies between industry sectors and from one organization to another depending on the industry/organization reliance on information, overall this rate of change is increasing rapidly. New technology tools force the redesign of established business processes, while at the same time new business thinking gives impetus to the creation of new technology tools and to new ways to apply already existing tools.
This rate of change is poised to accelerate as the newest workers — the “digital natives” — enter the workplace bringing their technology expectations and technology-supported communication styles to the work environment.

Excerpted from:
The Information Technology Trends Assessment 2007-2008: “Industry, the New Learner and Implications for Education”
Michele Royer, PhD, Author
Publication by the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies, spring 2007
www.nwcet.org
Bellevue Community College
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Experts: Ed Tech Must Change its Message
eSchool News, Dennis Pierce, Managing Editor

March 30, 2007—Supporters of educational technology need to change their message when talking with stakeholders, and they need to advocate more forcefully for change in higher education: These were the key points made during a special roundtable discussion featuring past board chairs of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN).
But two themes stood out in particular: (1) the need to shift the focus in the national dialogue about educational technology from the technology itself to the changes it enables in teaching and learning, and (2) the need to overhaul teacher education in the United States to produce a new generation of educators who are not only comfortable with technology, but expect it to be used in schools.
Read the full story.

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Microsoft Previews New Development Tools
'Grava' aims to simplify the creation of educational software eSchool News, Justin AppelTo reduce the time and cost associated with educational software development, Microsoft is creating a new software environment and publishing tools--code-named "Grava"--that reportedly will allow even educators with no programming skills to develop media-rich instructional content.

January 30, 2007 -- Microsoft is developing a new suite of tools that will allow developers and publishers of educational software, as well as educators themselves, to create their own instructional programs easily and intuitively, the company says. Users would control these programs on their computer screens, using a media player that Microsoft expects will ship with all Windows-based computers in the near future. The entire software environment is code-named "Grava."
Read the full story.

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Students' new best friend: 'MoSoSo'
The Christian Science Monitor, Gloria Goodale(Published online in USA Today)

January 22, 2007 -- Walk on a college campus these days and you'll see cellphones everywhere, but only some being used for conversations. Baruch College sophomore Yelena Slatkina in New York City recently rustled up an emergency sub at work by typing a plea to her entire work group on her cellphone. University of South Florida sophomore Nate Fuller routinely uses his cellphone equipped with Global Positioning Software (GPS) to find recruits for his intramural football team and locate friends in Tampa. Texas 21-year-old Brittany Bohnet uses photos she and 20 of her networked buddies snap on their phones to locate one another, using visual landmarks they spot in the pictures they send.
Read the full story.

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Gamers take to OSU lab to shape gaming technology
Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com

January 15, 2007 -- (AP) — Playing the latest video games is more than a pastime for new media students at Oregon State University, who are doing research to help shape the next generation of the booming gaming industry.
Read the full story.

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Web Fuels 'Democratization' of Knowledge: More Schools are Posting Course Materials Online, Free of Charge
From eSchool News staff and wire service reports

March 28, 2007—Getting into college might be tougher today than it used to be--but an increasing number of top schools are now offering courses free of charge online. What's more, some program administrators report giving away course content actually is having a positive impact on student recruitment.
Read the full story.

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Report: Broader Skills Best for College Grads
Education Week, Alyson Klein

January 17, 2007 -- As the federal government begins to nudge the higher education system toward greater accountability for student learning, a report released here last week outlines the skills college graduates need to be successful in the global economy and suggests how colleges can impart them.
Whether students majored in art history or nursing, their degrees should signal that they have a firm grasp of critical thinking, teamwork, and written communication, as well as an understanding of civics, ethics, and different cultures, according to the report by the American Association of Colleges and Universities. The Washington-based organization represents 1,100 colleges, many of them focused on the liberal arts.
Read the full story.

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States Tackle Global Competitiveness
Governors seek to boost math, science, and technology education in their State of the State addresses
eSchool, news staff and wire service reports

January 26, 2007 -- As eSchool News reported on Jan. 24, President Bush cited the competitiveness of American students as a critical challenge in his 2007 State of the Union address (see story: Bush to Congress: Renew NCLB this year). It's a challenge that also has resonated with governors and other high-ranking state officials from coast to coast. From increasing the rigor of the high school curriculum, to focusing more attention on math, science, and technology instruction, many U.S. governors this year have proposed new education programs that aim to raise high school graduation rates and better prepare students for success in the 21st century. And many of these proposals, in turn, rely on the use of educational technology.
Read the full story.

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Best Practices, Initiatives, Products, and Projects

Business Intelligence

RFID in '06 and '07: Years of Ups and Downs
From eweek.com, Renee Boucher Ferguson

It turns out 2006 wasn't quite the banner year for RFID adoption that some analysts had predicted – particularly in the retail and consumer packaged goods sectors where fast growth was expected. And it looks like the coming year won't be much different.
Analysts are predicting some pockets of growth–asset tracking and contactless smart cards, for example–while others will still struggle to find a business case for radio-frequency identification.
Read the full story.

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Business Technology

5 Disruptive Technologies To Watch In 2007
From Information Week.Com, David Strom

January 1, 2007 -- 2007 will be the year when a host of hot technologies which have been percolating around the mainstream rise high on the radar screens of CIOs and IT managers. We'll look at five of the more significant, including RFID, advanced graphics, and virtualization.
2007 will be the year when a host of hot technologies which have been percolating around the mainstream rise high on the radar screens of CIOs and IT managers.
Read the full story.

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Life Science

Put the Tech in Bio

More and more, students and employers are expecting life science coursework to include mastery of technology in the field. Community and technical colleges may feel the squeeze of these expectations if curriculum hasn't been updated with IT in mind.
Several new, free tools to help colleges raise the bar in biology and chemistry classes can be easily downloaded and put right to work in the classroom. Developed by Bellevue Community College in its role as the National Community College Life Science Informatics Center of Expertise (part of a Dept. of Labor grant), the curricular elements are designed to keep life science learning relevant.
Case studies, instructor guides, skill standards and other rich resources to assist community college life science program builders are found here.
(click on Publications & Resources)
Read the full story.

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Database Administration

Very Large Databases and High Availability Evaluating Replication Options
Database Journal, By Sreeram Surapaneni

Introduction: Today's Database managers are more challenged than ever to find the appropriate tools and technologies for their mission-critical databases. When these databases are very large it requires a tremendous amount of effort to create a High Availability architecture that provides a continuously available solution that is robust and that works even during upgrades and maintenance with zero downtime.
Read the full story.

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Multi-Media and Web

Chestnut Hill to Launch iPod Sound System at Macworld
From Techweb.Com, Antone Gonsalves

January 02, 2007 -- Chestnut Hill Sound recently launched a digital audio system for the iPod that combines a wireless remote and an AM/FM radio and alarm with a music playback system. It has been named Macworld’s Best of Show and PC Magazine’s Editor’s Choice.
Chestnut's new George was one of many iPod accessories featured at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco.
Read the full story.

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Long Live the Net Video Revolution
From Business Week.Com, Catherine Holahan

January 2, 2007 -- Vlogging, citizen journalism, and other facets of the online video phenomenon will shine on in the New Year.
In 2005, Isam Rasheed hadn't heard about video blogging. The explosion of bombs outside his Iraq home had drowned out the buzz around YouTube, MySpace (NWS), and the new, user-generated Internet. But Rasheed, a 33-year-old former engineer turned video producer, knew well the power of images. So when 26-year-old Brian Conley came to Iraq asking for help creating a video blog about Baghdad, Rasheed answered the call.
Read the full story
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General Information and Computing Technology

Six ed-tech trends to watch in 2007
eSchool News, By Gregg W. Downey, Editor
Service-oriented architecture, ‘cloud computing’ among the developments sure to have an impact on educational technology in the coming year.

December 22, 2006 -- Educational technology at last has progressed to the point where differentiated, individualized instruction clearly is possible for students anywhere on the planet. It can be delivered at any time, in just the right form, with whatever frequency might be required. This has long been the dream of educational technologists. And today the dream has come true--at least in terms of the technology. The barriers to universal access are no longer technical; they're political and financial.
Editor's note: This article is an adaptation of a speech presented at the Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco Oct. 22-26.
Read the full story

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Mission-critical spotlight increasingly shines on Linux
From ITpro.co.uk, Maggie Holland

January 2, 2007 -- The mission-critical workload landscape is changing, with Linux gaining ever-increasing popularity
Almost half of the world's large businesses will favor Linux for their mission-critical applications by the end of 2011, according to research. But most companies won't realize their appetite for open source until at least next year, with just 18 per cent of businesses relying on Linux for such workloads by the end of 2007.
Read the full story

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IT Projects

NWCET IT Skill Standards Project Update: A New Framework for the 21st Century Workforce

NWCET was awarded a National Science Foundation grant, Skill Standards: A Framework for the 21st Century, in September 2005. The project goals were to: 1) create a new IT skill standards framework that allows specific IT and non-IT industry segments to contribute content to NWCET and access the data from a database on the web; and, 2) the new framework would meet the needs of the US IT and IT-enabled workforce and be used by educational institutions to create curriculum to match those needs.
Currently the framework stage-one prototype for the 2D relational database is being developed. The prototype should be ready sometime this summer. If you are interested in being one of the testers, please contact Maureen Majury.
Read the project update

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Announcements

Imagine Cup Competition
© Copyright 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Let’s face it — the world needs help. The kind of help that happens when you take the top young minds from around the globe and turn them loose on solving the world’s toughest problems. That’s what Imagine Cup is all about. This is your chance to innovate and create, show the world what you’ve got, and win some serious prizes. Simply put, it’s your chance to use the power of technology to change the world—and have some fun while you’re at it.
For more information.

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View the Future Potential in IT Now!

Videos from the February 13th Future Potential in IT held at Bellevue Community College are now available for viewing. ‘Major Nelson’ (Larry Hryb) the Director of Programming for Microsoft’s Xbox Live: Windows media, Real player. Larry discusses the development process of the Xbox and gaming. Joel Chaplin of Infospace, Inc. was the keynote speaker, and speaks on his experiences in the IT industry: Windows media, Real player. The industry panel, with eight computing and IT professionals, discuss why students should consider "looking for a great major" in IT: Windows media, Real player.
nwcet.org

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How can the IT Center of Excellence assist your institution?At the IT Center of Excellence, our mission is to be a resource arm to the Community and Technical Colleges and high schools of Washington State. Let us hear from you to discuss your needs and how we can be of service to you. For further information, email CITE or call Jeff Johnson at 425-564-4004.

Archived Issues of CITE Newsletters Now Available Online Recent editions of the CITE e-newsletter are now archived for reading on the CITE website. Topics include Mobile/Wireless Computing, Outsourcing/Offshoring, IT Network Security, Business Intelligence/Data Mining, VoIP, and Convergence Technologies.

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		NWCET is a division of Bellevue Community College, and is partially funded by National Science Foundation grants.