Finnish Universities Release Free VLE with Support for Educational Modelling Language (EML)
One of the first VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments) to support the Educational Modeling Language (EML), FLE3 is an open-source web-based learning environment built on the ZOPE content management platform (ZOPE is also open source). More...

Yahoo! Education
I hadn't seen this before, but Scott Wilson at CETIS flagged the new Yahoo! Education site about a week ago. Touted as a free service (of course Yahoo! Groups moderators know better, as a fee structure has just been proposed for that 'free' service), Yahoo! Education allows educators to set up a calendar and syllabus and to upload course content. More...

I Stand Corrected: Reading 4,934 Pages of Franzen as an E-Book
OK, a book that runs 4,934 pages may seem a bit daunting... until you are told that's an e-book being read on a Palm Pilot. A miserable experience, right? Not so, according to this author. More...

A Software Development Process for a Team of One
What I like about this article is the way it demonstrates the thinking behind the planning and implementation of a small (one week, one person) development project. What I don't like about it is the way that it reminds me how slack so much of my own software development work is. More...

Technology Timeline

I read from time to time that nobody can really predict the future of technology. But while unexpected developments can and do occur, most of the big milestones can be identified and predicted. More...

Ever So Slowly, Colleges Start to Count Work With Technology in Tenure Decisions

OK, I guess I shouldn't be too snarky (there's plenty of time for that below): this report surveys the progress of colleges and universities in recognizing tenure. OK, it's not much of a step forward, but it's a step forward. More...

What Are the Hot Trends in Technology?
In a short sentence: security, artificial intelligence and 3G networks. Best comment of the article: "I've been eating a lot of broccoli because I think the future is going to be very, very cool and I want to be around to see it." I think that while security is always important, much of the recent attention will wane. Wireless broadband will be important, but the term 3G will disappear, replaced either by a standards designation (like 802.11a) or a brand name. More...

Why BT Claims It Owns the Right to 'Click Here'
I have been covering this in 'In the Ether' but OLDaily readers should also be aware of British Telecom's ridiculous court case to enforce its patent on the hyperlink. Taking U.S. service provider Prodigy to court may force the service provider to change its ways, but most likely will not net BT one penny and will generate a lot of ill will in the process. More...

The BIG Question: 802.11a or 802.11b?

As we get set to move NRC's e-learning group across the street and into a new building, we are planning our wireless network. I am also planning for my home network. More...

The New Architecture of Information
Useful article about the organization of information on websites and the typical user's behaviour in accessing that information. Most users don't read web pages until they have found what they are looking for, skimming menus and pages only to determine that they are on the right path. More...