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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, 2006 Stanford Debuts Computational Earth Science Center Blackboard Moving into Assessment Telemedicine Program Targets Infant Blindness Researchers Claim Fastest Silicon Chip Hacking at Ohio University Leads to Staff Suspensions High-Tech Cheating Leads to Injuries STANFORD DEBUTS COMPUTATIONAL EARTH SCIENCE CENTER Stanford University has launched a new research center to study earth and environmental sciences. The Center for Computational Earth and Environmental Science (CEES) includes a new computing facility and an interdisciplinary research program designed to address geoscience research, including topics such as climate change, earthquake detection, oil exploration, and global warming. Jerry Harris, director of CEES, said, "Underlying interdisciplinary science is computer technology that allows us to make predictions of what may happen in the real world." Participating in the new center, which is an extension of Stanford's existing School of Earth Sciences, are the U.S. Geological Survey and other governmental agencies and several corporations, including Chevron, BP, and Sun Microsystems, which donated the hardware and software for the facility. CNET, 20 June 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-11395_3-6085937.html BLACKBOARD MOVING INTO ASSESSMENT Blackboard, one of the leading providers of course management systems to higher education, is working on an online course assessment application for colleges and universities. Assessment is becoming increasingly important for accreditation and for accountability, and most observers see online evaluations as the best option. Online assessment currently takes a number of forms, from loosely regulated sites for students to rate faculty to more formal course-evaluation applications. Creating such systems is costly, however, and institutions that have developed them have spent considerable time and money to make them workable for administrators who need data and for faculty and students who use them. Blackboard's system is expected to focus on evaluating the course as opposed to the professor, and officials from the company said the application could eventually grow to include centralized testing, though this would not be part of the initial version. Inside Higher Ed, 20 June 2006 http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/06/20/blackboard TELEMEDICINE PROGRAM TARGETS INFANT BLINDNESS Organizers of a telemedicine program run by Stanford University hope the technology can save the vision of infants born with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a condition that affects 80,000 babies each year and blinds about 600 of them. Evaluation by a qualified doctor is key to diagnosing the condition and treating it properly, which can prevent blindness. The number of doctors who specialize in ROP is dwindling, however, stretching thin those who can identify and treat it. With the Stanford University Network for the Diagnosis of ROP (SUNDROP), digital imaging allows doctors to examine patients remotely, thereby greatly improving their chances of keeping their sight. Using the technology, doctors can correctly diagnose about 92 percent of the cases diagnosed by doctors who perform in-person examinations. Professor Darius Moshfeghi led development of SUNDROP, which has allowed him to spend significantly less time traveling to see patients in person, leaving much more time for evaluating infants for the condition. Wired News, 20 June 2006 http://www.wired.com/news/technology/medtech/0,71041-0.html RESEARCHERS CLAIM FASTEST SILICON CHIP A team of academic and industry researchers has demonstrated a speed of 500 gigahertz for a silicon-based computer chip they developed. The team included individuals from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Korea University in South Korea, and IBM. To reach 500 gigahertz, which is about 250 times faster than many chips used today, the researchers conducted the test in an environment 451 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit); at room temperature, the chip reportedly still reaches speeds of around 350 gigahertz. Technology consultant Dan Olds said the announcement indicates that "we're not coming anywhere near the end in what processors are capable of." IBM's Bernard Meyerson said the chips, which might be available in consumer devices within two years, could lead to significant leaps in the capabilities of computing devices. New York Times, 20 June 2006 (registration req'd) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/technology/20chip.html HACKING AT OHIO UNIVERSITY LEADS TO STAFF SUSPENSIONS Following a string of computer breaches at Ohio University, school officials have suspended two IT supervisors--the director of communications network services, and the manager of Internet and systems. The university has suffered five separate incidents since March 2005, including a recent episode that may have compromised as many as 173,000 Social Security numbers. About two dozen individuals have reportedly notified the university that they have been the victims of identity theft in the past year. The two members of the IT staff who were suspended will remain on leave through the conclusion of an investigation into the breaches. Roderick McDavis, president of Ohio University, is also expected to ask the trustees for as much as $2 million to fund improvements to the university's computer security. McDavis apologized to those affected by the breaches, saying, "We hold ourselves fully accountable." Associated Press, 20 June 2006 http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/14863904.htm HIGH-TECH CHEATING LEADS TO INJURIES With nearly four students vying for every available spot in China's universities, cheating on entrance exams is rampant. As technology has entered the equation for cheaters, so has it become a tool for proctors trying to defeat the cheaters. Video cameras and cell-phone blocking have become common in Chinese testing centers. Students intent on cheating, then, resort to ever-smaller devices, with some students finding out how small is too small. According to the "China Daily," one student used an earpiece for cheating that was so tiny it entered his ear canal and ruptured his eardrum. Another student had to have an earpiece removed surgically, according to the paper, and yet another was injured when a remote listening device exploded. The device was strapped to the student's body and connected to headphones; the explosion left the student with an open wound in his abdomen. ZDNet, 20 June 2006 http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1040_22-6085712.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. 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