Datebook

SITE2014 is the 25th annual conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. This society represents individual teacher educators and affiliated organizations of teacher educators in all disciplines, who are interested in the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the use of information technology in teacher education and faculty/staff development. SITE is a society of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). SITE is unique as the only organization which has as its sole focus the integration of instructional technologies into teacher education programs. SITE promotes the development and dissemination of theoretical knowledge, conceptual research, and professional practice knowledge through conferences, books, projects, and the Journal of Technology andTeacher Education (JTATE). You are invited to attend and participate in this annual international forum which offers numerous opportunities to share your ideas, explore the research, development, and applications, and to network with other professionals. The SITE Conference is designed for Teacher educators in ALL disciplines, Computer technology coordinators, K-12 administrators, Teachers, Curriculum developers, Principals, and all of those interested in improving education through technology. Conference topics for Information Technology professionals will include Computational Thinking, Development of Future Faculty, Digital Fabrication, Digital Storytelling/ Video, Distance/Flexible Education, Equity and Social Justice, Games & Simulations, Graduate Education & Faculty Development, Information Technology Diffusion / Integration, International Education, Mobile Learning, New Possibilities with Information Technologies, Research & Evaluation, Technology Leadership, Virtual Schooling, and Workforce Education. Conference Teacher Education Topics: Arts & Interdisciplinary Education, Assessment and E-folios, Early Childhood Education, Engineering Education, English Education, Geospatial Education, Information Literacy Education (Library & Media Science), Information Technology Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education, Social Studies Education, Special Education/Assistive Technology, and Technological, Pedagogical, And Content Knowledge (TPACK). For more information visit, http:// site.aace.org/


D atebook
March 17-21, 2014 SITE2014 Jacksonville, FL SITE2014 is the 25th annual conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. This society represents individual teacher educators and affiliated organizations of teacher educators in all disciplines, who are interested in the creation and dissemination of knowledge about the use of information technology in teacher education and faculty/staff development.
SITE is a society of the Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). SITE is unique as the only organization which has as its sole focus the integration of instructional technologies into teacher education programs. SITE promotes the development and dissemination of theoretical knowledge, conceptual research, and professional practice knowledge through conferences, books, projects, and the Journal of Technology andTeacher Education (JTATE).
You are invited to attend and participate in this annual international forum which offers numerous opportunities to share your ideas, explore the research, development, and applications, and to network with other professionals. The SITE Conference is designed for Teacher educators in ALL disciplines, Computer technology coordinators, K-12 administrators, Teachers, Curriculum developers, Principals, and all of those interested in improving education through technology.
Conference topics for Information Technology professionals will include Computational Thinking,

Orlando, FL
Each spring, the entire eLearning community comes together to learn, share, and connect around one common goal: to create more engaging and effective learning experiences. This is your opportunity to meet industry leaders and peers from around the world, and share in a week of networking, education, and inspiration. If you are involved in the management, design, or development of eLearning, performance support, or organiza-tional training and development, this event is for you.
Learning Solutions 2013 is for anyone focused on the management, design, development, and/or distribution of technology-based learning solutions, performance support, or blended solutions incorporating traditional training. The program supports the entire learning team, so regardless of your specific role, you'll find the tools, technologies, ideas, strategies, and best practices for maximizing performance in your organization. This event is for anyone who is maximizing performance with learning technologies.

Los Angeles, CA
Get ready for the 10th annual Lectora User Conference in Los Angeles, California, March 31 -April 4, 2014. Network and share e Learning knowledge with hundreds of Lectora users and the Lectora team-at the home of the Golden Globe Awards! Experience word-class keynote speakers, 20+ breakout sessions, 2 remarkable networking events and discover new and unique ways to use Lectora in your e Learning.
The official conference hotel is conveniently located 14 miles from LAX and show-stopping attractions like downtown LA, the Pacific Ocean and the Hollywood Bowl.

Brainshark Update
Brainshark, Inc., one of the leading sales enablement platform providers, has introduced product enhancements designed to help mobile users access video presentations and courses in an even more streamlined, convenient way. Brainshark›s recently announced Sales Enablement Portal now includes an interface optimized for smartphone access -so mobile sales reps can efficiently find, view and share the content they need. In addition, Brainshark Rapid Learning, the company›s award-winning learning management solution, features a redesigned interface, with bolstered search capabilities and even easier content access for learners on desktop and mobile devices.
As smartphone sales continue to skyrocket-with more than 216 million units shipped in Q1 2013, according to IDC-the devices are becoming even more indispensable and ubiquitous for mobile salespeople. Brainshark›s new Sales Enablement Portal, previously designed for desktop and tablet access, now provides an optimized viewing experience for iPhone and Android smartphone users as well. After logging onto the portal, smartphone users can: • Use landing page shortcuts to quickly access featured presentations, as well as content they've authored and/or marked as "favorite. " • Search for relevant content via text search.

• Interact with video presentations.
After clicking play, users can easily navigate to any point within a presentation, and also answer any embedded survey, poll or test questions.
• View and open attachments associated with presentations. • Click to share video presentations instantly via email.
Brainshark Rapid Learning is a learning management solution that extends the capabilities of Brainshark On-Demand-allowing organizations to easily create and deploy eLearning programs, manage student enrollment, and measure the progress of learners and groups. Customers report cutting training time in half through Brainshark -using Brainshark Rapid Learning to deliver formal training to employees and partners, accelerate onboarding, conduct sales training, ensure compliance and increase employee knowledge levels in general.

Mobile Learning in Latin America Skyrockets
The growth rate for Mobile Learning in Latin America is 32.5%. Revenues will more than quadruple from the $362.3 million reached in 2012 to a staggering $1.4 billion by 2017, according to a new Ambient Insight report called, "The 2012-2017 Latin America Mobile Learning Market. " The telecoms and device makers that offer Mobile Learning VAS products in Latin America get their content from third-party suppliers. This represents a lucrative new distribution channel for digital education publishers. The free Abstract is available at: http://www.ambientinsight. com/Reports/MobileLearning.aspx There are two sections in this report: a demand-side analysis and a supply-side analysis. Additionally, there is an index of suppliers competing in the region. The demand-side section includes five-year forecasts for fifteen countries in Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The supply-side section provides revenue forecasts for five types of Mobile Learning products and services including packaged content, value added services (VAS), custom content development services, authoring tools and platforms, and personal learning devices. To learn more about Ambient Insight's research, send an e-mail to info@ambientinsight.com.

Wainhouse Research Releases New Report
Wainhouse Research, an independent market research firm that focuses on critical issues in the Unified Communications and rich media conferencing fields, today released a new research report titled "Navigating the Emerging Gap in Large Conference Calls & Webcast Event Solutions. " The whitepaper is sponsored by Cinchcast, a leading provider of cloud-based solutions for enterprise conference calls and webcasts.
Large conference calls and webcasts are used by companies of all sizes. As adoption continues to increase, a large gap in price and features and functionality between traditional, full-service, operator-assisted event services and Do-It-Yourself (DIY) self-service alternatives has emerged. To gain an understanding of the characteristics and magnitude of this emerging gap from the user's perspective, Wainhouse Research conducted an online survey of more than 150 large conference call and web event producers.
Key study findings reveal: • 90% of the respondents using fullservice solutions indicate that having one provider to deal with is highly valued. • A majority of event producers employ a mix of full-service and selfservice solutions; yet seek to minimize hassles by having one provider to deal with. • Event producers are experiencing challenges with existing solutions.
The following pain points rank as either a major or medium issue: streaming audio performance, timeliness of event reports and archives, overbooking capacity, problems with downloads, inaccuracies in the participant list or collected data, and the requirement to book events too far in advance. • Event producers who use full-service solutions for a portion of their events are very interested in a self-managing parts of the events process. • Features that help streamline the process of getting participants into the event score highly. Few things bring as big a smile to the face of a toiling elearning professional, than a new monitor. Aside from the fact it will ease content creation, there is also the reward to technological envy. "Yeah, Roy ordered this puppy after my old one caught fire. " you can say, gliding your hand over that smooth unblemished plastic while taking a huge nose-hit of that 'fresh from the box' New Monitor smell.
In this issue, we look at two monitors that will help convey you are a serious learning technology professional who is rewarded for his or her sweaty brow.

ViewSonic VP2770-LED
It's time for you to upgrade and after all of what you have put up with, just order a VP2770. Why? Easy. The VP2770-LED 27" Wide Super IPS LED with 2560x1440 resolution provides stunning WQHD details with nearly 80% more pixels than a standard 1080p display. It has support for 1.07 billion colors, a high 20,000,000:1 MEGA Dynamic Contrast Ratio, and super wide 178º/178º viewing angles, the VP2770-LED is the ultimate professional grade LCD monitor for design, digital photography, video production, architecture and financial sectors or any other application where true color and total screen viewing is essential.
Like elearning. Flexible connectivity options include DisplayPort, HDMI, Dual-Link DVI and VGA, along with 4 USB ports for connecting your peripherals. The ergonomic stand also provides height adjust, swivel, tilt and pivot for maximum comfort with this professional display. Backed by ViewSonic's best industry leading pixel policy and full 3-year limited warranty, the View-Sonic VP2770-LED is the right choice for your professional display needs. Okay, okay, you're right. You're right. A 27"wide screen monitor? Well, that's for interns or grad students. You? You make this ship sail. You are who they showcase clients to and what better way to telegraph "Super Pro" than a 70" flat screen.

The NEC 70" P702
The 70" P702 professional-grade, large-screen LCD display is not what you just need, it is what you deserve. The P702 offers industrial-strength, 24/7 operation for the most demanding digital signage installations elearning. Along with its sturdy mechanical design, this display offers full high-definition resolution for smooth video and crisp imagery. Its advanced connectivity with integrated digital loop-through and Open Pluggable Specification (OPS) via the built-in expansion slot enable you to easily connect components to run your digital signage elearning. With TileMatrix technology, you can build a video wall up to 100 displays to maximize impact with your audience, while monitoring your network from a remote location with the most advanced control and communication options available because you will need it after they find out where the budget went.
The NEC P702 is reasonably priced at a mere $10,499. If that is too high, hold off, keep your eyes peeled for the Christmas in July sale, then sweep in for the score. And yeah, you'll probably need a new desk because the P702, without the stand, weighs . . . 208 lbs.
Of course, you can find cheaper monitors, of course you can. BUT can you find better? I say "nay". Not at those cost-conscious prices. Look, you know how to play this; open with the NEC and then swing in from the side with the ViewSonic. I've always found it effective. Shock them with one price, awe them with the lower one. Voila! You found a way for them to save over $9,500. Reusing Online Resources, 2nd Edition explores how learners can capitalize on the escalating quantity of open knowledge resources available online. Within the emerging social and professional learning networks, online knowledge resources are being exchanged, shared, manipulated and reused in new ways, opening opportunities for new models of business, research and learning. As work becomes more specialized, interprofessional work and learning is becoming the norm. With these changes, expertise is distributed and resources (now almost inevitably digital and thus transferrable) are linking people as they work and learn.
The goal of the 2nd Edition of this book is to draw together forwardthinking views from multiple contexts, each addressing a common set of broad questions. The authors are leading researchers and visionaries selected from across North America, Europe, Australia and Africa. They have been invited to reflect upon and contribute ideas and to draw on experience in addressing key questions about current and future trends in online learning. As technology evolves, we are becoming ever more reliant on the use of handheld and mobile devices, yet what we know about their impact on learning is, as yet, limited. Whilst there has been a lot of interest in this type of technology, many schools aren't exploiting it to their educational advantage.
Learning with Mobile and Handheld Technologies offers tried and tested examples of how technologies have been used in learning across schools, how the problems that inevitably arise have been solved, and offers ideas for the future. This invaluable book will provide teachers and educators with practical examples of the uses of mobiles and technology enhanced learning in educational contexts.
Learning with Mobile and Handheld Technologies introduces the changes that are taking place within schools as a direct result of emerging technologies, and contains case studies with examples of best practice in a variety of settings including Primary, Secondary, and home and distance learning. The book also discusses themes of pedagogy, communication and affordances, collaborative learning, individual creativity and expression, self-directed and informal learning and outdoor education.
The learning potential of learning with handheld and mobile devices has excited teachers and educators, but until now there has been no structured, systematic overview available that gathers examples of best practice in, and out, of schools. This hugely practical book gathers many of the examples that are available, and brings them together to provide a clearer picture of what is currently a fragmented area.

W eb & Wild
t would be difficult to find a plant or flower that has influenced the course of history more than the poppy. Many, many lives have been lost over this plant. Many lives have been totally, utterly destroyed. At the same time, the poppy has revolutionized medicine, its powerful chemical make-up taking us from doing a shot of whisky and biting on a spoon to combat pain, to sliding us into that nice, shiny, fuzzy world of 'Everything's gonna be oookkkayyyy' stupor while having surgery done under local.
It's all about opium. The history of opium threads its way through the history of humankind, and is still weaving a tale of wonder and woe to this day. Today, you can follow a distribution path from a farmer in Afghanistan to a patient post-surgery and the addict in the alley below. The AK47 has its own chapter in that story, as well as some of the biggest names in Pharma.
In this issue, we take a look at our old, old friend, Opium.
Opium https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium I remember a day when Wikipedia had little respect. Things have changed. Take its coverage of opium. The opium section is well written, interesting, and has 115 citations. It is an excellent place for you to get your first exposure to what Papaver somniferum is about. Following the standard, straightforward wiki organization, the section is divided into History, Modern Production and Usage, Chemical and Physiological Properties, Slang Terms, Literary Cultural References, and this is followed by Further Reading, References, etc.
The section is filled with fascinating facts about opium and its role in human history. One of my favorites is the fact that for 12 years at the turn of the century, heroin, an organic/synthetic derivative, was sold as a nonaddictive morphine substitute and as . . . cough medicine for children. Do the math. Your great grandfather may have been taking spoonful's of heroin during winter cold season as a kid. No wonder he talked smack about the emerging cough drop market.