|
|
March 2009
Make your colleagues envious with an ORION Award
The 2009 ORION Awards are now accepting submissions and nominations from Ontario researchers and educators who are leading the way in leveraging advanced networks to improve their research outcomes and/or enhance teaching practices to boost student learning. Submissions can be made in one of three categories: Discovery, Learning and Leadership. The application process is straight-forward and easy. Submit your nomination at www.orion.on.ca/2009awards.
College Boreal - "smart choice"
A lucky College Boreal student will be driving home with a $27,000 Smart car this fall. It is part of an new campaign which mixes environmental awareness and promotion of the Sudbury college to new students. The draw is open to any full time student enrolled at the college by September 2009. The car is now on a 57-community promotional tour, from Alexandria to Woodstock. The campaign plays on the notion that enrolling at College Boreal is a "smart choice". The car was a featured attraction at the Feb 22-23 Colleges Ontario conference in Toronto, where ORION was among the sponsors. A popular video clip shows the tiny car being driven inside the Sudbury school's campus buildings. Learn more at the College's interactive "Mon Choix Smart" website at www.monchoixsmart.ca.
More institutions connect to CANARIE
ORION institutions will soon be able to collaborate with eight prestigious research and education institutions about to connect to CANARIE, Canada's advanced R&E network backbone. Expected to be connected to CANARIE by the summer, these institutions include Maurice Lamontagne Institute (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Mont Joli, QC), The Nova Scotia Community College (Akerley Campus, Dartmouth, NS), The Banff Centre (Banff, AB), CAE Inc. (Montreal, QC), Lethbridge Research Centre (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge, AB), Canadian Museum of Nature (Ottawa, ON), Library and Archives Canada (Gatineau, QC), and the Institute for Ocean Technology (National Research Council Canada, St. John's, NL). More information is available at www.canarie.ca.
Ontario creates new fund for start-ups
The provincial government recently announced plans to create a new fund to drive start-up investment in green technology companies and other high-tech businesses, including ICT, digital media and life sciences. The Emerging Technologies Fund will invest $250 million over five years together with qualified venture capital funds and private sector investors. The fund will match small to medium private sector investments and receive an interest in companies it supports. The move is a response to the challenges emerging technology companies are experiencing in raising venture capital due to tightening credit markets. The long-term goal of the fund is to create a vibrant venture capital community that will help Ontario companies grow and compete globally. Read more at www.mri.gov.on.ca.
Ontario universities envision joint digital media grad program
The University of Toronto, Ryerson University and the University of Waterloo are collaborating to create a new joint graduate program in digital media in downtown Toronto. The aim is to create a hub of industry-academic collaboration, attracting the best students to design solutions for advancing the digital economy. The plan sees the stretch of Toronto's Yonge St. from Gould St. to Gerrard St. to become a 'digital destination' in just a few short years. Read more at www.ryerson.ca/news.
Tune in to next ORION-ABEL webcast: April 2
The topic of the next ORION-ABEL webcast for K-12 teachers is "Using SmartBoards in the Classroom" on April 2. ORION has partnered with ABEL to offer free webcasts on technology supporting teaching and learning to teachers across the country. View this or previous webcasts.
Survey of global R&E networks
A rich compendium of the current state of several key international research and education networks, including Internet2, JANET and CANARIE, is available from the Trans-European Research and Education Networking Association. Detailed information, compiled from a comprehensive 2008 survey, includes data on several national networks, from the largest, such as UK's JANET, to RicerkaNet which serves the Maltese Islands. Information on 46 European and six additional national networks has been compiled, including levels of funding, staff and resources, services and applications, the level and type of external traffic. Among key findings is the fact that core network size has quadrupled over the past five years, while average backbone capacity more than doubled. A trend for many countries shows core capacity evolving to multiples of 10GBs, as many countries foresee further upgrades in the next two years. ORION institutions can access European and other national networks though ORION's link to CANARIE, Canada's national R&E network backbone, which connects to global networks at major connection points in Chicago, Seattle and New York. Access the report at www.terena.org.
ROM opens interactive multimedia studio
The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), an ORION-connected organization that recently celebrated its one millionth visitor, is gearing up to open its new Schad Gallery of Biodiversity. Opening in May, the gallery will feature the Earth Rangers Studio, a dedicated multimedia space wired for live and interactive broadcast capability across Ontario. ROM facilitators will offer educational and interactive presentations in the studio using live specimens, hands-on activities, experiments and demonstrations. "The Schad gallery's Earth Rangers Studio provides great potential for us to reach schools over the ORION network with topical and curriculum-related content around the environment and biodiversity," said Brian Porter, the ROM's Assistant Vice-President, New Media. "We hope to connect schools in real time to curators in the field and offer other live programs from the gallery. There is also a great opportunity here for students and schools to use the Internet and social networking sites to post their own digital content and participate in this important dialogue about our world and its survival." Read more at www.rom.on.ca/news or watch the video clip.
KMDI offers lecture podcasts
The Knowledge Media Design Institute KMDI at the University of Toronto recently launched its first lecture podcast on the iTunes Store, allowing people to listen to lectures on the go. The full series of KMDI lectures is also available as searchable archives, including speaker slides and annotated audio and video files. Podcasts are available by searching the iTunes music store for keyword "KMDI" or by subscribing to the RSS feed.
Back to Headlines
|
| |
|
