News
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Dec 14, 2011News
The alignment of Shodor’s mission to improve math and science education through the effective use of modeling and simulation technologies, and the mission of the Kramden Institute to empower students by providing them with home computers, seems only natural. Both organizations are working to spread the use of technology and computational science in their local communities, doing so through outreach programs and educational resources.
By restoring recycled computers Kramden has awarded over 9,000 refurbished computers to students grades 3-12, who have been nominated by a teacher for being academically motivated, and do not already have a computer in their home.
Beginning in January 2012, prior to being handed to clients, a version of Shodor’s Interactivate software will be pre-loaded onto each of the over 2,200 computers Kramden awards to students each year.
"We're thrilled for Kramden and Shodor to partner together and make a real impact in helping economically disadvantaged students bridge the digital divide across North Carolina," said Kramden Executive Director Michael Abensour.
This will not only provide students with the physical capabilities to further their academic careers, but will also supply them with educational resources that can be used in conjunction with their academic coursework.
"Shodor focuses on content, and Kramden provides a way for students to get a computer to use that content to learn and to explore math and science. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to work together to promote learning for more of the area's students," says Dr. Robert Panoff, Shodor Executive Director.
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Dec 07, 2011News
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a Dear Colleague Letter about Program Director openings in the Division on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) -
NSF 12-023 provides information about temporary Program Directors appointments that may be made for up to two years, with possible extension for an additional year. Formal consideration of applications will begin at two times each year: March 1st and October 1st.
Applicants should email a current CV and statement of interest to drlrecruit@nsf.gov
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Nov 30, 2011News
See Susan Van Gundy's blogpost on the Connected Educators website: Why Connected Online Communities Will Drive the Future of Digital Content: An Introduction to Learning Resource Paradata. She provides a great summary of NSDL's STEM Exchange initiative, and its role in the national Learning Registry project. Find out more!
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Nov 30, 2011News
See Susan Van Gundy's blogpost on the Connected Educators website: Why Connected Online Communities Wil Drive the Future of Digital Content: In Introduction to Learning Resource Paradata. The article gives a great summary of NSDL's STEM Exchange effort, and its role in the national Learning Registry project...
Find out more!
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Nov 22, 2011News
This year 262 organizations were awarded the Alfred P. Sloan award for excellence in workplace effectiveness and flexibility this year.
Among the top employers on this year's list, based on overall score, were the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education, the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association, Microsoft, Rose City Mortgage, and the Shodor Education Foundation.
For information check out CNN.
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Nov 07, 2011News
We're happy to report that the NSDL.org transition has gone smoothly, and DNS seems to have updated comprehensively, so nsdl.org, the Search API, OAI data provider, and NSDL Collection System (NCS) should all be working normally. Thanks for your patience while these system changes occurred!
Eileen McIlvain
NSDL Communications Manager
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Nov 04, 2011News
Latest update:
As of approximately 4 pm MT, 11-04-11: NSDL's transition of nsdl.org to new cloud-based servers has gone smoothly. Domain Name System (DNS) changes are still propagating throughout the Internet, so some locations may still see the old site over the next 24-48 hours. Thanks for your patience and understanding!
NSDL friends -
You will notice that secondary pages and services on NSDL.org are displaying access errors - please bear with us!
We experienced a hardware and software server failure on Wednesday, Nov. 2 that has accelerated our planned transition of infrastructure services from Cornell University to UCAR, originally scheduled for November 11-12 (see prior announcement). The technical team is working full-time to get everything working appropriately - your patience is appreciated!
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Nov 03, 2011News
Ithaca, NY – DuraSpace, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preserving the world’s scholarly, scientific and cultural records, today announced the launch of its managed cloud service, DuraCloud. As the only managed software service that lets organizations archive content across more than one cloud provider, DuraCloud ensures that irreplaceable documents, imagery and videos are always accessible. A number of the country’s most prestigious institutions including MIT, Columbia University, Northwestern University, and Rice University have signed up to use the managed cloud service to preserve digital resources.
“DuraCloud is the breakthrough many of us have been waiting for,” said Bryan Beecher of The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). “The ability to store and update material on three different cloud providers – using just one web-based dashboard to manage it all – saves hours of work and makes the entire process much less expensive to manage.”
Archiving digital libraries and research output for academic institutions, museums, and other knowledge stewards, DuraCloud offers:- Replication and synchronization of content across multiple cloud providers through one unified interface
- Access to a suite of applications embedded in the DuraCloud platform to do more with your data
- Data distribution and streaming to any internet-linked device
- Secure storage of digital archives and periodic content “health checks” assuring information is being preserved as it should be
- A simple-to-use yet powerful dashboard to manage all content across the cloud
- An open-source community dedicated to on-going technological development, along with support assistance to ease the transition into the cloud
“The key benefit of the cloud is the flexibility and scalability offered instantly as a service. As the amount of digital content amasses in our academic and research organizations, the cloud can play a significant role in helping to persist this information for future generations,” commented Michele Kimpton, CEO of DuraSpace. “With DuraCloud our customers can use one or all of the cloud storage providers and still manage all of the content from one web interface keeping costs down, content preserved and accessibility guaranteed.”
Funded in part by the Library of Congress through its National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP), DuraSpace is committed to the open-source community and the technological advancement of the cloud. Current open-source projects include DSpace and Fedora.
DuraCloud is a free open-source project and fee-based subscription service, and is available to any organization wishing to archive and preserve their content using the cloud, without locking into one single cloud provider.About DuraSpace
DuraSpace is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. DuraSpace software and services are used worldwide as solutions for open access, institutional repositories, digital libraries, digital archives, data curation, virtual research environments, and more. The organization's open-source technology portfolio includes the DSpace open access repository application and the Fedora open repository platform. DuraSpace is the home of DuraCloud, a cloud-based software service that leverages existing cloud infrastructure to enable durability and access to digital content. The DuraSpace team includes recognized leaders and experts in the management of digital information. The team works with an active and diverse international community committed to the durability of digital resources.
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Oct 25, 2011News
The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) is engaged in technical transition work that includes switching servers that host the NSDL.org website. This switchover is targeted to take place starting on Friday, November 11, 2011, with necessary brief outages that will continue over the following weekend, to minimize the impact.
Most of the work will be complete by Monday, November 14, but there may also be brief outages of some services during the following week. We ask for your patience and understanding as we conduct this very essential work. Thanks!
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Oct 24, 2011News
NSDL has received funding from the National Science Foundation to continue key work elements over the next two years, positioning it to seek longer-term sustainability options. Titled Repositioning NSDL for the Next Generation of Digital Learning, the grant focuses on bringing to scale various pilot projects focused on STEM education improvements, and implementing new capacities and capabilities across the network of NSDL projects and partners:
- Development of guidelines and best practices promoting Learning Application Readiness (LAR) and enhancing quality of NSDL resources and metadata
- Expansion of the NSDL Math Common Core collection of digital resources, setting the stage for development of Next Generation Science Standards resource collection; with recommendations for best practices
- Hardening of NSDL technical infrastructure for community-sustained operation (transition of infrastructure from Cornell University to UCAR)
- Collaboration with Dept. of Education and Dept. of Defense Learning Registry initiative as a use case for the exchange of use data (STEM Exchange/paradata) on digital resources in classroom and other learning settings
- Migration of STEM Exchange pilot to new communities of practice, enabling paradata interchange across multiple communities, including NSDL Pathways
- Evaluation of the impact of standards-aligned resources in learning communities that informs STEM Exchange collaboration and process development
See more information and the full proposal, on this site, at Repositioning NSDL for the Next Generation of Digital Learning