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The latest Google function brings together the capabilities of Google Search, Google Scholar, and Google Docs. The research tool provides shortcuts to accessing web-based information and adding it to your documents.

Many schools are rethinking the LMS, not just because these tools have cost them a pretty penny, but because they're looking for ways that can further student collaboration and that can emphasize content and learning and not just administration. That could put Pearson in a good position to be a go-to tool for schools, particularly if the focus becomes content, something Pearson does hold market control over. As the Delta Initiative's Phil Hill told Inside Higher Ed, Pearson "wants to change the perception of an LMS to [make colleges] say: �Hey, that's a commodity, that's a delivery system � and really education, and the education system, needs to be about the content itself and how students interact with that content.'"

drian Sannier, senior vice president of product at Pearson, told Inside Higher Ed that the new OpenClass can be used absolutely for free. No licensing costs, no costs for maintenance, and no costs for hosting. So this is a freer offer than Moodle is. It's a freer offer than any other in the space. And from the email I received from the PR firm handling the announcement, I give you these gems: "Pearson Launches First Truly Free and Open Learning Platform for Higher Ed." The tool "Provides Open Access." And this is where we need to stop and scrutinize what's happening here and look past the invocations of "free" and "open." Why would Pearson offer a free LMS? For one thing, Pearson doesn't need to sell OpenClass. Its emphasis -- indeed, its strategy -- lies elsewhere. Pearson is the largest education company in the world -- with or without success in the LMS market -- with profits of �208 million for the first half of this year alone. Its educational sales are up 9%; it's educational profits are up 31%. Much those sales and profits come from educational content: textbooks -- both print and digital -- as well as other curriculum offerings. (Much of the profits come from assessment products and services too -- Pearson sells the textbooks and the standardized tests. That's pretty damn lucrative, clearly.) Pearson can give away OpenClass in the hopes that schools will go for the "up-sell" and buy the company's other offerings. Many schools are rethinking the LMS, not just because these tools have cost them a pretty penny, but because they're looking for ways that can further student collaboration and that can emphasize content and learning and not just administration. That could put Pearson in a good position to be a go-to tool for schools, particularly if the focus becomes content, something Pearson does hold market control over. As the Delta Initiative's Phil Hill told Inside Higher Ed, Pearson "wants to change the perception of an LMS to [make colleges] say: �Hey, that's a commodity, that's a delivery system � and really education, and the education system, needs to be about the content itself and how students interact with that content.'" For its part, Pearson says that it's not going to lock users in to using just its content. But I can't help but wonder if that's true. After all, I think we need to question its usage of adjectives like "free" and "open" here. Furthermore when a company touts Google's involvement when really, what we have here is just a fairly simple and straight-forward integration with Google Apps, we should be a little suspicious about the labeling and the marketing and our consumption habits. More Sharing ServicesShare | Share on twitter Share on facebook Share on gmail Share on diigo var addthis_config = {"data_track_clickback":true}; Tags: <a href

Adrian Sannier, senior vice president of product at Pearson, told Inside Higher Ed that the new OpenClass can be used absolutely for free. No licensing costs, no costs for maintenance, and no costs for hosting. So this is a freer offer than Moodle is. It's a freer offer than any other in the space. And from the email I received from the PR firm handling the announcement, I give you these gems: "Pearson Launches First Truly Free and Open Learning Platform for Higher Ed." The tool "Provides Open Access

Google Plus has begun to offer personalized search results for users who are logged in. Professors and experts can share excellent resources on Google Plus, and make it easy for students to get the most relevant information when they search

Some professors have asked their students to sign up for GPlus so that they can create class Circles, sharing information, collaboration, and offering an outlet for interaction between students.

Nuvvo is a free, on-demand Learning Management System (LMS) that gives individual instructors the opportunity to publish curriculum and teach online. It offers much of the traditional LMS toolset--including content creation, multimedia integrations, blogs and messaging, evaluation, and ecommerce--without the institutional support that is typically required for an LMS. http://www.nuvvo.com/&nbsp;

shows the comparison of the latest user stastics of popular social networking sites – Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

In an infographic

In a new book, Howard Rheingold says social networks are changing the way we think

podcast