Group items tagged

Intel announced plans to partner with two leading universities in London to launch the Intel Collaborative Research Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities. Announced at No. 10 Downing St., the Institute will explore how technology can help support and sustain social and economic development in cities around the world. This will include research into how technology can help solve problems like drought, long commute times and wasteful uses of energy.

Pour apprendre, un individu n'a fondamentalement qu'à observer, questionner, expérimenter. L'apprentissage est une activité quotidienne spontanée : apprendre à parler, à s'habiller, apprendre des chansons, des procédures, des activités de plus en plus complexes... jusqu'au jour où un besoin est identifié et que rien ni personne dans son entourage ne peut y répondre de manière satisfaisante. L'individu choisit ou on choisit pour lui une institution, une référence ou un maître dans les limites de son environnement, de sa culture ou de ses moyens. Les écoles offrent une certaine accessibilité en réponse à ces besoins et favorisent les économies d'échelle. C'est le modèle qui a prévalu jusqu'ici; seule une institution pouvait transmettre massivement de grandes quantités de savoir. La fonction de transmission démocratique du savoir a occulté ses autres fonctions.

The Institute for the Future (IFTF) is an independent nonprofit research group. We work with organizations of all kinds to help them make better, more informed decisions about the future. We provide the foresight to create insights that lead to action. We bring a combination of tools, methodologies, and a deep understanding of emerging trends and discontinuities to our work with companies, foundations, and government agencies. We take an explicitly global approach to strategic planning, linking macro trends to local issues in such areas as: Work and daily life Technology and society Health and health care Global business trends Changing consumer society The Institute is based in California's Silicon Valley, in a community at the crossroads of technological innovation, social experimentation, and global interchange. Founded in 1968 by a group of former RAND Corporation researchers with a grant from the Ford Foundation to take leading-edge research methodologies into the public and business sectors, the IFTF is committed to building the future by understanding it deeply.

"IBES is an interdisciplinary research institute that aligns research and industry interests to drive innovation in broadband applications for the benefit of society. A central feature of the Institute is the active involvement of industry through the Industry Partner Program."

"A new report by Moody's Investors Service suggests that while MOOCs' exploitation of expanded collaborative networks and technological innovation will benefit higher education in the United States as a whole, their long-term effect on the for-profit sector and smaller not-for-profit institutions could be damaging. MOOCs - massive open online courses - have garnered considerable attention since Stanford University's artificial intelligence course in the autumn 2011 semester attracted nearly 160,000 students. While the course's completion rate was low (15.6%), the scale of the response excited many in the higher education community - from institutions to venture capital companies. Indeed, the report notes that MOOCs represent a "pivotal development" in the evolution of higher education and have the potential to revolutionise the way a centuries-old industry has operated."

"For more on the potential of broadband in general and the National Broadband Network in particular, the Institute for a Broadband-Enabled Society's Annual Report and Symposium presentation is well worth a look. Three slides from the presentation caught my eye. They capture the importance of concurrency (multiple simultaneous accesses to multiple applications, something I've discussed in this previous post) very well, and also nicely illustrate the wide range of applications that next generation access can support: "

In a major new development in the world of health IT, the Data Privacy Lab in the Institute of Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University will soon unveil a health record bank (HRB) that allows anyone to own and manage a complete, secure, digital copy of their health records and wellness information with a free account. This is the first time that a prominent academic institution is hosting an HRB for use by the general public and communities nationwide. The service, called MyDataCan, is a secure and trustworthy technical infrastructure for receiving, storing and facilitating consumer-controlled access to personal information, including medical data. Its design is extensible to cover various forms of personal data, customizable through third-party applications, and benefits from a multimillion-dollar investment by Harvard.

I have always been intrigued by the promise of online education. It is easy to see how geographic and economic boundaries can be overcome through technology. Educational institutions can compete for students well beyond their traditional local boundaries, growing nationally and internationally while bringing down their per-seat costs. Schools no longer need expensive classrooms and dormitories to grow. Small, innovative institutions can grow globally and as rapidly as they dare to dream. High-quality teaching faculty can be recruited from anywhere on the planet -- to teach thousands of students simultaneously. Students can study anytime and attend classes from anywhere. In addition, growth of free, high-quality education sites such as Khan Academy and open-source courses such as Opencourseware at MIT, along with global satellite and broadband communications networks, have removed economic, social, and geographic barriers to high-quality education.

"IR.U is a new coalition by the founders of Gig.U that will bring Super Wi-Fi networks - better known to some as White Space networks, or wireless internet over unlicensed and unused TV channels - to over 500 educational institutions across the US. Comprised of higher education associations, public interest groups, and private tech companies like Microsoft and Google, AIR.U aims to offer fast, reliable internet to remote schools and universities in areas otherwise too remote for wired broadband."

The Google Cultural Institute helps preserve and promote culture online

In the current context of intensified competition, accelerated globalization and economic downturn, many companies are opening their innovation processes by integrating a large pool of partners - individuals, companies, research labs and public structures - in order to innovate more and faster. 'Open Innovation' is now a real buzzword that many companies and academics constantly refer to. To study the reality behind this trend, Accenture and the Institute for Innovation and Competitiveness i7, created by ESCP Europe, have investigated the current practices of companies that have been leveraging Open Innovation for several years to boost their overall innovation performance. They analyzed what Open Innovation changes in the way these companies build and handle external partnerships, organize and stimulate innovation internally. They then studied the perceived impact on innovation performance.

The Open Data Institute (ODI) will be a global first: a collaboration between our leading businesses and entrepreneurs, universities and researchers, government and civil society to unlock enterprise and social value from the vast amount of Open Government Data now being made accessible. The Prime Minister, David Cameron, has put Open Data at the heart of his agenda for government and in his Autumn Statement last November Chancellor George Osborne announced the intention to launch the ODI to stimulate innovation and enterprise. The ODI, an independent organisation led by Professors Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Nigel Shadbolt, will be formally opened in October.

The American college system is staggeringly large: 2,421 four-year institutions enroll about 18.5 million college students. The proportion of Americans with a bachelor's degree is at an all-time high - a social victory if they're able to enjoy a positive return on their degrees, which the Pew Research Center estimates at about $550,000 on average.

"The City's IT Vision includes a component for addressing the digital divide in Minneapolis:  All City residents, institutions and businesses will have the tools, skills and motivation to gain value from the digital society.  Our residents and businesses need to be equipped to effectively compete with others around the world-to be smarter, more creative, more knowledgeable, and more innovative. Leveraging technology is a necessary ingredient of success."

This report presents the results of an investigation of experts' views on digital competence for all, commissioned by the Joint Research Centre's Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (JRC‐ IPTS). The objective of this investigation was to provide another perspective on what it means to be digitally competent today, in addition to reviews of literature 4 and current frameworks for the development of digital competence, 5 all of which constitute part of the wider IPTS Digital Competence Project (DIGCOMP). Some common ground exists at a general level in defining digital competence in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitudes, which may be hierarchically organised. However, this does not provide the clarity needed by teachers, employers, citizens - all those who are responsible for digital competence development, be it their own or other people's  ‐ to make informed decisions. Further work is needed to create a common language that helps to enhance understanding across the worlds of research, education, training, and work. This will make it easier for citizens and employers to see what digital competence entails and how it is relevant to their jobs and more generally, their lives. 

This year, the Stratford Institute has prepared a  detailed evaluation of provincial and territorial  eGovernment initiatives (provision of online  services, online information and online citizen  engagement). The methodology was developed  in collaboration with Brainmaven Research from  other recent assessments internationally, tested  with a trial run last year and then reviewed and  modified with input from the provincial CIOs. The  intent is not to stress the relative ratings of the  jurisdictions but to identify and feature the best  practices emerging across our governments. This  is only a portrait of what our researchers saw at  one point in time this year. Websites constantly  evolve and some jurisdictions are embarking on  significant changes. Our intent is to encourage and  inspire advances, not so much amongst the CIOs,  who are well aware of the potential, but amongst  the departments and ministries which must adjust  their processes to accommodate escalating online  demand 

Importance des contenus ouverts dans le domaine de l'information scientifique et de la recherche. La recherche est à la croisée des chemins: plusieurs enjeux contrai contraignent ngnent lle domaine à changer ses façons de faire. D'abord,  les données et connaissances scientifiques se multiplient en même temps que les coûts liés du modèles traditionnels de diffusion par les publications spécialisées explosent.  De plus, la pression financière croissante sur les institutions d'enseignements exigent de nouveaux modèles d'accès à la connaissances. L'importance croissante de la collaboration internationale pour faire avancer des champs de recherche de plus en plus spécialisés et  la présence grandissante des contenus libres, tels que wikipédia, font que la nécessité d'avoir des contenus scientifiques accessibles librement s'avère de plus en plus urgente.

On se plaît souvent à imaginer l'Ina comme un formidable réservoir d'images, grenier merveilleux ou caverne d'Ali Baba regorgeant de trésors audiovisuels. Cette vision correspond bien sûr à une réalité : premier centre d'archives numérisées au monde, l'Ina préserve en son sein plus de 3 millions et demi d'heures de télévision et de radio - des émissions les plus anciennes aux plus récentes - auxquelles s'ajoutent chaque année plus de 800 000 heures supplémentaires collectées au titre du dépôt légal. Un fonds d'une telle richesse suffirait en soi à susciter la fascination - et pourtant, l'Ina est encore beaucoup plus que cela. Pour essentielle qu'elle soit, la conservation du patrimoine n'est pas pour nous une fin en soi, mais au contraire le point de départ de notre action. Parce que la mémoire ne vaut que si elle est partagée, nous avons à cœur d'ouvrir nos collections au public le plus largement possible, que ce soit en DVD, sur le Web ou, depuis peu, sur les télévisions connectées ou encore via les fournisseurs d'accès à Internet. En tant qu'éditeur multimédia et producteur audiovisuel, l'Ina contribue ainsi non seulement à diffuser ses images, mais aussi à les mettre en perspective - en proposant à chaque fois un point de vue, un regard. Livrée telle quelle, l'image brute demeure muette. Pour lui redonner du sens, pour lui restituer toute sa richesse, il faut être capable de l'appréhender, de l'analyser, de la penser, de la resituer dans son contexte. C'est pour cela que l'Ina est aussi le premier pôle européen de recherche et de formation aux métiers de l'audiovisuel. Une mission de transmission des savoirs et des savoir-faire qui devient aujourd'hui un axe de développement stratégique, pour une entreprise qui se conçoit tout à la fois aux sources du patrimoine et à la pointe de la modernité. Conserver, valoriser, transmettre : tel est le fil rouge de nos act

In what is shaping up as an academic Battle of the Titans - one that offers vast new learning opportunities for students around the world - Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Wednesday announced a new nonprofit partnership, known as edX, to offer free online courses from both universities. News, data and conversation about education in New York. Join us on Facebook » Follow us on Twitter » Harvard's involvement follows M.I.T.'s announcement in December that it was starting an open online learning project to be known as MITx. Its first course, Circuits and Electronics, began in March, enrolling about 120,000 students, some 10,000 of whom made it through the recent midterm exam. Those who complete the course will get a certificate of mastery and a grade, but no official credit. Similarly, edX courses will offer a certificate but will carry no credit