Brilliant Personalization Sites
You've gotta try these two personalization sites. They are amazing, particularly Pandora.com, which personalizes music to your tastes once you give it a couple of hints. I'm a big fan of soft...
View ArticleTextbook Cost Controls Are Now the Law in Colorado
Governor Bill Ritter signed Senate Bill 73 into law on Tuesday, April 8. Sponsored by Senator Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, and Representative John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, it is patterned after similar laws...
View ArticleCBMS and Other Colorado Systems - Status Report as of May 22, 2008
Well, folks, the news is not good, at least for CBMS, but maybe it could be. Someday. Maybe.Ann Imse's story in today's Rocky Mountain News, "Data systems get some glue", discusses the additional...
View Article"As Textbooks are Customized, Students Pay"
That's the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal on July 10th. Here's the way the article, by John Hechinger, begins:"College students, already struggling with soaring tuition bills and...
View ArticleArticle on Open Textbooks from USA Today
USA Today published an article on Friday, July 11, entitled "Online "open" textbooks save students cash". Written by Svetlana Shkolnikova, it's a pretty good overview of the problem and some of the...
View ArticleCost of Textbooks Covered in Higher Education Act
The Higher Education Act was passed in both houses of the US Congress and is expected to be signed into law today. It includes several provisions related to help reduce the cost of textbooks. They...
View ArticleOpen Education 2008 Conference
I usually have a topic in my courses on competitive intelligence and how the Internet can be used as a tool for environmental scanning. Imagine my embarrassment when, shortly after I had the thought...
View ArticleSome Publicity on Global Text at DU
There were three publications on Global text and/or the high cost of textbooks at the University of Denver in the past three weeks. One was on DU Today, a University web-based news channel, and the...
View ArticleAh, yes. The Colorado Benefits Management System
Sorry for the unusually long hiatus. Guess I haven't had much to say. But, the Colorado Benefits Management System never lets me down (although it seems I'm the only one it does not let down).Let me...
View ArticleMy New Year's Resolution
Well, at least one of them.Maria Bartiromo interviewed US Congressman Barney Frank in the December 10 issue of Business Week. See Barney Frank on Detroit, Housing, and Executive Pay . One of their...
View ArticleBoarding Pass Innovation
In the what will they think of next category:Here's the headline:Cellphones ring up a quick way for fliers to check inTravelers receive a special bar code that acts as a boarding passHere's the link to...
View ArticleAnother Way to Lower Textbook Costs - Rent Them
Today's Wall Street Journal had an interesting article by Peter King, entitled "A Textbook Case of Renting Books". I'd heard of similar schemes before, but most were offered by some of the major...
View ArticleThe Kindle has certain shortcomings for textbooks (in my opinion)
Amazon announced its new version of the Kindle today. Bigger screen (9.7 inches). More expensive ($489). Touted to be the salvation of newspapers and textbooks. Maybe newspapers (but doubtful)....
View ArticleMore on CBMS. Can you believe it?
Ta Da. Deloitte Consulting is riding to the rescue of CBMS (for only $44 million more than who knows how much has been spent already on this incredible fiasco).Here's the story from the front page of...
View ArticleThe Denver Post's Editorial Page Chimes in on CBMS
An editorial in the Denver post on May 16 called attention to the weirdness of the way a solution to the CBMS fiasco is being pursued.“Call us mystified by a report from The Denver Post's Allison...
View ArticleColorado beats Guam with CBMS!
Sherry Allison does a nice job of summing it up in her story which ran in the May 31 issue of the Denver Post, entitled "Glitch drains aid to needy". I'll just quote from it, although I'm inclined to...
View ArticleA Wonderful Article on Global Text from the Times (UK) Higher Education
Published on May 28, 2009, it sums up the project's status very well. Here's the first paragraph:"Expensive textbooks put the brakes on higher education for many students in developing nations. But a...
View ArticleLots of options for lower cost classroom materials
As classes get ready to start up again I couldn’t help but notice the plethora of alternatives to traditional textbooks that have hit my radar screen. For example, I received an email from my...
View ArticleIt's 2010
I can't believe that I have not posted anything since August. I thought it was going to be a busy quarter and it was. Time passed by quickly in a very satisfying way and now it's time for a New...
View ArticleA Few Things You Shouldn't Plan to Buy in 2010
The Wall Street Journal Sunday had a story today covering things you shouldn't plan to buy in 2010. Among them were DVDs, Home phone service, and external hard drives.The one that caught my eye,...
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