Forum LAMS Newsletter: Newsletter 14, 12th Feb 06


 
You may request notification for Newsletter 14, 12th Feb 06.
Search: 

1: Newsletter 14, 12th Feb 06
02/12/06 04:16 AM
[ Forward ]
Back for 2006!

Welcome to the first LAMS newsletter for 2006! We'd planned to get started during January, but with a long, hot summer in Sydney.... ;-) Seriously though, we've been very busy with the next generation of LAMS (V1.1), integration with Blackboard and the BETT conference in London (not so warm there!) - including the new LAMS eLC Sequence Library for UK schools. Finally, I have a special request for brief feedback from those using LAMS.

Next Generation LAMS - LAMS V1.1 update

In December 2005 we made the LAMS V1.1 development wiki open to the public - you can find it at http://www.lamsfoundation.org/wiki/ This site has all the technical details about the upcoming new version of LAMS, especially the "tools contract" (the details about how to plug activity tools into the new modular LAMS V1.1 architecture - see http://lamscvs.melcoe.mq.edu.au:8090/display/lams/Tool+Contract ). A workshop on LAMS V1.1 will be held on February 17th at London Knowledge Lab - for details, see http://lamscommunity.org/dotlrn/clubs/educationalcommunity/forums/message-view?message%5fid=142283

For non-technical users, the summary of LAMS V1.1 features (including animations showing many of the new features in action) can be found at http://lamscvs.melcoe.mq.edu.au:8090/display/lams/LAMS+1.1+Feature+List Expect to see much more about LAMS V1.1 throughout the year.

Blackboard announces LAMS Building Block integration

In a press release in late January, Blackboard announced the release of the LAMS Building Block for integrating LAMS and Blackboard - see http://www.blackboard.com/company/press/release.aspx?id=807526
The February Blackboard newsletter also carried an article about the integration - see http://www.blackboard.com/company/newsletters/ASFebruary2006e.htm

The press release including this interesting comment on Blackboard, LAMS and open source:

"The LAMS Building Block is a prime example of open source and Blackboard working together towards the common goal of enhancing education," said Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman of Blackboard. "This new tool clearly demonstrates that open source and corporate developed/supported software do not and should not be mutually exclusive of each other; but instead can work side by side to create an end result greater than the sum of the individual parts. It is tremendously exciting to work with LAMS to facilitate this kind of cutting edge functionality."

Development of the LAMS/Blackboard Building Block was supported by Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. For further details see the press release and the LAMS/Blackboard integration information page at http://lamsfoundation.org/integration/blackboard6/

LAMS at BETT 2006

LAMS International, the LAMS services and support company, had a stand at the BETT show in London in mid January. James Dalziel, Jonathan Clare and Andrew Logue were busy demonstrating LAMS and explaining its features throughout the show - on the busy days, they barely drew breath! It was great to see the enormous interest in the revolutionary LAMS approach to e-learning, and just how well known LAMS is among BETT attendees.

Following accreditation from BECTA under the eLC scheme, the BETT show marked the first time that LAMS International has offered a library of prepared LAMS sequences (mapped to English school curriculum) to complement LAMS hosting and support services. Relevant schools can now use their eLC funding to purchase the combined sequence library and hosting package - for further details, see http://www.lamsinternational.com/product/elc.html

**Special Request for Feedback on LAMS**

The home of LAMS (Macquarie University) has a new Vice Chancellor (Stephen Schwartz). I'm preparing a briefing on LAMS for Stephen, so I would really appreciate your feedback on why LAMS is important to you. Could you please email me a short paragraph (by Thursday 16th February) on what LAMS means to you? If you received this newsletter by email, replying to it will send your email direct to me (James Dalziel - or email to james@melcoe.mq.edu.au) Many thanks.

Posted by James Dalziel

Post a Reply
Back to LAMS Newsletter