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On March 25th, MIT and OEIT hosted 100 teachers and educators for Learning Curve's Share Fair.

OEIT's STAR program (Software Tools for Academics and Researchers) has recently released a new website featuring a new graphic design and a new content management platform.

For users, enhancements include streamlined navigation, updated toolsets, and expanded materials. Sample exercises, video tutorials, and user guides enable students and other users to be self-sufficient -- from downloading and launching the java-based applications to exploring the applications' capabilities with sample exercises and tutorials.

Viijay Kumar recently contributed to an ongoing discussion on open education throught the world. 

Toru Iiyoshi moderated and presented at a featured panel at the 6th annual conference of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning last week.

 "Innovation, Transformation, and Excellence in Learning"

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lobby 13 (map)

A three-pronged framework -- open technology, open content & open knowledge -- makes learning more visible and thus shifts the focus from teaching to learning. Vijay Kumar's keynote address at 10th Sakai conference highlights the opportunities and challenges inherent in this model. (Joseph Korcuska, Sakai Executive Director, convenes; Babi Mitra, OEIT Associate Director, introduces Kumar.)

StarBiochem makes visible what is invisible. For biology students, offering a window into molecular structure can make the difference between comprehension and confusion. Lourdes Aleman & Molly Ruggles recently offered a hands-on workshop on 3D Protein viewers at NMC2009, focusing on the unique qualities of StarBiochem which encourages student exploration and strengthens understanding. The audio-synced slide is available below:

On May 28, Jeff Merriman & Brandon Muramatsu gave a presentation on OEIT's recent educational innovations for Share Fair's conference on Moodle in the K-12 sector. Their talk covered Visualizing Cultures, Software Tools for Academics and Researchers (STAR), and an introduction to OpenCourseWare (OCW) with a focus on 'Highlights for High School'.

The MIT project Visualizing Cultures, which was created in 2002 to explore the potential of the Internet for developing innovative image-driven scholarship and learning, was awarded this year's Franklin R. Buchanan prize by the Association for Asian Studies. The prize is awarded annually to recognize an outstanding curriculum publication on Asia designed for any educational level, elementary through university. The project can be viewed at http://visualizingcultures.mit.edu