ANN ARBOR—Innovative technology applications targeted for business and education will be highlighted at a special celebration luncheon Nov. 15 at the Michigan League on the University of Michigan.

The presentations will include:

·  U-M-Flint’s School of Management’s work with area K-12 schools and nonprofit agencies: Middle and high school students, trained as computer system specialists, are helping schools and companies harness the power of the Web.

They are also teaching their teachers how to use information technology and fix computers.

·  A discussion of the next generation of online course technologies and research collaboration tools that are being developed at the Media Union. Two of these tools, CourseTools.NextGeneration, and WorkTools.NextGeneration, are the follow-ons to the successful current versions of CourseTools and WorkTools, and will be the foundations for the future of online learning and research support at the University. These tools are being built in CHEF, an advanced framework for building collaborative systems, and are part of a larger effort to provide standards-based, open source systems to the higher education community.

· A comprehensive DesigninBiz Web site, created by the School of Art and Design and underwritten by an SBC Foundation grant: The site not only provides critical information on the use of design as a strategic tool for small businesses, but actively engages design professionals, small business managers and design students in on-going design dialogues and constructive criticism of student design projects.

·  A demonstration of the Web site for E100, “Introduction to Engineering” course, offered at the Dearborn campus: The site, reproduced on a CD Rom for those who don’t have Web access, contains all the course materials needed including lecture notes, interactive flash movies, laboratory experiments, assignments, and practice problems. For students who may need to brush up on their prerequisite skills and knowledge, the site contains tutorials and links to other related sites.

Presenters will be available for interviews following the luncheon.

Full descriptions of the projects, funded in large part by a five-year, $1.5 million SBC Ameritech Learning Initiative grant from the SBC Foundation, will also be available. Gail Torreano, president of SBC Ameritech Michigan, and James Hilton, U-M associate provost for academic, information and instructional technology affairs, will speak at the 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. luncheon in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League, 911 North University on the Ann Arbor central campus.

For more information, contact Susan Shields, (734) 615-3533 or send email to sshield@umich.edu. (Please note dietary restrictions.)

Contact: Kim Cobb
Phone: (734) 647-4408
E-mail: kimcobb@umich.edu