In the News
Press and websites that feature Connexions.
- Connexions Lauded in NY Times Editorial
- An editorial in The New York Times on May 1, 2007, discussed a recent law passed in the state of Washington that requires textbook companies to disclose prices and other relevant information to college professors. This law is a response to the high cost of college textbooks. The editorial goes on to say that colleges and universities will need to embrace creative solutions to reduce textbook costs, like the Connexions Project at Rice University.
- Connexions featured in the Math Forum Internet News
- Math Forum Internet News, a weekly newsletter produced by the Drexel School of Education at Drexel University, featured Connexions in their April 6, 2007 edition. The Math Forum helps you to keep up with Math and Math Education on the Internet. It provides one-stop access to all the math resources you need.
- Schule 2.0: Open Source in der Bildung (German language)
- The German Web site, "Hitflip" published an article about Connexions, saying it is a Web site that can teach us things. The article is written in German and gives an overview of Connexions and how to use it. Hitflip is a person to person platform for swapping media products such as music, movies, or books. Click here to view an English translation of the article.
- How the Open Source Movement Has Changed Education: 10 Success Stories
- The Online Education Database (OEDb) Web site mentions Connexions as one of the success stories in open source education. OEDb provides reviews of programs from accredited online colleges, continuing education, distance learning, and more.
- KUHF radio interviews Connexions author Anthony Brandt
- Anthony Brandt was interviewed on January 8, 2007, by Chris Johnson with the KUHF radio show "Front Row" about Sound Reasoning , the online music appreciation course that Anthony authored in Connexions. They discussed music composition and walked through a portion of the course, complete with embedded musical examples.
- Connexions among leaders of open source education projects
- In its relatively young life, the Internet has promised many things and perhaps its greatest promise is the expansion of knowledge into every corner of the world. This expansion is steadily making inroads thanks to projects like Connexions. The Fall 2006 issue of Sallyport tells how Connexions may be well positioned to take advantage of the growing digital trend in open source software and education.
- Rice and IBM are working together on academic software applications connectivity
- The online magazine Campus Technology announced in its December 19, 2006, issue that IBM and Rice University researchers are collaborating on the development of an open standards based, service-oriented architecture (SOA) that will enable diverse types of academic software applications to work together.
- Listening for music's overall destiny
- Composer Anthony Brandt, author of Sound Reasoning , an introductory music appreciation course in Connexions, recently published an article in NewMusicBox about the importance of new strategies for listening to music. NewMusicBox is a Web-based multi-media publication from the American Music Center that is dedicated to the music of American composers and improvisers and their champions.
- Connexions cited as an online center for free texts
- In a December 11, 2006, article in BusinessWeek.com about The Global Text Project, Connexions was mentioned as an existing online center for free texts that was founded in 1999. The Global Text Project is a new effort to make wiki-style textbooks available to universities in developing nations.
- Smart Mobs blogs about Connexions
- Mike Love blogs about Connexions on Smart Mobs, mentioning how Connexions is different from other free textbook projects because of the modular information and the reuse of material under the Creative Commons license.
- Toss the Traditional Textbook
- The October 2006 edition of Edutopia talks about plans by the El Paso (Texas) Independent School District to author their own textbooks in Connexions as a way of having up-to-date textbooks in their classrooms. Edutopia is the magazine of the George Lucas Educational Foundation , which is a nonprofit operating foundation that celebrates and encourages innovation in schools.
- Connexions takes open source approach to education content
- LinuxInsider announces that the Rice University open publishing project "Connexions" has entered into an agreement for on-demand printing with QOOP , Inc., a content delivery company, aimed at making the educational site's materials more accessible and printable for both educators and students.
- Connexions workshops in Vietnam
- The Vietnam Education Foundation announced that on July 18 and 20, 2006, Connexions personnel are presenting two workshops in Vietnam. The workshops will demonstrate how the Connexions software tools work, how Connexions facilitates teaching and learning, and how Connexions can be adapted to the Vietnamese environment. The workshops will also help IT technicians learn how to install and maintain local Connexions servers (Rhaptos).
- Creative Commons license enables low cost textbook deal
- LinuxElectrons reports that Rice University's innovative Connexions has entered into an on-demand printing agreement with QOOP , Inc., that will allow students and instructors anywhere in the world to order high-quality, hardbound textbooks from Connexions - in most cases for less than $25. The deal positions Connexions to take the lead in open source textbook publishing.
- Rice U. will start first all-digital university press (Link requires subscription)
- The Chronicle of Higher Education wrote that Rice University would start the first all-digital university press, hoping that its experiment would serve as a model for other institutions struggling with the harsh economics of scholarly publishing. Online distribution will be handled by the university's open-source repository of scholarly materials, called Connexions. The e-books will be free to read, but a fee will be charged to download them. Readers will be able to order printed copies for an additional fee, and those books will be produced by a commercial print-on-demand service.
- New module for scholarly publishing
- Inside Higher Ed said that Rice University Press plans to begin publishing its books online only in an effort to overcome the "crisis of scholarly publishing".
- Connexions prepares for Vietnam launch
- Rice University's Connexions announced an agreement on July 11, 2006, with the Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the Vietnam Advanced Software Company (VASC) to deploy Connexions' web-based, open source document creation and management system and content to improve education and research throughout Vietnam.
- Rice swaps print for digital press
- The CNet News.com Web site published a news article on July 13, 2006, about Rice University's introduction of the first all-digital press, using the open source publishing platform, Connexions.
- Rice University revives its press in digital model
- The Wall Street Journal wrote about Rice University resurrecting its defunct academic press with online documents in an article in the July 13, 2006, issue. The the link above goes to the online version of The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com), which is subscription based. Search for "Rice University" on WSJ.com to display the article.
- Rice University Press goes digital
- The Book Standard reported on July 13, 2006, that Rice University plans to restart the Rice University Press under a new digital model. The new version of the University Press will publish manuscripts online through Connexions. Print-on-demand copies will be available through QOOP, Inc., as a result of a recent agreement between Connexions and QOOP.
- Google TechTalk on Connexions
- On April 11, 2006, Dr. Richard Baraniuk, the Founder of Connexions, and Dr. W. Joseph King, the Executive Director of Connexions, visited the headquarters of Google™ and delivered a presentation on what Connexions is and how it works. Google TechTalks recorded the presentation, titled Connexions - Building Communities and Sharing Knowledge, and has made it available for viewing on the Google Video Web site.
- World Talk Radio interview of Richard Baraniuk
- A sound file of the interview of Richard Baraniuk, founder of Connexions, on the Science and Society program of the World Talk Radio network. Rich talks about Connexions' Web-based approach to teaching, which adapts the same concepts pioneered in open-source software to the world of scholarly content. The interview was originally broadcasted on March 15, 2006.
- Sloan Consortium lists bases of Connexions
- Sloan C View, an online publication of the Sloan Consortium , discusses how Connexions is based on the beliefs that knowledge should be free and open to use and re-use; collaboration should be easier, not harder; people should get credit and kudos for contributing to research and education; and concepts and ideas are linked in unusual and surprising ways.
- Connexions: A real open source of information
- Inside Higher Ed, the online news and opinion magazine for higher education, named Connexions as "a model for free, shared information that could be used by faculty members and students anywhere in the world." The article by Scott Jaschik titled "Really Open Source" compared Connexions and MIT's OpenCourseWare.
- Inside Higher Ed says online course materials save money
- The online news and opinion magazine for higher education, Inside Higher Ed, names Connexions as an open access to online modular curricular materials. The article by Saul Fisher titled "Long Tails in Higher Education" addresses strategies for reducing the cost of university courses with small enrollments.
- New York Times mentions Connexions
- A May 14, 2005, New York Times article about the trend in college libraries to go digital stated that Connexions is a program "where anyone can access and augment course materials".
- E-paranoids cites Connexions module
- E-paranoids, an on-line encyclopedia, cites a Connexions module as a reference in its article "Gibbs phenomenon Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description".
- Springer publishes Connexions paper
- Springer, a scientific publishing house, has published the paper "Connexions: An Alternative Approach to Publishing" on their Web page. The paper appears on the Springerlink "Lecture Notes in Computer Science" Web page.
- The Register links to Connexions
- A link to a Connexions module appears in a news item in the Register, an IT news Web site in the UK. The module is about two's-complement notation for 16-bit processors and was used in the explanation of the failure of Comair's computer system over the holidays. Click the "conundrum" link in the news item to see the module.
- Connexions: Opening the doors of learning
- The feature article in the Spring 2004 issue of the Rice magazine Sallyport discusses how composer Anthony K. Brandt is using Connexions to open the doors of learning to music composition.
- Italian Web site announces Connexions launch
- In an article announcing the Connexions Launch 1.0, Scuola ER says that Connexions makes knowledge available to everyone. Scuola ER is a Web site that addresses educational topics in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy.
- Connexions featured on Creative Commons Web site
- Coinciding with the public release of their Open Content licenses, Creative Commons has listed Connexions as a "featured commoner" with an article describing our project.
- Hewlett Foundation Web site spotlights Connexions
- The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation mentions the Connexions Project, along with other projects the Foundation supports, in an alternating display on their Web site. The Foundation makes grants to address the most serious social and environmental problems facing society and places a high value on sustaining and improving institutions that make positive contributions to society.
- ASEE Prism writes about Connexions
- Prism, the magazine of the American Society of Engineering Education, says that Connexions could become the model for engineering education in the article "Connecting the Dots" in the December 2003 issue, pages 34-37.
- Connexions in the Houston Business Journal
- The Houston Business Journal tells about Rice University launching the Connexions knowledge-sharing Web site in the "Tech Now Briefs" section of its April 2, 2004 issue.
- Connexions in a movie
- The movie Reticulum Rex was premiered during the celebrations marking the first anniversary of Creative Commons. The movie tells the continuing story of Creative Commons with Connexions starring in a supporting role.
- Wired News and Connexions
- An article in Wired News discusses the sharing of audio and video course material over the internet by Berklee College of Music, in addition to Rice (Connexions) and MIT.
- Connexions listed on XML Cover Pages
- The XML Cover Pages, a popular XML community news site, has posted a news item about CNXML, the XML language created by Connexions to store content.
- Creative Commons license use spreads
- The Christian Science Monitor tells how Berklee College of Music, in addition to Rice and MIT, is making course material available to students on the Internet. All three institutions use Creative Commons licenses to make file sharing possible.
- School 2.0: Open Source in Education
- An English translation of the article about Connexions, "Schule 2.0: Open Source in der Bildung," from the German language Web site "HitFlip."
