University intros campus iPhone app

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) has developed what it claims is the first iPhone app available at a UK university to help staff and students, reports Computing.co.uk.

UCLan learning and information services director, Michael Ahern, says students today have busy lives due to the need to balance their studies, part-time work and social lives. The application was developed during the summer holiday and makes use of fast Web-mail access, a comprehensive library catalogue, staff directory, and a list of campus facilities.

Students are also given the option to top up their printing accounts or book a meeting room in any of the university libraries by downloading the application.

Microsoft will be offering a discounted version of its Windows 7 operating system for students, states CRN Australia.

In the US, eligible students are being offered the student edition for $30, which is a similar price to what Apple Mac users are paying to upgrade to the new Snow Leopard operating system.

To qualify for the discount, students must be attending a registered and approved college or university, have a valid student e-mail address at the educational institution, and have a PC that will run Windows 7.

A new digital learning programme at Vermilion schools is helping students struggling to make the grade in traditional classrooms, says The Morning Journal.

The Vermilion Academy started this year with five students and is ready to add nine more, Vermilion school superintendent, Phil Pempin, said. The programme, at the Vermilion administrative offices on Beechview Drive, has a full-time teacher-administrator hired through the North Point Educational Service Centre.

Students are identified by counsellors, teachers and administrators as being in need of additional assistance to stay in school, Pempin said. They work with the teacher and computer software to gain credit hours toward a Vermilion High School diploma.