International Studies Abroad (ISA) Launches Study Abroad Mobile Application for iPhone

International Studies Abroad (ISA) has launched an iPhone application and wanted to help spread the news via IHEC Blog and related outlets as I think it's a great idea!!  Kudos to ISA for taking this leap and I imagine that others will follow.  You can link to the press release here and watch a short video about it below:

Finally, An App For Study Abroad from ISA Abroad on Vimeo.

Will Osama bin Laden's death change things for American students abroad?

Last night @IndelibleINTL sent the following tweet that caught my attention: "Will Osama bin Laden's death change things for American students abroad?"  Great question!  What do you think?

Read Academic Programs International (API) Materials Anywhere! QR Codes and Catalogs

This IHEC Blog post is partly a copy and paste job from a recent SECUSS-L post and from an API Blog post [posted with permission of Jeramy Johnson, VP of Development at Academic Programs International (API)].  In my opinion, API is one of the best (if not the best) in the field of study abroad in their use of new/social media tools and their announcement last week that one can read any API catalog on their smart phone solidifies this for me.  


When you see API at study abroad fairs this spring, you will have a new, high-tech option for taking reading material away. In addition to their print catalogs, they are now offering the ability to scan a QR code for each catalog of interest, which one can then view in electronic format as an e-book at their leisure!  This not only cuts down on the number of catalogs that students take away from a study abroad fair, this presents a more environmentally-friendly way to digest all of the great API program information.

QR codes are a kind of bar code which allow you to access all types of information quickly and easily from a smartphone. To do this, you will need to download an app (application) to your smartphone that is capable of reading the codes (see below).

Some good (and FREE) examples include:

iPhone QR apps -

• Neoreader
• Scanlife
• QR Scanner

Android QR apps –

• Barcode Scanner
• Scanlife

Blackberry QR apps -

• Scanlife
• QR Code Scanner Pro

When you scan one of the API catalog QR codes, you will be given a link to the PDF of that catalog on their website. Different phones handle this differently, but as long as your phone can read PDFs, you will be able to read their catalogs on your phone. Some of the above apps also allow you to open the catalog PDFs from your phone in more accessible reading programs such as Evernote and iBooks. 
Link to original API Blog post "Read API Materials Anywhere! QR Codes and Catalogs"

Diversity in International Education - A Hands-On Workshop Summary Report

Back on September 21st, the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) and Diversity Abroad hosted a unique hands-on workshop focusing on diversity in international education at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. in collaboration with the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO), the Institute of International Education (IIE) and Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). This is free workshop was supported by a generous grant provided by the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation.  Over 100 study abroad leaders from universities, colleges and various organizations attended this workshop. 


The Summary Report from this workshop entitled "Diversity in International Education - A Hands-On Workshop" is now available for download at http://www.aifsabroad.com/advisors/publications.asp


I was honored at the invitation to contribute comparative data on the diversity of higher education and study abroad for this workshop and you can find these data sets in the Summary Report.  While it is a bit outdated (a major update is planned for all my annotated bibliographies post dissertation) you may find interested in an annotated bibliography on underrepresentation in education abroad that I compiled which you can access here.

What was the Biggest International Education News of the Decade?

Perhaps I'm getting caught up in all of the end of decade hoopla where everyone is making their "Top of the Decade" lists and I thought there is no reason why I can't jump on that cheesy train. I created my first IHEC Blog poll (top right of the blog) asking "What was the Biggest International Education News of the Decade?" Following are the top four news events of the decade that I could think of on my own and with the help of a colleague via IHEC Blog's Facebook page:

- Establishment of International Education Week
- September 11th (increasing international focus of U.S. students, immigration, image of U.S.)
- SEVIS
- Lincoln Commission/ Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act

The poll closes at 11:59p.m. (CST) on December 31st. If you have a moment to vote I would greatly appreciate it!

Support the Senator Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act – An Insider’s Perspective from Colorado

ColoradoBiz has a nice piece by Cynthia Banks (founder and executive director of AustraLearn / AsiaLearn / EuroLearn – Educational Programs of GlobaLinks, LLC) on supporting the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act and why study abroad is important to Colorado. You can read Banks’ article here.

Please take one minute to visit NAFSA: Association of International Educators’ Take Action Center today as it’s expected that the House of Representatives will vote this week (perhaps as soon as tomorrow) on the Foreign Relations Authorization Act (H.R. 2410) for fiscal year 2010-2011. Included in H.R. 2410 is the Simon legislation which is a critical component to U.S. foreign policy and diplomacy goals.[1]

TAKE ACTION HERE!

[1] adapted from NAFSA’s Take Action Center

The Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act is included in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410)

On May 14th the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act was included in the Foreign Relations Authorization Act introduced by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA). Last year, the bill passed the House with unanimous support and enjoyed strong bipartisan support in the Senate, including that of then-senators President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where it was one step short of passage when the legislative clock expired last fall. The Simon Act has been endorsed by more than forty higher education and international exchange organizations and by the 9/11 Comission Chairs.

The Simon Act aims to dramatically increase the number of U.S. undergraduates who study abroad in quality programs across the globe, focusing particular attention on ensuring access to study abroad across the college demographic and encouraging study abroad in the developing world. Less than 10% of U.S. undergraduates participate on educational programs abroad.

Here’s a statement from NAFSA: Association of International Educators Executive Director and CEO Marlene Johnson: “We applaud Chairman Berman for his strong support of the Simon bill and for including it in this important package. By ensuring that the critical experience of study abroad is an integral part of the 21st-century education of our college students, this unique and innovative program would revolutionize America’s capacity to understand, relate to, and lead responsibly in the world. We are encouraged by the support expressed for the Simon bill by President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton when they were in the Senate.”
Want to do more? NAFSA is leading a growing movement online to make sure this legislation gets passed. Here are some ways you can help:

Join NAFSA on Facebook at http://www.nafsa.org/jointhemovement to find out how you can support the Simon bill.

You can learn more about the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act here.

Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009

February 25, 2009 Special Edition NAFSA.news reports that Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act of 2009 today on the floor of the U.S. Senate. You can read this special edition of NAFSA.news here.

Additionally, NAFSA has set-up a webpage on their public policy website devoted entirely to the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act that includes some historical background on this bill and a video of Senator Simon from November 13, 2003 discussing the importance of U.S. students studying abroad and establishing what, at the time, was known as the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program.

Those of you who are interested in the history of the Senator Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act might remember that on November 18, 2003 NAFSA released Securing America's Future: Global Education for a Global Age - Report of the Strategic Task Force on Education Abroad to the general public and that the concept behind the Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program was introduced by the late U.S. Senator Paul Simon (D-IL) in this report. Inspired by President Lincoln’s understanding of international matters and his signing of the Morrill Act, the Land Grant College Act, Senator Simon envisioned a Fellowship of up to $7,000 a year awarded to 500,000 college students to study abroad annually for a least a summer or semester with priority given to those students seeking educational opportunities in developing nations. The cost of this program would be $3.5 billion a year which is only one-seventh of 1 percent of the federal budget. In the words of Senator Simon, “The question is not whether we can do it, but whether these fellowships should be one of our priorities.”

You can access the video of Senator Simon that was previously mentioned here.