Connexions for Android Updated

The Connexions App for Android has been updated to version 1.2. It includes one new feature and corrects some usability issues. The changes are:

• PDFs and EPUBs can now be downloaded to your device for offline reading. The PDF or EPUB will need to be viewed with an application for that file type.
• The Web View initial zoom and font size has been improved.
• Visual feedback is now given when a list item is pressed or selected.
• List context menus now have name of item selected as the title.

You can download the app and view screenshots on the Connexions for Android splash page. It is also available in the Android Market and in AppsLib. Give it a test drive and let us know what you think at techsupport@cnx.org.

This makes it all worthwhile!

This feedback came from a French Horn player in Roseburg, Oregon about Catherine Schmidt-Jones' module "Transposing Instruments" (http://cnx.org/content/m10672/latest/). This is the kind of thing that really excites authors (and Connexions).

"Excellent article! I happen to play a transposing instrument – French horn -- and also fiddle around with a non-transposing, non-C instrument – an alto recorder. On the trail to becoming a horn player, I also played baritone and trumpet. I started on the horn back in the dark ages of Jr. high (late 70s), and while I did, indeed, learn to transpose on sight in high school and college, I did it by rote and only very vaguely understood the concept of transposition. After a decade of not playing, I’ve joined a chamber orchestra and find that I need to re-learn many things. Your article, bar none, is absolutely the best, clearest, and most succinct explanation I have ever read. Thank you so much!"

Amy Coughlin from Roseburg, Oregon

Word Processing Essentials published in Connexions

Word Processing Essentials is a Connexions collection of modules to teach or refresh skills using Microsoft Word. The intended audience is anyone who needs to create a simple term or research paper for a high school or college course.

The collection was planned by Kenneth Leroy Busbee, the Chair of the Business/Computer Science Department at the Community College of Qatar. Students taking Business Computer Applications (BCIS1405) authored the modules that make up the chapters of the book as a class project. The project introduced the students to service learning, team work, and Open Educational Recourses (OER) and the result will help students produce research papers using common word-processing tools.

More details are in the preface of the manual at: http://cnx.org/content/col11246/latest. You can see other materials associated with the Community College of Qatar in the Community College of Qatar lens.

IEEE-SPS lens highlights vetted curriculum for engineering educators

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. Signal Processing Society has announced the IEEE-SPS endorsement lens in Connexions. The IEEE-SPS lens highlights free, peer-reviewed, high-quality lessons that practicing engineers can use to further their signal processing education, and engineering instructors can use to build custom courses and textbooks.

The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization with more than 350,000 members worldwide. The IEEE-SPS represents the technical interests of its more than 15,000 members in 148 countries.

The IEEE-SPS lens exemplifies the power of post-publication review provided by Connexions lenses. While Connexions is an open publishing platform where educators and authors can freely mix-and-match and adapt lessons, all of the material in the IEEE-SPS lens undergo rigorous peer-review before being included.

"While quality assurance of content was a key issue for us, Connexions offers other tangible benefits for our members," said SPS President Mos Kaveh. "Compared with traditional publishing, Connexions is much faster, has global reach and is perfectly suited for the rapid pace of change in our field."