Author Archives: Jim Farmer

About Jim Farmer

Jim Farmer is an engineering economist at instructional media + magic inc. His interests include educational technology, academic research, and information standards. He also writes for Intellectual Property Magazine. For more information, see his profile page.

The Datatel-SunGard Higher Education Merger

Posted on August 28, 2011 by Jim Farmer

This is a guest post from Jim Farmer, Chairman of Sigma Systems, Inc. [Editor’s note: I have had this post from Jim for a while now and am only now getting a chance to publish it. Apologies to Jim and … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Bloggers, Higher Education, Tools, Toys, and Technology (Oh my!) | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Charles Severance’s “Sakai: Free as in Freedom:” A Review

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Jim Farmer

This is a guest post by Jim Farmer, instructional media + magic inc. Jim has been Treasurer of the Sakai Foundation since December. When building a complex software system developers want to use the latest technology. Users want business processes … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Bloggers, Higher Education, Openness, Tools, Toys, and Technology (Oh my!) | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Investment Bankers and Blackboard’s Future, Part One: If …

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Jim Farmer

This is a guest post by Jim Farmer, Chairman of Sigma Group Inc. On Friday July 1,st after this was written, Blackboard Inc. was acquired by “affiliates of Providence Equity Partners” for $1.64 billion. They will also assume approximately $130 … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher Education | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Software Patent Wars: Is Linux next?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Jim Farmer

This is a guest post by Jim Farmer, instructional media + magic inc. and contributor to Intellectual Property Magazine. It was sunny day, 76 degrees, in Tyler, Texas on April 15th, 2011 when the jury foreman handed the single page … Continue reading →

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Higher Education Recession: A new role for information technologists?

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Jim Farmer

This is a guest post by Jim Farmer. Jim is Chairman of instructional media + magic. Monday, 11 October the Browne report, “Securing a Sustainable Future for Higher Education,” was released in the UK. If implemented there will be major cuts … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest Bloggers, Higher Education, Tools, Toys, and Technology (Oh my!) | Tagged , , | 3 Comments