CIT Infobits - June, 2005
Issue 84
ISSN 1521-9275
About INFOBITS
Infobits is an electronic service of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ITS Teaching and Learning's Center for Instructional Technology. Each month the CIT's Information Resources Consultant monitors and selects from a number of information and instructional technology sources that come to her attention and provides brief notes for electronic dissemination to educators.
Personal Digital Libraries
eLearning and the Structure of Higher Education Institutions
Principles for Supporting Cyber-Faculty
Clickers in the Classroom
Update on Videoconferencing Options
Recommended Reading
Academics have always amassed large collections of personal research materials: journals, letters, clippings, photographs, slides, and books. Digital capturing, computer storage, and retrieval tools have made even vaster collections both possible and practical. In "Plenty of Room at the Bottom? Personal Digital Libraries and Collections" (D-Lib Magazine, vol. 11, no. 6, June 2005), Neil Beagrie looks at the impact that growth of personal libraries will have on individuals and the libraries in their institutions. He envisions the need for more services to help control, protect, organize, and present these materials. And he suggests that more formal networking can make personal collections a part of the larger body of materials available to researchers. The article is available online at http://www.dlib.org/dlib/june05/beagrie/06beagrie.html.
D-Lib Magazine [ISSN: 1082-9873] covers innovation and research in digital libraries. D-Lib is published, online and free of charge, eleven times a year by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) and is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). For more information, contact: D-Lib Magazine, c/o Corporation for National Research Initiatives, 1895 Preston White Drive, Reston, VA 20191 USA; tel: 703-620-8990; fax: 703-620-0913; email: dlib@cnri.reston.va.us; Web: http://www.dlib.org/.
ELEARNING AND THE STRUCTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS
"[A]re traditional universities able to compete with other independent education providers in relation to social demands for 'life long learning' and globalised education services?" Gurmak Singh, John O'Donoghue, and Harvey Worton think that eLearning has a "fundamental impact on the structure of higher education." Online-only corporate and virtual universities compete with traditional colleges and universities for some of the same students. Even though traditional higher education institutions have the advantage of established reputations, to maintain this competitive edge, they need to incorporate more flexibility into their existing structure. In "A Study into the Effects of eLearning on Higher Education" (Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, vol. 2, issue 1, 2005), the authors outline suggestions for making these structural changes. The paper is available online at http://jutlp.uow.edu.au/2005_v02_i01/odonoghue003.html.
The Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice [ISSN: 1449-9789] is published bi-annually by the Centre for Educational Development and Interactive Resources (CEDIR), University of Wollongong. For more information, contact: Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice, University of Wollongong, c/o CEDIR, Northfields Avenue, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; email: jutlp@uow.edu.au; Web: http://jutlp.uow.edu.au/.
PRINCIPLES FOR SUPPORTING CYBER-FACULTY
"As colleges and universities work steadily to get full-time faculty onboard with distance learning, virtual adjuncts have eagerly stepped up to fill the void, thereby enabling institutions to respond promptly to market demand." In "Managing Virtual Adjunct Faculty: Applying the Seven Principles of Good Practice" (Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, vol. VIII, no. II, Summer 2005), Maria Puzziferro-Schnitzer uses Chickering and Gamson's principles as a suggested framework for supporting and managing "cyber-faculty." Although Puzziferro-Schnitzer uses examples from a community college viewpoint, the principles can be applied to any institution that wants to attract and retain high quality faculty. The paper is available online at http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/summer82/schnitzer82.htm.
The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration is a free, peer-reviewed quarterly published by the Distance and Distributed Education Center, The State University of West Georgia, 1600 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118 USA; Web: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/jmain11.html.
See also:
Chickering, Arthur W., and Gamson, Zelda F. Applying the Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, Number 47, Fall 1991. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Inc.
Short summary of Chickering and Gamson's seven principles:
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/7princip.htm
Resembling television remote control devices, clickers transmit and record responses to questions. Unlike earlier keypad student response systems, clickers can be registered to a student and used in any classroom equipped with a receiving station (which can also be portable). Using clickers, instructors can quickly poll students to ascertain their understanding and mastery of course materials. Clicker polls, unlike a show-of-hands poll, can be anonymous; the results can be quickly tabulated, recorded, and saved in a variety of formats; and students report enjoying the immediate feedback they get. For more information about using clickers in classroom settings, see "7 Things You Should Know About . . . Clickers" at http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7002.pdf.
EDUCAUSE publishes the "7 Things You Should Know About . . ." series on emerging learning practices and technologies. EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. For more information, contact: EDUCAUSE, 4772 Walnut Street, Suite 206, Boulder, CO 80301-2538 USA; tel: 303-449-4430; fax: 303-440-0461; email: info@educause.edu; Web: http://www.educause.edu/.
See also:
"No Wrong Answer: Click It"
Wired News, May 14, 2005
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,67530,00.html
UPDATE ON VIDEOCONFERENCING OPTIONS
In his brief review, "Can you see me now?" (Presentations, vol. 19, no. 5, May 2005, pp. 38, 40-1), Stephen Regenold updates readers on videoconferencing developments that are making desktop conferencing better and easier. The article is available online at http://www.presentations.com/presentations/technology/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000964173.
Presentations: Technology and Techniques for Effective Communication [ISSN 1041-9780] is published monthly by VNU Business Media, 50 S. Ninth St., Minneapolis, MN 55402 USA; tel: 612-333-0471; fax: 612-333-6526; Web: http://www.presentations.com/.
"Recommended Reading" lists items that have been recommended to me or that Infobits readers have found particularly interesting and/or useful, including books, articles, and websites published by Infobits subscribers. Send your recommendations to kotlas@email.unc.edu for possible inclusion in this column.
Duke Law & Technology Review
http://www.law.duke.edu/journals/dltr/
"The Duke Law & Technology Review (DLTR) is an online legal publication that focuses on the evolving intersection of law and technology. This area of study draws on a number of legal specialties: intellectual property, business law, free speech and privacy, telecommunications, and criminal law -- each of which is undergoing doctrinal and practical changes as a result of new and emerging technologies. DLTR strives to be a 'review' in the classic sense of the word. We examine new developments, synthesize them around larger theoretical issues, and critically examine the implications. We also review and consolidate recent cases, proposed bills, and administrative policies."
"However, DLTR is unique among its sister journals at Duke, and indeed among all law journals. Unlike traditional journals, which focus primarily on lengthy scholarly articles, DLTR focuses on short, direct, and accessible pieces, called issue briefs or 'iBriefs.' In fact, the goal of an iBrief is to provide cutting edge legal insight both to lawyers and to non-legal professionals. In addition, DLTR strives to be the first legal publication to address breaking issues. To that end, we publish on the first and fifteenth of every month during the school year (September until April) and less frequently during the summer."
Duke Law & Technology Review is available free of charge as an Open Access journal on the Internet.
