When doctoral student Aryn Karpinski's unpublished study connecting students' heavy Facebook use and lower grades was presented at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association in April it created a "media sensation" both in the press and among academic blogs. Not everyone found her conclusions convincing.

Three researchers attempted to replicate Karpinski's findings using three datasets: (1) a large sample of undergraduate students from the University of Illinois at Chicago, (2) a nationally representative cross sectional sample of American 14– to 22–year–olds, and (3) a longitudinal panel of American youth aged 14–23. They report (in "Facebook and Academic Performance: Reconciling a Media Sensation with Data," by Josh Pasek, Eian More, and Eszter Hargittai, FIRST MONDAY, vol. 14, no. 5, May 4, 2009) that "[i]n none of the samples do we find a robust negative relationship between Facebook use and grades. Indeed, if anything, Facebook use is more common among individuals with higher grades."

The article is available at http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/viewArticle/2498/2181

First Monday [ISSN 1396-0466] is an online, peer-reviewed journal whose aim is to publish original articles about the Internet and the global information infrastructure. It is published in cooperation with the University Library, University of Illinois at Chicago. For more information, contact: First Monday, c/o Edward Valauskas, Chief Editor, PO Box 87636, Chicago IL 60680-0636 USA; email: ejv@uic.edu; Web: http://firstmonday.org/

LEARNING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS

"Virtual worlds as educational spaces--with their three-dimensional landscapes and customizable avatars--seem so similar to video games that educators may assume . . . that students will become as motivated by virtual worlds as they are by video games. However, these same similarities may also lead students to perceive virtual worlds as play spaces rather than as innovative educational environments. If students feel that learning opportunities offered in such spaces are not valid, they are likely to feel that they are not learning."

-- Catheryn Cheal, "Student Perceptions of a Course Taught in Second Life"

The June/July 2009 issue of INNOVATE (vol. 5, issue 5) focuses on the theme of virtual worlds and simulations in education. The papers reflect the maturing of the study of virtuality in education that grew out of early discussions and the formation of the League of Worlds, a conference whose mission is to "stimulate and disseminate research, analysis, theory, technical and curricular developments in the creative, educational, training-based and social use of role-playing, simulations and virtual worlds."

The journal is available http://innovateonline.info/ Registration is required to access articles; registration is free.

Innovate: Journal of Online Education [ISSN 1552-3233], an open-access, peer-reviewed online journal, is published bimonthly by the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University. The journal focuses on the creative use of information technology (IT) to enhance educational processes in academic, commercial, and governmental settings. For more information, contact James L. Morrison, Editor-in-Chief; email: innovate@nova.edu; Web: http://innovateonline.info/

For more information about the League of Worlds, go to http://www.ubiqlab.org/low/

IP POLICIES AND E-LEARNING

"When we contrast the face-to-face learning environment with the online (e-learning) environment, nearly all assumptions about IP [intellectual property] and copyright are called into question. Virtually all materials that contribute to e-learning are (or can be) digitized, retained, archived, attributed and logged. This single fact raises questions about IP [intellectual property] ownership, responsibility, policies, and procedures that are newly on the table."

In "Intellectual Property Policies, E-Learning, and Web 2.0: Intersections and Open Questions" (ECAR Research Bulletin, vol. 2009, issue 7, April 7, 2009), Veronica Diaz discusses how online learning has necessitated revising IP policies that were created for face-to-face instructional settings. She notes that higher education IP policies need to go beyond the assumption that "e-learning is contained within an institutional system" as Web 2.0 technologies and social networking expand the reach of the learning environment.

The report is available online to members of ECAR subscribing institutions at http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ecar_so/erb/ERB0907.pdf To find out if your institution is a subscriber, go to http://www.educause.edu/ECARSubscribingOrganizations/957

ECAR (EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research) "provides timely research and analysis to help higher education leaders make better decisions about information technology. ECAR assembles leading scholars, practitioners, researchers, and analysts to focus on issues of critical importance to higher education, many of which carry increasingly complicated and consequential implications." For more information go to http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?SECTION_ID=4

NEW JOURNAL COVERS HIGHER ED INFORMATION LITERACY

The NORDIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION LITERACY IN HIGHER EDUCATION, published by the University of Bergen, is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal created to encourage "research-based development of information literacy teaching within the educational programmes of universities and higher education colleges" and to establish "a forum for the investigation and discussion of connections between information literacy and general learning processes within subject-specific contexts."

Papers in the inaugural issue include:

"A New Conception of Information Literacy for the Digital Environment in Higher Education" by Sharon Markless

To provide an information literacy (IL) framework for a virtual learning environment, the author considered the "relevant principles of learning, the place of student reflection when learning to be information literate, what IL in higher education (HE) should encompass, the importance of context in developing IL, and the influence of the digital environment, especially Web 2.0."

"Google Scholar compared to Web of Science. A Literature Review" by Susanne Mikki

According to the author, "Google Scholar is popular among faculty staff and students, but has been met with scepticism by library professionals and therefore not yet established as subject for teaching." In her paper, Mikki makes a case for including Google Scholar as a library resource by comparing it favorably with the more-highly-regarded Web of Science database.

The journal is available at https://noril.uib.no/index.php/noril

Nordic Journal of Information Literacy in Higher Education (NORIL) [ISSN 1890-5900] is published biannually by the University of Bergen Library. For more information, contact: Anne Sissel Vedvik Tonning, University of Bergen Library, Psychology, Education and Health Library, PO Box 7808, N-5020 Bergen, Norway; tel: +47 55588621; fax: +47 55884740; email: anne.tonning@ub.uib.no; Web: https://noril.uib.no/index.php/noril

NEW JOURNAL ON DIGITAL CULTURE

DIGITAL CULTURE & EDUCATION is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal devoted to analyzing the "impact of digital culture on identity, education, art, society, culture and narrative within social, political, economic, cultural and historical contexts." Readers can interact with the authors by posting online comments on the journal's website. Paper submissions can include scholarly reviews of books, conferences, exhibits, games, software, and hardware.

Papers in the first issue include:

"Revisiting Violent Videogames Research: Game Studies Perspectives on Aggression, Violence, Immersion, Interaction, and Textual Analysis" by Kyle Kontour, University of Colorado at Boulder

"Look at Me! Look at Me! Self-representation and Self-exposure through Online Networks" by Kerry Mallan, Queensland University of Technology

"Playing at Bullying: The Postmodern Ethic of Bully (Canis Canem Edit)" by Clare Bradford, Deakin University

Digital Culture & Education (DCE) [ISSN 1836-8301] is published as an ongoing journal with content added to the journal's website as papers are accepted. For more information, contact: Christopher Walsh, Editor; email: editor@digitalcultureandeducation.com; Web: http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/

HELPING COMPUTER-LITERATE STUDENTS BECOME RESEARCH-LITERATE

"While college students may be computer-literate, they are not, as a rule, research-literate. And there's a huge difference between the two."

In "Not Enough Time in the Library" (THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, May 14, 2009), Todd Gilman, librarian for literature in English at Yale University's Sterling Memorial Library, offers faculty suggestions for partnering with their campus library staff to help their students become research-literate learners.

Some of his tips include:

have a librarian conduct a session on effective search strategies that help students "avoid frustration and wasted time."
provide an assignment that applies what the students have learned in the session, one that will "incorporate a component that challenges students to evaluate the quality of information they find."
schedule library tour that takes students beyond the study areas and into the reference and stack areas

The article is available at http://chronicle.com/jobs/news/2009/05/2009051401c.htm?utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en (Online access may require a subscription to the Chronicle.)

The Chronicle of Higher Education [ISSN 0009-5982] is published weekly by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc., 1255 Twenty-third Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 USA; tel: 202-466-1000; fax: 202-452-1033; Web: http://chronicle.com/

TWO VIEWS OF ONLINE INSTRUCTION

"The Excellent Inevitability of Online Courses" By Margaret Brooks THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION May 29, 2009 http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i38/38a06401.htm?utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

"Within our lifetimes, technology has fundamentally changed the way we get the news, make purchases, and communicate with others. The Internet provides a platform for learning about and interacting with the world. It should be no surprise that students line up for courses that make the best use of technologies that are so integral to their lives. It's not just the economy. It's not just the convenience. It's the integration of technology within society that's driving the development of online courses."

"I'll Never Do It Again" By Elayne Clift THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, May 29, 2009 http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i38/38a03302.htm?utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en

"I trained for it, I tried it, and I'll never do it again. While online teaching may be the wave of the future (although I desperately hope not), it is not for me. Perhaps I'm the old dog that resists new tricks. Maybe I am a technophobe. It might be that I'm plain old-fashioned. This much I can say with certainty: I have years of experience successfully teaching in collegiate classrooms, and online teaching doesn't compare."

Information Technology Services at UNC-Chapel Hill

Teaching and Learning

TL Infobits - May 2009

ARE LOWER GRADES LINKED TO FACEBOOK USE?

LEARNING IN VIRTUAL WORLDS

IP POLICIES AND E-LEARNING

NEW JOURNAL COVERS HIGHER ED INFORMATION LITERACY

NEW JOURNAL ON DIGITAL CULTURE

HELPING COMPUTER-LITERATE STUDENTS BECOME RESEARCH-LITERATE

TWO VIEWS OF ONLINE INSTRUCTION

RECOMMENDED READING

Resources

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