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.
A New Discipline: Internet Studies
Tutorial For Academic Writers Writing for the Web
Higher Education Collaborative Writing and Research Website
Evaluating Online Courses
Ethical Policies for Distance Education
Enhancing Science and Mathematics Education with Technology
A NEW DISCIPLINE: INTERNET STUDIES
"Internet research is now a basic part of what it means to be self-reflective about academic work . . . . To a degree, we created this medium. It behooves us to study its impact" says Steve Jones, communications professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and president of the Association of Internet Researchers. In "Internet Studies 1.0: a Discipline Is Born" (The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 30, 2001, p. A24; http://chronicle.com/free/v47/i29/29a02401.htm) read how Jones and other scholars are making the Internet the object of interdisciplinary study. The article also includes a bibliography of key works in Internet studies.
The Chronicle of Higher Education [ISSN 0009-5982] is published weekly
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TUTORIAL FOR ACADEMIC WRITERS WRITING FOR THE WEB
"[T]he new electronic channels of dissemination require different approaches to communicating your work. Posting research on the world wide web is one thing - ensuring that people actually read it implies further challenges." The Global Development Network (GDN) website "Writing for the Web" helps academic writers communicate more effectively in the online medium. While many sites on Web communication focus on commercial applications of the Web, GDN's focus is on users disseminating research information. "Writing for the Web" is located at http://www.ids.ac.uk/gdn/tools/writing.htm
The Global Development Network supports and links research and policy institutes involved in the field of development by providing training for researchers, hosting a series of regional workshops focusing on building the capacity of research and policy institutes, and planning for future activities. For more information contact Lyn Squire, Director, Global Development Network Secretariat, c/o The World Bank, 1818 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20433 USA; tel: 202-473-6549; fax: 202-522-2532; email: info@gdnet.org; Web: http://www.gdnet.org/
HIGHER EDUCATION COLLABORATIVE WRITING AND RESEARCH WEBSITE
Collaborate! is a website for community college, college, and university faculty, staff, and students who are interested in encouraging collaborative writing and research in higher education. It provides a "clearinghouse for information about ongoing collaborative efforts and invites the participation of all who wish to move beyond the academy's traditional agonistic individualism." The site includes links to collaborative projects and an extensive bibliography. Collaborate! is located at http://www.stanford.edu/group/collaborate/
For more information, contact Corrine Arraez, Academic Technology Specialist, Program in Writing and Rhetoric, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA; email: carraez@stanford.edu
EVALUATING ONLINE COURSES
"Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" (Chickering & Gamson, AAHE Bulletin, 1987) established a framework for evaluating teaching in traditional, face-to-face courses, based on fifty years of higher education research. A team of five evaluators from Indiana University's Center for Research on Learning and Technology (CRLT) recently used these principles to evaluate four online courses in a professional school at a large Midwestern university. From their study they developed a list of "lessons learned" for online instruction corresponding to the original seven principles. A brief overview of their findings is in "Seven Principles of Effective Teaching: A Practical Lens for Evaluating Online Courses" (by Charles Graham, Kursat Cagiltay, Byung-Ro Lim, Joni Craner and Thomas M. Duffy; The Technology Source, March/April 2001). The article is available online at http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/default.asp?show=article&id=839
A comprehensive report of the evaluation findings is available on the Web (in PDF format) at http://crlt.indiana.edu/publications/crlt00-13.pdf
The CRLT's mission is to promote and support a community of scholars dedicated to research on the design, use, and implementation of technology to improve learning. For more information contact Center for Research on Learning & Technology, 201 N. Rose Avenue, Suite 2201, Bloomington, IN 47405 USA; tel: 812-856-8200; fax: 812-856-8232; email: crlt@indiana.edu; Web: http://crlt.indiana.edu/
The Technology Source, a free bimonthly refereed periodical, focuses on integrating technology in educational organizations. Current and back issues are available at http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/
For more information, contact James L. Morrison, Editor, The Technology Source, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, CB #3500, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 USA; email: morrison@unc.edu; Web: http://horizon.unc.edu/
ETHICAL POLICIES FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION
In "Ethics in Distance Education: Developing Ethical Policies" (Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, vol. IV, no. I, Spring 2001), Deborah Gearhart, writes, "No doubt that there are both advantages and disadvantages to the telecommunications revolution but as educators we must handle the changes ethically and provide quality educational experiences." Gearhart provides a brief overview of the steps an institution can take to develop policies that contribute to an "ethically sound distance learning atmosphere." The article is available on the Web at http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring41/gearhart41.html
To contact the author: Deb Gearhart, Director of Distance Education, Dakota State University, Madison, SD 57042 USA; email: deb.gearhart@dsu.edu; Web: http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/gearhard/
The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration is published quarterly by the Center for Distance Education, The State University of West Georgia, 1600 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118 USA; Web: http://www.westga.edu/~distance/
ENHANCING SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION WITH TECHNOLOGY
The thematic focus of the March/April 2001 issue of TechKnowLogia is technology for science and mathematics education. Articles include:
"The Potential of Technologies for the Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Teaching and Learning" by Wadi Haddad and Sonia Jurich
"Web-based Simulations for Science and Math Instruction" by Gregg B. Jackson and John Jones, George Washington University
"Capacity Building for Science and Math Education" by Molly Teas and Yoshiko Koda, The World Bank
"Interactive Radio Instruction for Mathematics: Applications and Adaptations from Around the World" by Andrea Bosch, Education Development Center, Inc.
The entire issue is available on the Web at http://www.techknowlogia.org/
TechKnowLogia is published bimonthly by Knowledge Enterprise, Inc., P.O. Box 3027, Oakton, Virginia 22124 USA; fax: 703-242-2279; email:
techknowlogia@knowledgeenterprise.org; Web:
http://www.techknowlogia.org/
Publication is in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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