CIT INFOBITS February 2004 No. 68 ISSN 1521-9275 About INFOBITS INFOBITS is an electronic service of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill'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. ...................................................................... Inviting the Student into the Instructional Process M-Learning More 2004 IT Predictions Lost Internet Citations Asynchronous Learning in Community Colleges Higher Ed IT Study History of Intellectual Property Reading Group Recommended Reading ...................................................................... INVITING THE STUDENT INTO THE INSTRUCTIONAL PROCESS "Viewed from the vantage of the student, the typical instructor uses a course management system as a publicly accessible file drawer and little more . . . posting lecture notes and the syllabus. Perhaps this offers convenience over distributing notes through the copy shop, but does it have a fundamental effect on learning? How can we get beyond the 'lecture note phase' and have instructors produce sites with interactivity, where there is an overt benefit to the learner, where the online part of the course complements the face-to-face part, and vice versa?" In "Dialogic Learning Objects: Inviting the Student Into the Instructional Process" (SYLLABUS CMS NEWS, February 18, 2004) Lanny Arvan, assistant CIO at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, argues that course management systems (CMS) can do more to enhance the student's learning experience and the instructor's mentoring role. The article is available online at http://www.syllabus.com/news_article.asp?id=8949&typeid=155 Syllabus CMS Review is a bi-weekly email newsletter that complements Syllabus magazine, a monthly magazine that focuses exclusively on the use of technology in higher education. For a free subscription go to http://lists.101com.com/nl/main.asp?NL=syllabus See also: "How Do People Learn?" SLOAN-C VIEW, vol. 3, issue 2, February 2004. pp. 1, 4 http://www.aln.org/publications/view/v3n2/coverv3n2.htm Sloan-C View [ISSN 1541-2806] is an electronic publication of The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C). Current and back issues are available at http://www.aln.org/publications/view/. Sloan-C is a "consortium of institutions and organizations committed to quality online education" and is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. For more information, see http://www.aln.org/. ...................................................................... M-LEARNING "Digital Learning/Teaching Environments and Contents" is the theme for the January 2004 issue of the JOURNAL OF DIGITAL CONTENTS (vol. 2, issue 1). One of the learning environments discussed is "m-learning" or mobile learning -- using handheld technologies such as a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or Pocket PC -- to deliver teaching resources both in and out of the classroom. The issue is available online at http://www.formatex.org/jdc/vol2-1.htm Journal of Digital Contents (JCD) [ISSN: 1696-313X] is a new peer-reviewed print and online quarterly journal that covers the "planning, production, process, presentation, and management of digital contents, from several perspectives: technical, educational and social/legal." For more information, contact Mr. Borja Gonzalez, Formatex Research Centre, C / Encarnacion, 31 E (Semillero de Empresas), 06001 Badajoz, Spain; tel/fax: 34-924-258-615; email: jdc@formatex.org; Web: http://www.formatex.org/jdc/jdc.htm ...................................................................... MORE 2004 IT PREDICTIONS In "2004: The Turning Point" (UBIQUITY, vol 4, issue 46, January 21- 7, 2004) Stephen Downes makes some predictions based on what he thinks is "driving the hearts of those who will make the final decisions on the future of the Internet, those who use it." He believes that the "deluge of spam" will be addressed in the near future, although not without mass marketers going to court to block anti-spam legislation. Some other predictions: We will begin to see more personalization of Web browsing environments "so that all a person's essential Web reading (and very little non-essential Web reading) will be available through a single application." We will also see the resurgence of videoconferencing in the form of IP videoconferencing. And learning objects will gain and reach their potential outside traditional education settings. The complete article is available online at http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v4i46_downes.html Ubiquity is a free, Web-based publication of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), "dedicated to fostering critical analysis and in-depth commentary on issues relating to the nature, constitution, structure, science, engineering, technology, practices, and paradigms of the IT profession." For more information, contact: Ubiquity, email: ubiquity@acm.org; Web: http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/ For more information on the ACM, contact: ACM, One Astor Plaza, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, USA; tel: 800-342-6626 or 212-626-0500; Web: http://www.acm.org/ For more predictions, see "Roundup of Articles Predicting IT Trends," CIT INFOBITS, issue 67, January 2004; http://its.unc.edu/tl/infobits/bitjan04.html#1 ...................................................................... LOST INTERNET CITATIONS As instructors, students, and researchers cite more Internet resources in their work, the permanence of these citations becomes more crucial. Unlike hard copy resources, online materials are subject to unexpected revisions; they can become temporarily inaccessible or permanently deleted with no warning or means of recovery. The authors of "Going, Going, Gone: Lost Internet References" (by Robert P. Dellavalle et al.; SCIENCE MAGAZINE, vol. 302, no. 5646, October 31, 2003, pp. 787-788) examined the persistence of Internet references in three high-circulation U.S. journals with scientific impact: New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and Science. They found that "Internet references accounted for 2.6% of all references and in articles 27 months old, 13% of Internet references were inactive." Their study points out the "need to reassess policies, archiving systems, and other resources for addressing Internet reference attrition to prevent further information loss." The article is available online at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/302/5646/787. An individual or institutional subscription may be required for access to the online version. Science Magazine [ISSN: 1095-9203] is published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as part of AAAS membership. Current and back issues are online at http://www.sciencemag.org/. For more information, contact Membership Department, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005 USA; tel: 202-326-6417; fax: 202-842-1065; email: membership2@aaas.org; Web: http://www.aaas.org/. See also: "The Uncertain Fate of Scholarly Artifacts in a Digital Age" by Scott Carlson, THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, vol. 50, issue 21, p. A25, January 30, 2004 http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v50/i21/21a02501.htm. ...................................................................... ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES The role of asynchronous learning in community colleges is the focus of the February 2004 issue of JOURNAL OF ASYNCHRONOUS LEARNING NETWORKS (vol. 8, no. 1, http://www.aln.org/publications/jaln/v8n1/index.asp). Articles include: "Using Asynchronous Learning in Redesign: Reaching and Retaining the At-Risk Student" -- information technology and asynchronous learning strategies can be used to create "a greater sense of community or engagement for commuting students, address the special needs of English-as-second-language students, and serve at-risk students more effectively." "The Weariness of the Flesh: Reflections on the Life of the Mind in an Era of Abundance" -- "we now live in a world of staggering information abundance. How do we mange such boundless information?" "The Road to DotCalm in Education" -- the race to keep up with technology can be "educationally hazardous;" instead, educators should strive toward "DotCalm, with a focus on learning and inclusiveness in our technology and education adventures." The Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) [ISSN 1092-8235] is an electronic publication of The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C). Current and back issues are available at http://www.aln.org/publications/jaln/. ...................................................................... HIGHER ED IT STUDY The EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) has released the report "Information Technology Leadership in Higher Education: The Condition of the Community." Nearly 2,000 college and university information technology professionals were surveyed to study the "general demographics of the community, workforce climate and mobility, leadership styles, the climate for innovation in IT organizations, perceptions of effectiveness, the next generation of IT leaders, and the possible shape of the future of the community." The complete research study is accessible to ECAR subscribers and is available for purchase by nonsubscribers at http://www.educause.edu/asp/doclib/abstract.asp?ID=ERS0401. A summary of the study's key findings [in PDF format] is available to all at http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ecar_so/ers/ERS0401/ekf0401.pdf ECAR publishes research reports and bulletins, providing "educational leaders with high-quality, well-researched, timely information to support institutional decision-making," and makes them available to member institutions. For more information, contact ECAR, email: ecar@educause.edu; Web: http://www.educause.edu/ecar/ ...................................................................... HISTORY OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY READING GROUP The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School is hosting an online reading group on the History of Intellectual Property in the U.S. The reading list will loosely follow the readings of a similar on-site reading group at the Berkman Center. There will be about one reading per month, with three weekly rounds of discussion after the reading is posted. Readings will be chosen by the in-person reading group and posted as the semester progresses. For more information and to sign up for the online reading group, go to http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/home?wid=10&func=viewSubmission&sid=220. The Berkman Center is a research program founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. The Center is a network of faculty, students, fellows, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and virtual architects working to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace. For more information, go to http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/home/. ...................................................................... RECOMMENDED READING "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 carolyn_kotlas@unc.edu for possible inclusion in this column. Infobits subscriber Rob Foshay recommends a book on training that he co-authored: Writing Training That Works: How to Train Anyone to do Anything by Wellesley R. Foshay, Kenneth Silber, and Michael Stelnicki (Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer, 2003, ISBN 0-7879-6411-5, 272 pp.) The book is a practical guide for trainers based on current cognitive psychology and instructional design theory and research. It has been adopted by a number of instructional design programs. Instructors can request evaluation copies from the publisher at http://www.josseybass.com/cda/product/0,,0787964115,00.html. Amazon.com's "Search Inside the Book" feature lets you search for and read parts of the book. Go to http://www.amazon.com/, search on the book title, and scroll down to the search box. ...................................................................... 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