TL INFOBITS July 2006 No. 1 ISSN: 1931-3144 About INFOBITS INFOBITS is an electronic service of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ITS Teaching and Learning division. Each month the ITS-TL'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. NOTE: You can read the Web version of this issue at http://its.unc.edu/tl/infobits/bitjul06.html You can read all back issues of Infobits at http://its.unc.edu/tl/infobits/ ...................................................................... EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first issue of TL Infobits, which continues the tradition of CIT Infobits. The name change reflects changes in the UNC-Chapel Hill Information Technology Services department. The activities and services of the former Center for Instructional Technology (CIT) are now within our ITS Teaching and Learning (TL) division. Along with the new title and issue numbering, we will also have a new ISSN. The ISSN has been applied for, but has not yet been assigned. ...................................................................... Good Education Is Still Hard Work The Internet Past and Future Papers on Blogging in Higher Ed A Networked Approach to the Book Recommendations for Humanities and Social Sciences Cyberinfrastructure Recommended Reading Infobits RSS Feed ...................................................................... GOOD EDUCATION IS STILL HARD WORK "There are plenty of good reasons to incorporate information technology into teaching and learning, but the fear of being left behind or left out or rejected by demanding techno-proficient applicants is not among them." In his essay "Critical Thinking for the Google Generation" (UBIQUITY, vol. 7, issue 21, May 30, 2006 - June 19, 2006), John Stuckey reminds educators that they "need to consider innovative, creative ways to integrate technology into teaching and learning, but as a means, not an end." It is easy to get swept up in the promises and hype of the headlines, but "good education is still hard work and not usually glamorous." His essay is available at http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v7i21_stuckey.html. Ubiquity [ISSN 1530-2180] 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/. ...................................................................... THE INTERNET PAST AND FUTURE In "Lessons for the Future Internet: Learning from the Past" (EDUCAUSE REVIEW, vol. 41, no. 4, July/August 2006, pp. 16–25), Michael M. Roberts provides an overview of the Internet's development from 1980 to the present with a focus on academe's involvement in its progress. He also points out areas where more work is needed: basic research, advanced network facilities, universal affordable broadband, middleware, and the preservation of the Internet commons. The article is available at http://www.educause.edu/apps/er/erm06/erm0640.asp. EDUCAUSE Review [ISSN 1527-6619], a bimonthly print magazine that explores developments in information technology and education, is published by EDUCAUSE (http://www.educause.edu/). Articles from current and back issues of EDUCAUSE Review are available on the Web at http://www.educause.edu/pub/er/. ...................................................................... PAPERS ON BLOGGING IN HIGHER ED The mission of the HigherEd BlogCon 2006 online conference was to "engage the Higher Education community in a conversation on the use of blogs, wikis, RSS, audio and video podcasts, social networks, and other digital tools in a range of areas in academe." During April 2006, BlogCon participants posted "articles, screencasts, videos, and mp3's on new media in academia." Presentations from this conference include: "How the Integrated Use of Blogs and Blackboard Can Improve a University Public Relations Class: A Case Study" by Ric Jensen, Northwestern State University, and an Infobits subscriber http://www.higheredblogcon.com/teaching/jensen/Jensen-March-06.html "Nomadic Desktops: What? How? Why?" by Owen James International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan http://www.higheredblogcon.com/index.php/nomadic-desktops-what-how-why/ "Teaching Information Literacy: Who's Teaching the Teachers?" by Ewan McIntosh University of Stirling, Scotland http://www.higheredblogcon.com/index.php/teaching-information-literacy-whos-teaching-the-teachers/ "Giving the Students What They Want: Short, To-the-Point E-Lectures" by Mark E. Ott Jackson Community College http://www.higheredblogcon.com/index.php/giving-the-students-what-they-want-short-to-the-point-e-lectures/ All the presentations are available online at http://www.higheredblogcon.com/. ...................................................................... A NETWORKED APPROACH TO THE BOOK Since May 2006, McKenzie Wark, a professor of media and cultural studies at New School University, has been participating in an experiment with the Institute for the Future of the Book "to see what happens when authors and readers are brought into conversation over an evolving text." Inspired by the Wikipedia encyclopedia which allows readers to add to and correct its entries, Wark lets readers comment on his latest book, GAM3R 7H30RY, as he is writing and revising it. When the book is "finished," it will be conventionally published. You can track the book's progress and read/post comments on the book at http://www.futureofthebook.org/gamertheory/. The Institute for the Future of the Book is a project of the Annenberg Center for Communication at the University of Southern California. The mission of the Institute is to "understand and influence" the shift of the "locus of intellectual discourse . . . from printed page to networked screen." For more information, contact: Bob Stein, Director, Institute for the Future of the Book; tel: 213-743-2520; email: bstein@annenberg.edu; Web: http://www.annenberg.edu/futureofthebook/. See also: "Book 2.0: Scholars Turn Monographs into Digital Conversations" by Jeffrey R. Young THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION, vol. 52, issue 47, July 28, 2006, p. A20 http://chronicle.com/weekly/v52/i47/47a02001.htm Article includes links to related Web resources. (Online access requires a subscription to the Chronicle.) ...................................................................... RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) has released "Our Cultural Commonwealth," the final draft report of the ACLS's Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for Humanities and Social Sciences. The Commission was charged with describing the current state of the cyberinfrastructure; presenting the "potential contributions of the humanities and social sciences to developing a cyberinfrastructure for information, teaching, and research"; and making recommendations on how private and public institutions can make these contributions. In a series of public meetings, the Commission heard from humanities scholars, social scientists, librarians, museum directors, government and private agencies, and entrepreneurs on what future advances and extensions of the information technology infrastructure they needed. Some of the recommendations of the Commission include: Develop public and institutional policies that foster openness and access. Cultivate leadership in support of cyberinfrastructure from within the humanities and social sciences. Establish national centers to support scholarship that contributes to and exploits cyberinfrastructure. Create extensive and reusable digital collections. The complete report is available online at http://www.acls.org/cyberinfrastructure/acls.ci.report.pdf. The American Council of Learned Societies is a "private non-profit federation of sixty-eight national scholarly organizations. The mission of the ACLS, as set forth in its Constitution, is 'the advancement of humanistic studies in all fields of learning in the humanities and the social sciences and the maintenance and strengthening of relations among the national societies devoted to such studies.'" For more information, contact American Council of Learned Societies, 633 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017-6795 USA; tel: 212-697-1505; fax: 212-949-8058; Web: http://www.acls.org/. ...................................................................... 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 Arun-Kumar Tripathi has a new essay in a recent issue of UBIQUITY: "Coping with Innovative Technology: Albert Borgmann on How Does Technology Change Learning and Teaching in Formal and Informal Education" by Arun-Kumar Tripathi Ubiquity, vol. 7, issue 23, June 20, 2006 - June 26, 2006 http://www.acm.org/ubiquity/views/v7i23_coping.html "The flood of information today threatens to overflow, suffocate and even obliterate actual reality, says the University of Montana philosophy professor Albert Borgmann. The 'lightness' of technological information seems bent on overcoming the 'moral gravity' and 'material density' that real things naturally possess and that demand our mindful engagement. Albert Borgmann is not asking us to abandon technological information. But he is calling us to link it effectively to 'things and practices' that provide for our material and spiritual well-being." ...................................................................... INFOBITS RSS FEED If you want to set up an RSS feed for Infobits, go to: http://lists.unc.edu/read/rss?forum=Infobits. ...................................................................... To Subscribe TL INFOBITS is published by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Information Technology Services Teaching and Learning division. ITS-TL supports the interests of faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill who are using technology in their instruction and research. Services include both consultation on appropriate uses and technical support. To subscribe to INFOBITS, send email to listserv@unc.edu with the following message: SUBSCRIBE INFOBITS firstname lastname substituting your own first and last names. Example: SUBSCRIBE INFOBITS Lauren Weisberger or use the web subscription form at http://mail.unc.edu/lists/read/subscribe?name=infobits To UNsubscribe to INFOBITS, send email to listserv@unc.edu with the following message: UNSUBSCRIBE INFOBITS INFOBITS is also available online on the World Wide Web at http://its.unc.edu/tl/infobits/ (HTML format) and at http://its.unc.edu/tl/infobits/text/index.html (plain text format). If you have problems subscribing or want to send suggestions for future issues, contact the editor, Carolyn Kotlas, at kotlas@email.unc.edu. Article Suggestions Infobits always welcomes article suggestions from our readers, although we cannot promise to print everything submitted. Because of our publishing schedule, we are not able to announce time-sensitive events such as upcoming conferences and calls for papers or grant applications; however, we do include articles about online conference proceedings that are of interest to our readers. We can announce your conference on our "Calendar of World-Wide Educational Technology-Related Conferences, Seminars, and Other Events" at http://atncalendar.depts.unc.edu:8086/. While we often mention commercial products, publications, and Web sites, Infobits does not accept or reprint unsolicited advertising copy. Send your article suggestions to the editor at kotlas@email.unc.edu. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2006, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ITS Teaching and Learning. All rights reserved. May be reproduced in any medium for non-commercial purposes.