EDUCATION NEWS
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EVALUATING THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF TEACHER IMPROVEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Many universities struggle to balance priorities between research and teaching. How much time, energy and money should be expended toward research and how much should be expended toward teaching? It is difficult for universities to answer this question, and it seems that in some cases, teaching takes a back seat to research. The prevailing academic thought seems to be that, when it comes to improving teaching... why bother? In 2002, there were no definitive studies that showed the return on investment for high quality teaching in higher education. There were studies that showed how certain teaching practices improved student performance and increased learning. And there were studies that showed how high quality teaching improved certain qualitative results such as campus culture and student satisfaction. But until recently, there was no connection between teacher improvement and the bottom-line of the university.
http://www1.astd.org/News_Letter/May/Links/Practice_roiteacher.html
 
OVERCOMING EDUCATORS' DIGITAL IMMIGRANT ACCENTS: A REBUTTAL
When I wrote the twin articles "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants" (2001b) and "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently" (2001c) for On The Horizon, my goal was to highlight an enormous issue that most educators have chosen to minimize, to ignore, or to ascribe to causes other than technology change. In short, there are important, never-before-seen differences between the generation that grew up with digital technologies (the Digital Natives) and the generation that grew up before these technologies (the Digital Immigrants).
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=2013
 
CONTRIBUTING TO SCHOLARSHIP IN EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY THROUGH SYSTEMATIC RE-USE AND EVALUATION OF LARGE EDUCATIONAL OBJECTS IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SETTINGS
This paper focuses on generating knowledge from use of what Wiley (2000) calls "larger reusable digital resources". These are "entire web pages that combine text, images and other media or applications to deliver complete experiences, such as a complete instructional event" (p. 7). Whenever educators take advantage of resources (broadly including ideas or tools of various shape and sizes, I consider this "re-use" and not just "use" if it is true that a) they did not help develop the resource; and 2) they were not among the original intended and supported group of users. One of my concerns as an designer and evaluator has been how much re-use, formal or informal, happens on the Internet that goes uncounted. We are still a long way from knowing how to assess large-scale technology impacts in general (Haertel & Means, 2000; Ravitz, 2001, 2002; Russell, 2000) let alone impacts from re-use of educational technologies across the Internet.
http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/paper71/paper71.htm
 
TEN WAYS ONLINE EDUCATION MATCHES, OR SURPASSES, FACE-TO-FACE LEARNING
How good is online education? Debate about the relative quality of Internet-based courses has raged almost since the advent of this new teaching and learning medium. In my opinion, the answers are being settled rather conclusively at my school and 18 other community colleges sharing courses in the New Jersey Virtual Community College Consortium (NJVCCC). I have taught more than 50 online sections of sociology to more than 1,200 students at Bergen Community College and Thomas Edison State College. As the distance learning coordinator at Bergen Community College and as chair of the NJVCCC, I have worked closely with faculty members and administrators throughout New Jersey and other states to create, deliver, and assess online courses.
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1059
 
PEDAGOGICAL ADVANTAGES OF UBIQUITOUS COMPUTING IN A WIRELESS ENVIRONMENT
Wireless computing was chosen because this technology transforms every wireless room into a flexible "computer lab," with students using their laptops to work on their own or in collaboration with others (sharing drafts, charts, and tables, for example). Since wireless networks allow for ubiquitous Internet computing, students can upload and download information from library databases, log chat discussions, send and receive e-mail, and do other things from any location that, typically, they could do only from home computers or a crowded computer lab.
http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=950
 
IMS ACCLIP IS A PUBLIC DRAFT
The IMS Accessibility for the Learner Information Profile has entered the public draft stage. Barring some very unusual happenings, the document will provide the basis for a means of storing learner's preferences for how they want or need to access learning content. Compared to the base document that has been out for a while, there are a few changes. Most notably, there is the introduction of a new 'accommodation' element within the 'eligibility' element, separate from the 'accessForAll' element where all the other access preferences are.
http://www.cetis.ac.uk/content/20030428173016
 
OPEN SOURCE COURSEWARE -- EVALUATION AND RATING
The cost of doing business is going up for colleges and universities, particularly when it comes to course management systems. Proprietary enterprise solutions for course management--BlackBoard, WebCT, eCollege--are beginning to cost the same as other enterprise solutions. Translation--they're getting very expensive. This rise in cost, along with the traditionally closed architecture of such systems has lead some universities and organizations to develop in-house programs tailored to their specific pedagogical needs and development resources.
http://www.xplana.com/whitepapers/archives/Open_Source_Courseware
 
BLACKBOARD'S ACADEMIC WEB RESOURCES ... AND THE ADVERTISING
The Blackboard System Administrators repaired our access to the Academic Web Resources section of Blackboard, so I took a look around. Unfortunately, what I found again confirmed a basic problem at the heart of Blackboard: it does not interact very well with the open Internet (I will give a little sermon on frames tonight)... and it is shockingly commercial. Ignorance is bliss with Blackboard: I actually did not realize that there were all kinds of commercial products being promoted to our students inside Blackboard.
http://www.xplana.com/articles/archives/blackboard_advertising
 
ADOPTING E-LEARNING: LESSONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT
Many people assume that federal and state government agencies are laggards when it comes to the use of technology. And why not? The media constantly exposes instances in which key government functions hinge on outdated technology and computer systems. Yet while these stories make for good copy--and in some cases highlight real problems that demand our attention--they don’t necessarily paint the whole picture. The use of e-learning within government agencies is one area where the government leads much of Corporate America in widespread adoption, the development of innovative applications and its incorporation as an essential component in agency-wide learning initiatives. In fact, discussions with eight different agencies revealed significant successes that serve as powerful examples of e-learning’s potential. In many cases, these successes demonstrate how organizations can maximize dollar investments and learner value by working cooperatively with other units within their own walls, as well as with partner agencies and affiliates.
http://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_feature.asp?articleid=166&zoneid=30
 
PRIMING THE PUMP FOR BETTER CLASSROOM PERFORMANCE
Out of this experience, a company that just might revolutionize higher education instruction was born. Aplia Inc. began selling Internet-based software to college teachers of economics last fall, and preliminary results look promising. According to one professor, Kristen Monaco of California State University, Long Beach: "Now that my students are using Aplia, they're coming to class more prepared."
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/news/bmag/sbsm0305/feature_romer.shtml
 
 
 
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
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ELECTRONIC PAPER IS ON A ROLL
In a step toward electronic newspapers and wearable computer screens, scientists have created an ultra-thin screen that can be bent, twisted and even rolled up and still display crisp text.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/910466.asp
 
RIM, PALM TEAM UP
PalmSource Inc. announced plans with Research in Motion Ltd. to run RIM's wireless e-mail software on the Palm operating system. Through RIM's BlackBerry Connect licensing program, Palm OS licensees will have access to RIM's software client, which allows for behind-the-firewall e-mail and corporate data connectivity for wireless devices, said officials at PalmSource in San Mateo, Calif.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1060810,00.asp
 
OFFSHORE CODING WORK RAISES SECURITY CONCERNS
IT professionals are raising serious questions about the U.S. software industry's reliance on overseas software developers, arguing that the practice puts companies and the U.S. economy at risk. A recent study by Gartner Inc. predicts that by 2004, more than 80% of U.S. companies will consider outsourcing critical IT services, including software development, to countries such as India, Pakistan, Russia and China. But some users said the trend needs to be given a sanity check in light of recent changes in the global security environment.
http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/management/outsourcing/story/0,10801,80935,00.html
 
HP, MICROSOFT UNVEIL NEW PC DESIGN
The PC is code-named "Athens," and the prototype resembles a docked Tablet PC in landscape mode. However, with a 23-inch flat-panel display, it is not designed for mobility, said Byron Sands, director of advanced technology for HP's business PC division. That display comes with a phone handset and video camera tacked onto its sides, so users can hold videoconferences, take phone calls, and handle the rest of their daily Web browsing and e-mail through one desktop.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/05/06/HNathenspc_1.html
 
MICROSOFT EXECUTIVE SAYS NEXT VERSION OF WINDOWS IS DUE IN 2005
Microsoft Corp., which makes the Windows operating system used to run more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, said it will begin selling a new version of the program in 2005.
http://www.detnews.com/2003/technology/0305/08/technology-158427.htm
 
IS THERE ANY REASON TO BUY MICROSOFT ANYMORE?
The development and growth of the Linux operating system has brought a new question to the lips of IT managers: Why should I buy Microsoft? Five years ago, the answer would have been easy. With the dominant development tools, client operating system and client applications, Microsoft owned a certain portion of the enterprise. But now that the Linux OS is rapidly maturing and companies are looking to shrink IT budgets, the choice is not so easy.
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21478.html
 
SUN ASSESSED FOR POSSIBLE TAKEOVER BY ONE OF ITS RIVALS
Is Sun Microsystems, the beleaguered technology giant, about to get gobbled up by one of its rivals? Apparently some investors think so on Wall Street, where the Santa Clara firm's stock, which has dropped more than 90 percent during the past three years, has gone up about 15 percent in the past two trading days on rumors of a possible merger or takeover. The stock closed at $3.86 Monday. Analysts point to three possible buyers: IBM, Dell Computer and Hewlett- Packard.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/06/BU200665.DTL&type=tech
 
PUMPS, NOT FANS, MAY COOL TOMORROW'S COMPUTERS
Computer sales may be cooling, but computer chips keep getting hotter, and an innovative new way to cool them uses liquid forced through micro-channels only three times the width of a human hair. The new system may be arriving just in time--in three years, analysts expect microprocessor chips will generate four times more heat than chips in today's personal computers. A "pump-less" liquid-cooling system for tomorrow's computers is the brainchild of Purdue University researchers Issam Mudawar and Swaraj Mukherjee.
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/21486.html
 
INTEL RELEASES LIP-READING SOFTWARE
Intel has released software that enables a computer to perform a similar task to human lip-reading, as an aid to existing sound-based voice recognition systems, the company said Monday. The Audio Visual Speech Recognition (AVSR) software should improve the accuracy of speech-recognition software under difficult conditions, especially those involving background noise, Intel said in a statement.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/04/30/HNlipread_1.html
 
SIX TECHNOLOGIES THAT WILL CHANGE THE WORLD
Imagine robots that can read your mood and ink-jet printers that can crank out transplantable hearts. The visionaries you are about to meet have not only imagined these things--they're hard at work building them.
http://www.business2.com/articles/mag/0,1640,49104,00.html
 
GEOWALL BRINGS VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGIES TO COLLEGE CLASSROOMS
Until a few years ago, industries pumping out high-graphic, "virtually real" video games for teenage boys had more money to create new computer technologies than most national labs. Presently, between 100 and 150 universities around the world are discovering cheap and easy ways to insert similar virtual reality computer elements into higher education. Hardware and software (which once cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase and assemble into a working VR studio) now ranges from $8,000 to $10,000, with all of the elements purchasable at a local Best Buy.
http://www.dailyvidette.com/news/429014.html
 
IT SECURITY ON CAMPUS: A FRAGILE EQUILIBRIUM
A slew of legislation and industry regulations are pending that will force changes to your security policies and values on your campus. Will your security bubble burst? The internet's ubiquity has blurred the lines between cyberspace and the physical world--the nation's power grid, water supplies, and other critical infrastructure--raising cybersecurity risks to unprecedented heights. Likewise, universities and colleges must now deal with infrastructure security as well as the traditional defense against hackers breaking into their systems and gaining unauthorized access to protected data.
http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=7624
 
MICROSOFT TO UNVEIL 'ATHENS' PC
Microsoft plans to unveil a prototype PC that would function as a central communications console. Developed with Hewlett-Packard, the new "Athens" prototype is intended to be the hub for communications and collaboration built around voice, video and text messaging capabilities. It will also feature a more streamlined design, Microsoft said in a statement. The software giant presented the Athens concept at its annual WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) event, taking place in New Orleans.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-999432.html
 
 
 
 
INTERNET RELATED NEWS
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MICROSOFT ADMITS PASSPORT SECURITY FLAW
Microsoft acknowledged a security flaw in its popular Internet Passport service that left 200 million consumer accounts vulnerable to hackers and thieves--an admission that could expose the company to a hefty fine from U.S. regulators. Microsoft said it fixed the problem after a Pakistani computer researcher disclosed details of it on the Internet. Product Manager Adam Sohn said the company locked out all accounts it believed had been altered using the flaw. He declined to say how many people were affected but said it was a small number.
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20030508/D7QTDPQ03.html
 
THE WEB'S IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING
A review of recent research reveals three areas that can enlighten current online learning practices:
     The role of individual differences
     Instructional design; and
     Specific skills that are enhanced by online environments.
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4401.cfm
 
TECHNOLOGY NOW BEING TESTED COULD INTEGRATE CELLULAR AND WI-FI NETWORKS
The union of two big wireless technologies--cellular networks and Wi-Fi--isn't really a match made in heaven. It's more of an arranged marriage, where the matchmakers aren't exactly sure if the pairing will last or yield happiness. Yet supporters are moving ahead, developing technologies to enable the integration of the two.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134689187_wificell05.html
 
BEVY OF NEW ICQ VULNERABILITIES SURFACE
Six security vulnerabilities in America Online's (AOL's) free ICQ Pro instant messaging client give attackers a number of new ways to gain remote control over machines running the software, according to an advisory published Monday by Core Security Technologies.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/05/06/HNaolicq_1.html
 
WEB CONFERENCING: BETTER THAN BEING THERE?
What do Yahoo, Microsoft, Verizon, Lotus, and WebEx have in common? They're committed to the real-time collaboration software and services business. In particular, they're deep into Web conferencing. In its basic form, Web conferencing marries phones and online demonstrations (shared desktop or application). Doesn't sound like much, but it's effective. It's also much cheaper than videoconferencing (which has never worked all that well).
http://www.techweb.com/tech/software/20030429_software
 
SLATE HAS PROFIT FOR A WEB FIRST
Web purists who long believed that Slate, the online magazine founded by Michael Kinsley and bankrolled by Microsoft, was never a bona fide digital media service now have a final, damning piece of evidence. In the first quarter of this year, Slate took in more money than it spent.
http://www.iht.com/articles/94769.html
 
INTERNET-RICH VIRGINIA ENACTS NATION'S TOUGHEST ANTI-SPAM LAW
Internet mavens who clog computers with massive volumes of unsolicited e-mail pitches now risk landing in prison and losing their riches under a tough Virginia law. Although about half the states have anti-spam laws, no other allows authorities to seize the assets earned from spamming while imposing up to five years in prison, said Gov. Mark R. Warner. The penalties can apply even if the sender and recipients live elsewhere because much of the global Internet traffic passes through northern Virginia, home to major online companies such as America Online and MCI and a conduit to major federal communications hubs in neighboring Washington and its suburbs.
http://www.detnews.com/2003/technology/0304/30/technology-151149.htm
 
CONGRESS MOVING TO COMBAT SPAM E-MAIL
Members of Congress are proposing a variety of ways to fight unwanted e-mail. Federal regulators say the problem of spam, or unwanted e-mail, has gotten so bad that something must be done to protect the Internet correspondence that has become a way of life. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is proposing a national "do-not-spam" registry similar to a service that's to start that blocks unwanted telemarketing calls.
http://www.nandotimes.com/technology/story/877654p-6119347c.html
 
SPAM LOOMS FOR CELL PHONE USERS, EXPERTS SAY
Get-rich-quick schemes, explicit pornography, urgent appeals for help from Nigerian colonels. Coming soon to a cell phone near you? The bulk "spam" that now accounts for as much as three-quarters of all e-mail traffic could soon insinuate its way into movie theaters, subways, and anywhere else Americans take their cell phones, experts said at a forum on spam. Text-messaging services on newer cell phones could enable spammers to reach a tempting new audience, conference panelists said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&ncid=581&e=7&u=/nm/20030501/tc_nm/tech_spam_dc
 
 
 
 
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[NOTE: The selections above are from the Academic ADL Co-Lab News Report, a limited-distribution, weekly executive summary of trends, strategies, and innovations influencing the future of learning and technology in higher education. It is prepared by the University of Wisconsin System Office of Learning and Information Technology (OLIT) in coordination with the Co-Lab. Collegebuys.org is using these selections with permission. The selections from the weekly summaries were selected and edited by David Stuart of collegebuys.org.]
 
[NOTE: This information is provided for information purposes only. Mention or discussion of a product, company, or person does not represent any official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain complete copyright.]
 
[SOURCE MATERIAL: The reference as specific as possible is provided to a source for each summary. When using an online link, ensure the URL has not been broken with a carriage return.]
 
[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Judy Brown is the Emerging Technology Analyst for the University of Wisconsin System, OLIT. Brown conducts research and consults for the 15-institution UW System. She is Director of the Academic ADL Co-Laboratory at The Pyle Center in Madison, WI. Until recently she coordinated the WTCS Hardware and Software Purchasing Consortium and other statewide technology initiatives for 16 technical college districts comprised of 47 campuses. Brown was named one of the Top 100 women in computing by McGraw Hill's Open Computing magazine (December 1994). She writes a business technology column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and is the coordinator of eWEEK's Corporate Partner Program.]
 
[COMMENTS & CONTRIBUTIONS: If you want to offer material, or if you want to comment on the contents, contact Judy Brown at judy@academiccolab.org