Blogs
Survey Fun!
We need your help! EDUCAUSE has released surveys for two of its publications: the bimonthly general-interest magazine EDUCAUSE Review and the peer-reviewed quarterly journal EQ. To help us determine content for future issues of the two publications, we would (really) appreciate your filling out either or both of these (super) short surveys here: EDUCAUSE Review http://survey.educause.edu/ertoc081/ and EQ http://survey.educause.edu/eqtoc081/. We look forward to learning what is important to you so that we can provide the information you need and the articles you'll want to read. Thanks!
Podcasts From the CNI 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting
We've concluded this round of podcasts from CNI's Spring 2008 Task Force Meeting.
This series of recordings included interviews with (click on the name to hear podcast):
Clifford Lynch, Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information. He spoke to us from the CNI 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Clifford Lynch has been the Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) since July 1997.
Mark Kornbluh, Director of MATRIX and Professor of History at Michigan State University. Our conversation was recorded at the CNI 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota where Mark co-presented the session, "Digital Humanities Centers: Models, Missions, and Challenges".
CNI Podcast: Bamboo - Community-Defined Shared Services and Cyberinfrastructure for the Arts & Humanities
This 18 minute podcast features an interview with Chad Kainz, Senior Director of NSIT Academic Technologies at the University of Chicago and David A. Greenbaum, Director of Data Services at the University of California, Berkely. It was recorded at the CNI 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota where they presented a session entitled, "Bamboo - Community-Defined Shared Services and Cyberinfrastructure for the Arts & Humanities".
Bamboo is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary, and inter-organizational effort to bring together researchers in arts and humanities, computer and information scientists, librarians, and campus information technologists to collectively tackle this question:
How can we enhance arts and humanities research through the development of shared technology services?
EDUCAUSE and Security Task Force Comment on Proposed FERPA Rules
EDUCAUSE joined the American Council on Education (ACE) in comments to respond to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The EDUCAUSE contribution addressed the proposed rules treatment of Social Security Numbers (SSN's), Student ID Numbers, and Student User ID's in the context of "directory information." The comments state:
May 19: Free Web Seminar on MCommunity to Improve IT Service Provisioning at the University of Michigan
The EDUCAUSE Live! Spotlight on Identity Management series is a six-month series that will feature one or two speakers from a campus that have analyzed or solved a problem in a way that many people will find instructive.
New EDUCAUSE Quarterly Reports on Top Higher Ed IT Issues
The summer 2008 EDUCAUSE Quarterly spotlights the complete findings of the 2008 EDUCAUSE Current IT Issues Survey as well as feature articles on open source software in education, a first assessment of a learning studio, and student use of clickers in library presentations.
EDUCAUSE Now - Show #3 - Current Issues Survey, Big Broadband Policy
EDUCAUSE Now is a monthly podcast focusing on the intelligent use of information technology in higher education. Each episode features a variety of stories, interviews, and views that relate to IT in higher education.
This episode of EDUCAUSE Now features:
- The EDUCAUSE 2008 Current Issues Survey
We hear from Current Issues Committee Chair Debra Allison and EDUCAUSE staff liasion Peter DeBlois. The Current Issues Survey resource page is now available.
- A Commentary from EDUCAUSE President Diana Oblinger
EDUCAUSE President Diana Oblinger talks about current issues facing higher education and how IT can be a solution, even for non-technical challenges.
Delay on Copyright Law Overhaul Related to "Orphan Works"
CongressDaily PM reports:
"The Senate Judiciary Committee punted on a bill today that would rework a portion of U.S. copyright law. Republican members needed more time to review the measure, which was new on the agenda, a GOP aide said after the brief markup. The legislation would change a statute that governs "orphan works," which are musical tracks, writings, images, videos or other content whose owners cannot be easily located. Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said he had hoped the panel would approve the bill, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a day after companion legislation passed the House Judiciary Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Subcommittee."
May/June 2008 EDUCAUSE Review Now Available Online
The May/June 2008 EDUCAUSE Review is now available online. It features Brad Wheeler on the need for providing answers that are good enough and quick enough in the Era of Certitude; John Windhausen Jr. on the demand for "big broadband" connectivity in the United States; a summary of the 2008 EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey findings; and Chris Dede on Web 2.0 and the seismic shift in epistemology.
Learning Landscape Project highlighted in report on widening access to higher education
At CARET, we're proud that the Learning Landscape Project has been highlighted in a recent report on widening participation in higher education, from the Von Hügel Institute at St Edmund’s College. Written by Michael Watts, David Bridges and Jonathan Eames, the report is titled “Widening Participation and Encounters with the Pedagogies of Higher Education” (2008), and was produced with funding from Aimhigher. Aimhigher is a national-level, government-funded education programme, run by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), with support from the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS).
Visualising Data with Simile
The Evaluation Group at CARET has been looking at and experimenting with MIT's Simile toolkit, as one (relatively user-friendly) way to use semantic tools for data representation and exploration. We are increasingly interested in thinking about incorporating semantic technologies into "social computing" approaches and tools.
A big advantage of Simile is that it hides a lot of the heavy-duty programming (in this case, Java) from the user, enabling easy / streamlined building of interactive web pages. A disadvantage is that the more we use it (at least until we get our own version installed!), the slower it gets, because whenever a local user loads a locally-hosted page with Simile stuff on it, the page then has to make a call on the MIT server.
Eminent Physicist Offers Career Advice for Women in Science, Engineering and Technology
Last Tuesday, I was privileged to attend the WiSETI Annual Lecture, given by Prof. Christine Davies at Robinson College, Cambridge, and sponsored by Schlumberger. WiSETI, the "Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Initiative" at the University of Cambridge, aims to advance the aspirations and careers of women in science- and technology-related professions. This annual invited lecture is a highlight in the WiSETI calendar, and a great opportunity to learn about frontier research from an eminent woman professional in the field. WiSETI lectures are also notable for including a more personal element in the discussion: it is common for invitees to discuss how they have managed work/life balance, and to offer insights into their personal career histories and trajectories. This event was no exception.
Access 2008 Current Issues Survey Results and Resources
2008 Top-Ten IT Issues in Higher Education
EDUCAUSE has published the results of the 2008 Current Issues Survey, which gathered responses from 589 primary representatives of EDUCAUSE member institutions, in the new issue of EDUCAUSE Quarterly, as well as a summary version in the latest EDUCAUSE Review. The articles identify the issues that IT leaders in higher education see as their most critical challenges. Read the press release and browse Current Issues resources, including the articles, recommended readings, and PowerPoint slides.
Core Data Service Database with 2007 Data Now Available
The interactive database component of the Core Data Service has been updated with 2007 data from nearly 990 institutions. This year’s participants can now view and compare their survey responses with those of their colleagues, using special tools that provide on-the-fly, question-by-question individual data, graphs, and analysis, including a trend analysis chart comparing aggregated data for the past two years for all participants or any peer group(s) that have been created.
Tune In May 12 for a Free Web Seminar on IT and Enterprise Architecture
In a recent survey, one-third of CIOs polled had a high-level architecture group. Of the remaining CIOs, one-third were planning to establish an architecture group in the next year or two. What role does architecture play in projects and strategic planning? Hear the perspective of an IT/enterprise architect as he talks about the practice and value of architecture. Learn about ITANA, a peer group where you can engage and learn more about architect as practiced in higher education.
In this free May 12 EDUCAUSE Live! web seminar, IT/Enterprise Architecture: What Is It, and What Value Does Leadership Find in Having an Architect at Hand?, presenter Jim Phelps, Senior IT Architect, University of Wisconsin–Madison, will share his thoughts about the practice and value of architecture.
