Contributed by Organizations or Campuses; Articles, Papers, and Reports; and CMS

"Drupal in Libraries" features helpful case history examples of Drupal use in libraries. Most of the report, however, is dedicated to a useful and user-friendly how-to guide for libraries interested in utilizing Drupal — and its dedicated developer community — to build dynamic and easy-to-use library Web sites.

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a preliminary decision that rejects all 44 claims Blackboard Inc. made regarding the controversial patent it was granted for an online-learning system. If upheld, the decision could have sweeping ramifications for Blackboard's competitors and universities that use course-management software. "

A federal jury in Texas recently awarded the learning services giant Blackboard $3.1 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against a much smaller competitor, adding a new layer of complexity and uncertainty to a complex, uncertain market for higher education learning management systems.

The patent dispute heats up between enterprise software makers Blackboard Inc. and Desire2Learn Inc. over patent rights that Blackboard was granted in January 2006 for its course-management software and other eLearning products.

The author provides a long and comprehensive list of resources concerning teaching and learning with technology.

This study describes a set of institutional indicators that suggest minimum standards for the quality
assurance of learning supported by learning management systems in blended contexts. The indicators are evaluated by comparing seven universities that use a common learning management system to support student learning experiences. The responses to a qualitative questionnaire provide evidence of how the participating universities approach leadership, policy making, development, and evaluation as they relate to the quality assurance of learning management systems. A comparison among the universities reveals that they tend to have a better understanding of technical rather than educational issues related to quality assurance. A case is made for the need for universities to address key areas in order to reliably assure the quality of learning supported by learning management systems.

Higher education institutions undertake a range of approaches to evaluating and making judgments about
the quality of their e-learning provision. This paper begins by exploring benchmarking as one current
strategy in common use in universities to identify and implement quality practices: from the use of
checklists (for example, of best practices and standards) to a more contemporary dynamic systems approach involving continuous cycles of feedback and improvement centred around the learners' experiences of elearning.