Research Bulletins

This ECAR research bulletin details the arguments emerging in the blogosphere and elsewhere both for and against the learning management system. It examines whether the LMS is destined to continue as the primary means of organizing the online learning experience for university students. The bulletin is a companion to an earlier ECAR research bulletin that examines the factors leading to the selection of the open source learning management system at the Open University in the United Kingdom.

Citation for this work: Sclater, Niall. “Web 2.0, Personal Learning Environments, and the Future of Learning Management Systems” (Research Bulletin, Issue 13). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This ECAR research bulletin examines the factors leading to the selection of the open source learning management system at the Open University, details the many aspects of development work that had to be undertaken, and describes the issues involved for institutions participating in an open source community. It also looks at some of the many business and cultural challenges the institution has faced, and at how faculty are being encouraged to move toward a model of education incorporating increasing amounts of e-learning content and activity.

Ccitation for this work: Sclater, Niall. “Large-Scale Open Source E-Learning Systems at Open University UK” (Research Bulletin, Issue 12). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This ECAR research bulletin discusses the adjustments that the Indiana University information technology organization made, and continues to make, in order to support membership in Sakai. It has been said that supporting Sakai can seem like trying to change a tire on a moving car. As co-founder of and active participant in the Sakai collaboration, the effects of IU’s decision—the unexpected, the challenging, and the delightful—are discussed in terms of the intra- and interuniversity realities of highly collaborative efforts.

Citation for this work: Goodrum, David, Jan R. Holloway, Anastasia S. Morrone, Lance Speelmon, and Elizabeth A. Van Gordon. “Dynamics of Supporting Sakai Through Local and Global Collaboration” (Research Bulletin, Issue 11). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin explores the importance of focusing on innovation in decision-making about IT. Acknowledging the apparent dichotomy between the efficient use of resources in a centralized IT model and the effective application of IT resources toward innovative research and pedagogy, the bulletin presents a model for IT service delivery that can be used or adapted in colleges and universities.

Citation for this work: Frederick, Lawrence W. “Recasting the Centralization–Decentralization Debate: Advancing the Innovation Support Cycle” (Research Bulletin, Issue 10). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin explores the advanced networking issues and investments that colleges and universities that aspire to support their faculty and students in leading edge research and education activities must face in the near future. It is drawn from the work of the Advanced Networking Services Work Group at the University of California, which was charged with evaluating the current state of UC’s networking infrastructure, identifying best practices in global networking activities, and making recommendations to position UC for competitive advantage. The author served as chair of the Work Group. 

Citation for this work: McCredie, Jack. “Advanced Network Services: Current Issues in Higher Education” (Research Bulletin, Issue 9). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin details the procedures and processes undertaken by the University of Minnesota to ensure that all employees, from student workers and custodial staff through senior research faculty and administrators, received training about keeping private data secure tailored to their roles and responsibilities. It illustrates how the implementation of the training resulted in improvements in incident reporting and response procedures, awareness of institutional private data and expectations for securing them, and many aspects of data security.

Citation for this work: Janssen, Ross T., and Greg C. Sales. “Regulatory Compliance Training: Public Jobs, Private Data” (Research Bulletin, Issue 8). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin examines what the literature refers to as “new learners” or “critically engaged learners.” It explores the responsibilities our institutions have to create opportunities for these learners to actively engage in creative discovery, problem definition, and appropriate use of information technologies. It is based on a literature review and accompanying conceptualizations that begin to answer important questions about institutional development for a technologically sophisticated age.

Citation for this work : Moore, Anne H., Shelli B. Fowler, Brent K. Jesiek, John F. Moore, and C. Edward Watson. “Learners 2.0? IT and 21st-Century Learners in Higher Education” (Research Bulletin, Issue 7). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin presents a methodology, used successfully at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) in Australia, for managing and assessing risks related to information technology systems and resources. It describes the institutional commitment, background, organizational structure, methodology, implementation, and outcomes of an institutionally inclusive risk assessment that yielded valuable results that can be applied in other colleges and universities.

Citation for this work : Waters, Ian. “Managing IT Risk in Higher Education: A Methodology” (Research Bulletin, Issue 6). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin explores how to develop, deploy, and extend cyberinfrastructure assets within higher education—both within and across institutions. As research becomes increasingly computational, data-intensive, and interdisciplinary, innovative approaches for functional cyberinfrastructure models become ever more important. This bulletin describes a model that was developed at one institution and then deployed across institutions, with the goal of addressing issues as diverse as the need for simulation systems rather than wet labs, insufficient computational research support to help an institution compete for top-notch faculty, and astronomical spikes in power and cooling demands.

Citation for this work: Alvarez, Rosio. “Developing and Extending a Cyberinfrastructure Model” (Research Bulletin, Issue 5). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin explores the methodology used by the Georgia State University Information Systems and Technology division to manage large, cross-divisional IT projects and track all IT staff time. The bulletin shares the data collection methodology and Georgia State's findings and describes a time-recording model for IT projects that can be applied at other colleges and universities.

Citation for this work: Alberts, Randall, and Karen D. Oates. “Measuring IT Staff Time at Georgia State University” (Research Bulletin, Issue 4). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin examines the wiki philosophy and how it fits within the Web 2.0 context. While wikis offer a number of benefits for supporting knowledge creation in collaborative groups, the literature suggests a strong need to establish conventions to enable long-term success. Based on an extensive literature review, the results of a research project into blog and wiki use in Australian libraries, and evaluations of the wiki installation of the RUBRIC Project sponsored by the Australian Commonwealth Department of Education, Science, and Training, the bulletin also examines how wiki technology can enable the online collaborative process.

Citation for this work: Watson, Kate, and Chelsea Harper. "Supporting Knowledge Creation: Using Wikis for Group Collaboration" (Research Bulletin, Issue 3). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin explores three of the most compelling views of our longer term future, the role of technology in those possible futures, and the impact these alternative futures may have on higher education. The alternatives range from a future of extreme constraint and possible collapse (Heinberg’s peak oil scenario) to one of unprecedented abundance, where most of the current work of higher education will be automated (Kurzweil’s singularity). Between these extremes is the more immediate future of globalization and the intensified competitive and collaborative world its proponents espouse (Friedman’s flat world).

Citation for this work: Franke, Thomas L. “How Technology Will Shape Our Future: Three Views of the Twenty-First Century” (Research Bulletin, Issue 2). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This ECAR research bulletin examines the hype and the reality of e-books in higher education. Some experts predict that 2007-2009 will be transition years for the higher education e-book market, with large growth expected in both digital textbooks and digital library collections. Publishers and campuses alike are exploring the use of e-books and other forms of digital content. Are we approaching the tipping point in e-book usage on college campuses from occasional oddity to a mainstream technology?

Citation for this work: Nelson, Mark, R. "E-Books in Higher Education: Nearing the End of the Era of Hype?" (Research Bulletin, Issue 1). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin discusses the factors that drove Roosevelt University's decision to "co-source" the information technology (IT) help desk, the unique challenges raised by the use of contracted services as part of a technical support solution, and how this solution fits within the context of outsourcing in higher education. It includes a description of how the service addresses the needs of the three principal constituencies -- users, agents, and technicians -- as well as an overview of the accommodations that institutions might need to make in order to develop this type of support solution.

This research bulletin is designed to help senior college and university administrators better understand the complexities of both financial aid and information technology support for efficient and effective management of the financial aid resource. Using the financial aid technology pyramid as a framework, the bulletin illustrates how to use the pyramid in enrollment management, financial aid, and IT planning and implementation.