Opinion
- Automation Chimera: Education Is Not Management
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7/2/2008
The lure of automating workflow online so human intervention is minimized is continually reinforced in the minds of higher education administrators by examples of automated campus systems such as financials, student information systems, and other enterprise systems. But what's good for management is not always good for learning.
- The (Campus) Empire Strikes Back
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7/1/2008
Adding to the slew of data security issues already plaguing college and university campuses is an onslaught of stealth malware and botnet attacks. What's a beleaguered network manager to do? Here, from UC-Berkeley's own network pro, a cache of helpful advice.
- Podcasting in Instruction: Moving Beyond the Obvious
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6/25/2008
The lightweight, mobile nature of podcasting has the potential of moving education beyond familiar constraints of coursework and promoting a level of networking and input never seen before. But challenges still exist. Can more be achieved with podcasting that would heighten student engagement and maximize knowledge building in instructional contexts? Can we move beyond the obvious in their use?
- The Educational Software Paradox: Can We Learn To Unlearn?
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6/25/2008
New "educational" software and applications are usually not as educational as one might think. As a whole, applications developed in the name of learning have ended up favoring the institution and preserving the status quo. Given existing dynamics, it could not be otherwise.
- Learning in the Webiverse: How Do You Grade a Conversation?
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6/18/2008
Academics have long talked of the "academic conversation." Now, Web 2.0 has called our bluff. We live in the midst of a non-stop world conversation. But, are conversational skills (in writing) important and, if so, how do we teach them?
- P2P Redux: New Twists and Turns
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6/13/2008
At the same time that RIAA has been bombarding campuses with P2P filesharing notices, questions are being raised about the underlying legality of the methods being used by the RIAA.
- Can We Trust Students to Learn in Web 2.0?
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6/4/2008
A core debate about learning design arises from the fear that, if we allow learners too much freedom, they will not learn the right things. Web 2.0 exacerbates that fear because it is beyond the control of educators.
- Firewalls: A Hammer in Search of a Nail
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5/29/2008
The use of a firewall to protect a local or campus network from external threats has become enshrined as "best practice." But how well does it really work, how much protection does it really provide, and what are the negative impacts on advanced applications?
- Social Networking: Learning Theory in Action
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5/28/2008
There has been a lot of recent debate on the benefits of social networking tools and software in education. While there are good points on either side of the debate, there remains the essential difference in theoretical positioning. Can social networking both as an instructional concept and user skill be integrated into the conventional approaches to teaching and learning? Do the skills developed within a social networking environment have value in the more conventional environments of learning?
- Frankenstein in the University
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5/28/2008
In our day-to-day encounters with new media, online education, and vendor software products, we may sometimes be tempted to believe that encroaching technology is controlling the way people teach and learn. Is there a monster in our midst, determining our actions?
- Building a Competitive Web Strategy for an Academic Site
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5/21/2008
In this fictional scenario, Trent Batson examines a typical department's struggle to redesign its Web presence, posing questions like: "We can't help but notice that social sites like YouTube and Facebook are awfully easy to use -- why can't our academic site be more like them?"
- Best Practices in Emergency Communications
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5/9/2008
Risk assessment doesn't cut much weight in the world of public opinion. In the aftermath of highly publicized violent incidents like those at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois University, higher education has come under increased scrutiny. In particular, students, their parents, and the general public want to know about the emergency notification procedures that campuses have deployed.
- Writing: It Ain’t the Same Anymore
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5/7/2008
E-mail is the ordinal form of this age. But in the collective conscience of higher education, the reference form when talking about writing is still the essay. Should e-mail writing instruction replace the teaching of essay writing?
- Mobile Learning in Higher Education
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4/23/2008
The term "Nomadic" has been used to describe current college students' culture of wireless and mobile connectedness in the sense that they are not "rooted" but incredibility flexible and fluid when it comes to their social connections and their virtual life culture. This refers not only to their uses of social networking tools but also to the reality that they are connected wirelessly in any situation and for any reason. They are essentially nomads when it comes to their life "space."
- ePortfolios: Hot Once Again
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4/16/2008
The question about ePortfolios is no longer "What is it?" Now, it's "How can we do it?" A Web-based ePortfolio provides the answer.
- The Social Web: Academic Zoning Rules
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4/16/2008
Trent Batson urges social Web site developers to offer options for managing use for academic purposes.
- Real ID: Coming to a State Near You?
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4/11/2008
The Department of Homeland Security has issued the regulations that will govern the Real ID Act that sets standards for drivers' licenses across the country. How will it impact you and your campus?
- Can Campus IT Outsource to Web 2.0?
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4/2/2008
Campuses are starting to outsource e-mail services to popular Web 2.0 mail services such as Hotmail, gMail, Yahoo Mail, or others. Will various office functions also be outsourced? How far will outsourcing to the Web go?
- Research Has Chilling Effect on Hard Drive Encryption
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3/14/2008
Since you've encrypted the data on your laptop, it's safe even if your laptop is stolen, right? Wrong. Researchers at Princeton have demonstrated ways to hack your encrypted data using your own DRAMs against you.
- Is Web 2.0 'Designed for Education?'
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3/5/2008
In Web 2.0, the proliferation of Web services that create spaces and sites for learning continues to grow and add value.
- Capturing Learning Moments Digitally
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2/20/2008
Wherever there has been a black board, a white board, or a flip chart, there have been messages left in desperation warning those next in a classroom not to touch what was written or drawn or diagrammed on the particular surface provided. For those coming into the room to teach, it can be both annoying and frustrating. What alternatives are available?
- P2P File Sharing on Campus: The Battle Isn't Over
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2/8/2008
The battle between the recording industry and higher education over student piracy has been raging for years. Are long-term trends emerging, and what do they mean for colleges and universities?
- Planning for the Next Disaster: Pandemic
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1/11/2008
The experts tell us that a pandemic is inevitable. The only question is when it will happen. Is your organization ready? Can you keep essential IT functions running? What can you do to be prepared?
- Things That Go Bump in the Night
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12/14/2007
We've all developed and tested plans (or should have) for natural disasters--hurricanes in the Southeast, earthquakes in California, floods in our river valleys, and wildfires in the West, to name a few. Horrific as these events are, they are local or regional, affecting a few million people at the most. The rest of the country is still able to step in and provide aid. But what happens in the unlikely event of a disaster that impacts the entire country? Are we ready?
- Coming to Terms with a Crash-Proof Laptop
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12/6/2007
I've got a problem. My new laptop doesn't crash or freeze up. I've been using it now for nearly three months, and it just doesn't crash. "How," you might ask, "does this present a problem?" Well, it's a seemingly small thing that has cascading ramifications on my behavior and expectations in ways you might not anticipate. I know that I didn't.
