Below is a description of the September issue of The Technology Source, a
free webzine at
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS.
As always, we seek illuminating articles that will assist educators as they
face the challenge of integrating information technology tools in teaching
and in managing educational organizations. If you would like to write such
an article,
please review our call for manuscripts at
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/call.asp
and get in touch with me.
Jim
--
James L. Morrison
morrison@unc.edu
Professor of Educational Leadership CB 3500 Peabody Hall
Editor, On the Horizon The University of North
http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon Carolina at Chapel Hill
Editor, The Technology Source Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS Phone: 919 962-2517
Fax: 919 962-1693
****************
In September's Vision article, Terrence Redding explores the world of
distance education as he discusses ways in which Internet technology
overcomes many of the limits of traditional education. He suggests that
Global Learn Day, a yearly conference on and celebration of the use of
technology in education, may serve as a gateway to the future of online
interaction.
Our Commentary for this month comes to us from Brett Swope, who debates the
future of the written word as embodied by the many different forms of
electronic books currently in development. Each of these books has different
features and a unique format, and there are both advantages and
disadvantages to each. New horizons are within our reach, if we can decide
which roads will bring us to them.
In using new technologies in distance education, it often seems as though
they dehumanize and limit the interaction between instructor and student.
But if used to their full potential, telecommunications and Internet
technology can actually allow for greater interactivity among the
participants. Stephen Buchanan illustrates this for us in this month's Case
Study.
Iola Peed-Neal offers us "teaching centers, instructional technology, and
course development" in this month's Faculty and Staff Development section.
By outlining a generic model for course development, she addresses the major
concerns of teaching centers and faculty members regarding course
development. Both the faculty involved and the centers assisting them have
certain rights and responsibilities, and being aware of this fact can lead
to better and more fruitful interaction.
This issue's Site of the Month features The League for Innovation in
the Community College, a group that encourages experimentation and new forms
of teaching in community colleges, technical institutes, and other
organizations. By sponsoring projects and providing useful links in the form
of a "virtual campus," the League has created an incredibly useful Web page
for educators in community colleges and elsewhere.
The debate continues to rage over virtual versus classroom learning, as
Jerald Schutte and Ed Neal respond to critiques in this month's Letters to
the Editor. Schutte responds to Neal's earlier criticisms by further
explaining the design and methodology of his study comparing the two
delivery systems, and Neal responds to earlier letters from Ralston,
Ehrmann, and Brown in defense of Schutte's study and the Flashlight project.