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Below is a description of the March/April 2003 issue of The Technology Source, a free, refereed e-journal published as a public service by the Michigan Virtual University at http://ts.mivu.org

Please forward this announcement to colleagues who are interested in using information technology tools more effectively in their work. Also, please encourage your organizational librarians to add The Technology Source to their e-journal collections.

As always, we seek illuminating articles that will assist educators as they face the challenge of using information technology tools in teaching and in managing educational organizations. Please review our call for manuscripts at http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=call and send me a note if you would like to contribute an article.

Many thanks.

Jim
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James L. Morrison
Editor-in-Chief
The Technology Source
http://ts.mivu.org
Home Page: http://horizon.unc.edu

INSIDE THE TECHNOLOGY SOURCE

Editor James Morrison interviews Carole Barone, vice president of EDUCAUSE and director of the National Learning Infrastructure Initiative, about her vision for creating new, technology-infused learning environments to meet the challenges that face educators. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1046 )

As higher education institutions respond to the technology revolution, the importance of realistic planning becomes paramount for long-term success. James Penrod, chief information officer at the University of Memphis, discusses the role of the CIO within higher education and provides a valuable road map for educational leaders formulating technology initiatives on their campuses. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1030 )

Leslie Hitch (Northeastern University) and Pamela MacBrayne (Collegis) acknowledge the positive effects of IT initiatives on teaching and learning. They argue, however, that complementary support services receive inadequate attention. Hitch and MacBrayne propose the ultimate support resource: a central call center where the staff would maintain automated services and respond to individual queries with highly personalized assistance 24/7/365. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1016 )

Bob Moul, an SCT executive, calls for an end to IT infrastructures dominated by disparate, non-integrated systems. He argues that applications that support course registration, tuition payment, access to grades and records, student services, and online learning should be designed so that data received in one area will be updated automatically in all other areas. While acknowledging the potential problems of a unified digital campus, Moul touts its advantages: reduced student inconvenience, reduced administrative labor, and a better institution-constituent relationship. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1058 )

Holly Blackford, assistant professor of English at Rutgers, describes the problems she encountered while teaching an online children???s literature class within a continuing education program. Blackford comments on the challenges unique to online humanities courses and proposes ways to promote greater communication, collaboration, and continuity in the e-learning process. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=971 )

Phillip Clark and Laurence Shatkin, independent consultants, comment on the growing need for programs that help professionals measure their current skills as assets and make strategic decisions about how to expand their competencies. Higher education would be a valuable vehicle for lifelong learning, the authors argue, if its resources included a comprehensive online database of specific learning tools, job skills, and course offerings all described by a common language of competency standards. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1064 )

The early planning stages of online instruction are crucial. Diane Chapman (North Carolina State University) and Todd Nicolet (UNC-Chapel Hill) describe the "project approach" to course development: a formal, team-based operation that makes use of consistent standards, trackable processes, standardized tools, and structured communication to facilitate technology initiatives. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1027 )

In his spotlight site review, Stephen Downes introduces Technology Source readers to elearnspace: a Web site designed to support the innovative use of information technology in online instruction, particularly at the grassroots level. (See http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=2002 )