The Technology Source Archives

December 1997 // Spotlight Site

Educom

http://www.educom.edu/

Note: This article was originally published in The Technology Source (http://ts.mivu.org/) as: "Educom" The Technology Source, December 1997. Available online at http://ts.mivu.org/default.asp?show=article&id=1034. The article is reprinted here with permission of the publisher.

Educom is an organization whose name should already be fairly familiar to those involved with the use of technology in education, whether through the annual conference that bears its name, its much-heralded bimonthly magazine Educom Review, or any one of the many of projects that this group sponsors. What may not be familiar is the Web site that collects and chronicles the myriad of ways in which Educom is involved in bringing information technology to the forefront of higher education. This is the reason why we have chosen it as our Spotlight Site for December.

In addition to providing an online guide to the annual conference and an archive for various Educom publications, this site collects information concerning a number of other projects in which the organization is involved, such as their National Learning Infrastructure Initiative (NLII) or the Networking and Telecommunications Task Force (NTTF), both of which are actively involved in facilitating and improving the incorporation of low-cost, high-quality technological tools into institutions of higher education.

Furthermore, the site also provides an extensive calendar of higher education and technology events; discussion forums (one of which is co-sponsored with CAUSE); listings and links to publications sponsored or produced by Educom; as well as their "Educom Medal" program, which is "a collaborative effort between Educom and professional disciplinary partner societies to recognize and reward outstanding educators, professionals, and other individuals who have made significant contributions to the improvement of undergraduate education through innovative applications of information technology."

Educom's leadership in the area of technology and higher education is well-documented. This site is an excellent clearinghouse for links and information to the number of noteworthy directions in which their efforts have been, currently are, and will be focused.