March/April 2001
by Charles Graham, Kursat Cagiltay, Byung-Ro Lim, Joni Craner, and Thomas M. Duffy // Assessment
Chickering and Gamson's renowned "Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education" have long served educators. Now a team of scholars from Indiana University's Center for Research on Learning and Technology has adapted the seven principles to online teaching and learning. Charles R. Graham, Kursat Cagiltay, Byung-Ro Lim, Joni Craner, and Thomas Duffy share their results for the Assessment of online courses.
by James L. Morrison and Paul Shrivastava // Vision
James Morrison interviews Paul Shrivastava, President of eSocrates.com, about his Vision for "online learning communities." Recognizing the need for an online learning environment that is technologically sophisticated but also user-friendly, Shrivastava built eSocrates.com, a Web site that engages business professors in "communities" of collaborative teaching. Members of the eSocrates community pool resources and materials, helping to fulfill eSocrates's aim of transforming both pedagogy and technological applications to improve education.
by Rodney L. Everhart // Commentary
As Generation Y brings its technological competency to college, administrators must respond to increasing pressure to update academic and administrative systems. Rodney Everhart offers insightful Commentary on what these students demand, from Web-based syllabi to online career counseling. He also reminds members of the educational community that these services must be offered within a single connected environment. If this sounds good but impractical, read on to see what Everhart has to say.
by Ed Klonoski // Commentary
Increasing pressure for colleges and universities to provide online services has also meant increasing budget pressure. Institutions confront the need to increase online offerings in the face of limited state funding. Ed Klonoski offers insightful second Commentary on one way to solve this problem: consortial IT, a collaborative approach to distance education. Klonoski says that collaboration among multiple institutions "not only resonates with legislatures, but may actually solve some of higher education's long-term problems with capital, planning, and resource integration."
by Bracey Campbell // Commentary
In this issue's third Commentary, Bracey Campbell addresses a fundamental barrier to distance learning: unequal tuition rate structures for in-state and out-of-state students. Charging higher prices for out-of-state e-students, argues Campbell, "reduces opportunities for potential students and limits institutions' access to new markets." He then focuses on one effort to remove this barrier, the 16-state Southern Regional Education Board's program to charge a single, universal rate for all distance-learning courses.
by Peter S. Cookson // Case Studies
Peter S. Cookson takes a look at the partnership between the Tokyo Accounting Center and Athabasca University, a Case Study in cross-cultural collaboration and economic globalization. Together, the two institutions prepare Japanese accountants for the United States Certified Public Accountant examination. Cookson describes student experiences and outlines a three-step program adaptable to any organization's efforts to develop a collaborative venture. Cookson's article is a must-read for those interested in how collaboration moves from an individual to an institutional level.
by Jan F. Scholl // Case Studies
For Jan F. Scholl, professor of agricultural and extension education at Pennsylvania State University, a new departmental database of curriculum materials has revolutionized curriculum development. In this issue's second Case Study, Scholl reports that using the database in place of traditional curriculum development methods has not only expedited the process, but also it has ultimately led to the creation of far more useful materials.
by Charles Ansorge and Nancy Cooley // Faculty and Staff Development
To find out what faculty members really need from course management systems (CMSs), Charles Ansorge went to Nancy Cooley, Dean of the College of Education at Ferris State University in Michigan. Cooley draws on her knowledge of education and technology to offer three specific requirements: that CMSs start with the learner, that they promote active engagement with the material, and that they enable student interaction. Ansorge's interview with Cooley also reveals how Faculty and Staff Development can be aided by course management systems, leading faculty into "an entirely new type of pedagogy."
by Gary Brown // Critical Reading
Offering a Critical Reading of several sources that refer to a "support service crisis" for technology in education, Gary Brown suspects that the term may not accurately describe current conditions. Brown argues that although a crisis exists, it is not the result of a lack of personnel. Instead, Brown suggests, this crisis has arisen from a lack of faculty understanding of what technical support in a university setting means.
by Stephen Downes // Spotlight Site
The quality of online news sources is notoriously erratic, and busy educators have little time to sift the wheat from the chaff. Thank goodness for Stephen Downes and his Spotlight, shining this month on the Online Journalism Review (OJR), a Web site published by the highly regarded Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California. The OJR provides weekly articles and ongoing forums dedicated to the study of online news reporting.
by Mary Harrsch // Letters to the Editor
Mary Harrsch sends a Letter to the Editor reminding readers that the WebAssign homework tool described in the January/February 2001 issue of The Technology Source has not yet met standards for the new instructional management system question and test interoperability standard adopted by the IMS global learning consortium in August of 2000.
by James L. Morrison // Letters to the Editor
In a second Letter to the Editor, James Morrison regrettably informs readers of the death of editorial board member Barbara Horgan, who was the Vision section editor and one of the original members of the editorial board.