19.550 new on WWW: CIT Infobits for 12/05 from Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty <willard.mcc on 2006-01-07 (Humanist Archives Vol. 19 )

From: Humanist Discussion Group (by way of Willard McCarty willard.mccarty_at_kcl.ac.uk>
Date: Sat, 7 Jan 2006 07:37:35 +0000

               Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 19, No. 550.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
                        www.princeton.edu/humanist/
                     Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu

         Date: Sat, 07 Jan 2006 07:29:21 +0000
         From: "Carolyn Kotlas" <kotlas_at_email.unc.edu>
         Subject: CIT INFOBITS -- December 2005

CIT INFOBITS December 2005 No. 90 ISSN 1521-9275

About INFOBITS

INFOBITS is an electronic service of The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill's Center for Instructional Technology. Each month the
CIT's Information Resources Consultant monitors and selects from a
number of information and instructional technology sources
that come to her attention and provides brief notes for electronic
dissemination to educators.

You can read the Web version of this issue at
http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/bitdec05.html

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Large-Scale Study of Distance Learning Effectiveness
Distance Learning and Faculty Concerns
Questioning the Value of Learning Technology
Comparison of Scholarly Print and E-Journal Editors
New Journal Covering Plagiarism in the University Community
Google Launches Newsletter for Librarians
Wikiversity
Recommended Reading

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LARGE-SCALE STUDY OF DISTANCE LEARNING EFFECTIVENESS

The extensive literature of research in distance education relies
heavily on small studies and qualitative research. Many of these
studies report that delivery format produces no significant difference
in student learning outcomes. In "Does Distance Learning Work? A Large
Sample, Control Group Study of Student Success in Distance Learning"
(E-JIST, vol. 8, no. 1), James Koch reports on a study that uses a very
large distance education sample (76,866 individual student
observations) compared with a control group of residential students who
took the identical course at the same time from the same instructor.
According to Koch, "The results indicate that gender, age, ethnic
background, distance learning experience, experience with the
institution providing the instruction, and measures of academic
aptitude and previous academic success are statistically significant
determinants of student success." The paper is available online at
http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/docs/vol8_no1/fullpapers/distancelearning.htm.

e-Journal of Instructional Science and Technology (e-JIST) is a
peer-reviewed electronic journal published by the Distance and
e-Learning Centre, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba,
Queensland 4350, Australia; Web: http://www.usq.edu.au/dec/.
Current and back issues of e-JIST are available at no cost at
http://www.usq.edu.au/electpub/e-jist/.

See also:

No Significant Difference Phenomenon website
http://www.nosignificantdifference.org/

The website is a companion piece to Thomas L. Russell's book THE NO
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE PHENOMENON, a bibliography of 355 research
reports, summaries, and papers that document no significant differences
in student outcomes between alternate modes of education delivery.

......................................................................

DISTANCE LEARNING AND FACULTY CONCERNS

Despite the growing number of distance learning programs, faculty are
often reluctant to move their courses into the online medium. In
"Addressing Faculty Concerns About Distance Learning" (ONLINE JOURNAL
OF DISTANCE LEARNING ADMINISTRATION, vol. VIII, no. IV, Winter 2005)
Jennifer McLean discusses several areas that influence faculty
resistance, including: the perception that technical support and
training is lacking, the fear of being replaced by technology, and the
absence of a clearly-understood institutional vision for distance
learning. The paper is available online at
http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/ojdla/winter84/mclean84.htm.

The Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration is a free,
peer-reviewed quarterly published by the Distance and Distributed
Education Center, The State University of West Georgia, 1600 Maple
Street, Carrollton, GA 30118 USA; Web:
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/jmain11.html.

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QUESTIONING THE VALUE OF LEARNING TECHNOLOGY

"The notion that the future of education lies firmly in learning
technology, seen as a tool of undoubted magnitude and a powerful remedy
for many educational ills, has penetrated deeply into the psyche not
only of those involved in delivery but also of observers, including
those in power within national governments." In a paper published in
1992, Gabriel Jacobs expressed his belief that hyperlink technology
would be a "teaching resource that would transform passive learners
into active thinkers." In "Hypermedia and Discovery Based Learning:
What Value?" (AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, vol. 21,
no. 3, 2005, pp. 355-66), he reconsiders his opinions, "the result
being that the guarded optimism of 1992 has turned to a deep
pessimism." Jacob's paper is available online at
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet21/jacobs.html.

The Australasian Journal of Educational Technology (AJET) [ISSN
1449-3098 (print), ISSN 1449-5554 (online)], published three times a
year, is a refereed journal publishing research and review articles in
educational technology, instructional design, educational applications
of computer technologies, educational telecommunications, and related
areas. Back issues are available on the Web at no cost. For more
information and back issues go to
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet.html.

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COMPARISON OF SCHOLARLY PRINT AND E-JOURNAL EDITORS

Using examples from the library publishing field, Julie Banks and Carl
Pracht examined the roles of editors of traditional print journals and
newer electronic journals. The authors findings, reported in "Movers
and Shakers in the Library Publishing World Highlight Their Roles:
Interviews with Print and Electronic Journal Editors - A Comparison"
(E-JASL, vol. 6 no. 3, Winter 2005), show that the two formats were
"more similar than different from each other in terms of the editors'
and editorial boards' roles, relationships, work loads, and utilization
of peer review." The paper is available online at
http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/content/v06n03/banks_j01.htm.

E-JASL: The Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship
[ISSN 1704-8532] is an independent, professional, refereed electronic
journal dedicated to advancing knowledge and research in the areas of
academic and special librarianship. E-JASL is published by the
Consortium for the Advancement of Academic Publication (ICAAP),
Athabasca, Canada. For more information, contact: Paul Haschak,
Executive Editor, Board President, and Founder, Linus A. Sims Memorial
Library, Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA USA; email:
phaschak@selu.edu; Web: http://southernlibrarianship.icaap.org/.

For another publishing viewpoint, see:

"The Shift Away From Print"
By Eileen Gifford Fenton and Roger C. Schonfeld
INSIDE HIGHER ED, December 8, 2005
http://insidehighered.com/views/2005/12/08/schonfeld

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NEW JOURNAL COVERING PLAGIARISM IN THE UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY

The recently-launched, refereed INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR EDUCATIONAL
INTEGRITY [ISSN 1833-2595] intends to provide a forum to address
educational integrity topics: "plagiarism, cheating, academic
integrity, honour codes, teaching and learning, university governance,
and student motivation." The journal, to be published two times a year,
is sponsored by the University of South Australia. For more information
and to read the current issue, go to
http://www.ojs.unisa.edu.au/journals/index.php/IJEI.

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GOOGLE LAUNCHES NEWSLETTER FOR LIBRARIANS

In December Google launched a free, online publication, the GOOGLE
LIBRARIAN NEWSLETTER. The newsletter was conceived at the 2005 American
Libraries Association conference in Chicago as a way to answer
questions raised by librarians and others who use Google for reference
and research. The first issue discusses a frequently-asked question:
"How does Google index the web, and, more important, how does it rank
the results?"

To read Google Librarian Newsletter or to subscribe to the email
version, go to
http://www.google.com/newsletter/librarian/librarian_2005_12/newsletter.html.

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WIKIVERSITY

The organization that maintains the online encyclopedia Wikipedia
(http://www.wikipedia.org/) proposes the creation of Wikiversity, an
"electronic institution of learning that will be used to test the
limits of the wiki model both for developing electronic learning
resources as well as for teaching and for conducting research and
publishing results." Still in the initial startup phase, Wikiversity
could, at the least, be an open repository for educational materials.
Some Wiki board members also think it could serve as a host to online
courses, which, in turn, could lead to degree-granting programs. For
more information about Wikiversity, go to
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikiversity.

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