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Issue Contents
The Thirteenth Annual Sloan-C International Conference on Online Learning: The Power of Online Learning Making a Difference In his keynote address to this year's conference, Dr. Ralph E. Gomory of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation looked out over the hundreds of people in the audience and recalled the first meeting in the early 90's of a handful of people who wanted to understand the possibilities of internet-enabled education. Although they could not have predicted that today 20% of enrollments in higher education is online, they did emphasize from the beginning that the focus of efforts should be on learning and its effects on the quality of life. While these effects are difficult to gauge, Gomory noted that the internet has profoundly affected how and where we live and work, has blurred distinctions between work and non-work, and changed how we communicate: though we are rarely in the same place at the same time, we are rarely out of touch. As higher education costs rise, its value is also rising. Thus, there is still a long way to go to realize the benefits for human potential. Judging from attendance at the conference this year, many are interested in going the distance. The record attendance was 1203 participants, including: Administrators, 41% 73% of attendees came from east of the Mississippi and 27% from the west. Attendees came 48 states and 10 countries (41 registrants) including Sweden, Japan, Canada, UK, Australia, Belgium, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Greece and Thailand. 580 people attend pre-conference workshops on the Wednesday before the conference. There were 189 concurrent session presentations, and 475 people attended the newcomer breakfast. Meg Benke, conference chair noted that conversations in many sessions throughout the conference began to reflect on the ways online education can expand out to a more complete understanding of the "whole" student beyond the online classroom itself. In the plenary session, leading online educators Ed Borbely, Gary Moore, Frank Mayadas, Jaqueline Moloney and inspired corporate leader Joe Joseph from General Moters challenged and debated current perspectives in online higher education. A closing panel encouraged us to expand beyond our borders to better understand cross cultural and internal exchanges through online education. The conference had participants from several international organizations. In addition, the conference was enriched by the presence of minority scholars through a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to increase access for under-represented students. Benke noted that this year's record attendance shows that the Sloan community continues to offer high quality professional development and research opportunities for faculty, instructional designers, student service professionals and administrators. These opportunities are extended through the SLoan-C series of online workshops and two other annual conferences. As a leading learning organization, we appreciate you comments and suggestions for keeping this engagement at the highest levels. Look for this year's proceedings to be posted here. And start planning now to join next year's conference, November 5-7, 2008 in Orlando.
Second Life: A Viable Teaching Solution, or NOT? R.T. Brown
At Sloan-C's 2007 conference in Orlando, the Second Life (SL) workshop was packed. Our hope was to have two laptops and at least one expert at each table...but people brought their own and tables had five or six laptops. The purpose of the workshop was purely to introduce "newbies" to SL and highlight a few "in world" useful teaching tools. However, the workshop also attracted experts who had not previously worked directly with Sloan-C. Because Sloan-C uses the 5 pillars of quality to assess program effectiveness, workshop participants were asked to think about the five pillars as they relate to SL. A healthy feedback report for each pillar outlined pros, cons, and concerns, validating the need for further research and experimentation. Issues ranged from access and learning curves to constructivist learner outcomes, as shown in these highlights: Student Satisfaction
Faculty Satisfaction
Learning Effectiveness
Cost Effectiveness
Access
If "technology toys become our tools," time will enable us to distinguish between wishful thinking and a genuinely useful solution. The true measure will not be how many colleges, universities, groups, wikis, blogs, listservs, and islands are dedicated to SL and virtual worlds in general, but the adoption and application of learning using this medium over a sustained period of time. The workshop focused attention on the fundamental question: Is Second Life a viable teaching solution? For the record, I'm still not certain. However, based on my observations at the conference, Second Life is generating enough buzz. If enthusiasm, participation, and productivity are measures, SL's viability is assured. Excerpt from: An Examination of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks from 2001 to 2005 Randall S. Upchurch
This study focuses on 115 papers in the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks (JALN) from 2001 to 2005 and the a) frequency by which a particular author contributed to the existing body of knowledge, b) frequency of institutional contribution, c) geographical dispersion of contribution by origin of country, and d) keyword distribution as differentiated by institutional affiliation. Geographical Dispersion
Authors' contribution to JALN
According to Google's citation index system, Starr Hiltz's articles were cited 40 times, Karen Swan's work was cited 90 times, Katrina Meyer was cited 85 times, Reuven Aviv was cited 49 times, Randy Garrison was cited 21 times, and many of the remaining authors received citations for their reported work as well. These rather impressive findings indicate that the collective research being produced with this journal is of interest, is timely, perhaps controversial, most certainly thought provoking, and contributes to the existing body of knowledge. Keyword contribution
Research Type
The full report, "An Examination of the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks from 2001 to 2005," is available at http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/freedownloads.asp . Reviving the Primary Purpose of Copyright Law: "Don't Stifle Creativity!" Linda K. Enghagen, J.D., Professor
The Congress shall have Power ...
Last spring, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals handed down a decision in the case of Perfect 10, Inc. v. Amazon.com, Inc., A9.com Inc. & Google Inc. breathing new air into the gasping lungs of copyright law's fair use defense. In a well-reasoned decision, the court rejected formulaic applications of the fair use factors reminding everyone that they are not to be "treated in isolation, one from another. All are to be explored, and the results weighed together, in light of the purposes of copyright." Perfect 10 is in the business of selling copyright protected photos of nude models. It offers access to these photos in a number of ways including a members only subscription-based website and thumbnail (reduced size) images intended for downloading to cell phones. The 9th Circuit opinion focused on Perfect 10's claims against Google, Inc. Google's search engine is designed in such a way that when it generates responses to search requests, the responses include not only relevant text but thumbnail versions of images associated with such text. Like the thumbnail images Perfect 10 markets to cell phone users, the thumbnail images generated in a Google Image Search can be downloaded by cell phone users. In its lawsuit, Perfect 10 contended that Google's incorporation into search results of the copied images constituted direct copyright infringement. Google countered that the copying and distribution of such images via search engine responses is protected by the fair use defense. In the end, Google prevailed. The court's reasoning was fairly straightforward. The 9th Circuit agreed with Perfect 10 that Google engaged in copyright infringement. Google's search engine functioned in a way that it both reproduced and distributed copyright protected works. These are violations of the rights of the copyright owner. Indeed, Google didn't argue that point. Instead, Google asserted the defense of fair use. While a bit of an oversimplification, the fair use defense serves as an exception to the general rules of copyright law. Generally, copyright law reserves to copyright owners the right to reproduce and distribute their works. In contrast, fair use preserves the rights of users of copyright protected works. If fair use applies, a user does not need permission from the copyright owner and the copyright owner cannot require payment of a royalty or licensing fee. In this sense, fair use is free use. In its argument against Google, Perfect 10 focused on the fact that it offered thumbnail images of its photos for sale to cell phone users. Because of the nature of the format used by Google's thumbnail images of the same photos, Google's images could be downloaded too, and at no cost. Perfect 10 contended this reality defeated Google's fair use claim because one of the fair use factors is the impact of the use on the market for the copyright protected work. The 9th Circuit disagreed. In its rejection of Perfect 10's argument, the court primarily relied on two points. First, it concluded that any financial loss experienced by Perfect 10 as a result of Google's use of the thumbnail images in its search engine responses was purely speculative. Second and more importantly, the court reminded everyone that the rules of copyright law are not to be applied with a rigid adherence to the statute when to do so "would stifle the very creativity which that law is designed to foster." In what is likely to become often repeated language from the decision, the 9th Circuit explicitly revives the viability of fair use when it says:
While it is impossible to predict with precision where this line of analysis might lead, it clearly represents a welcome adjustment in the thinking about fair use. For those of us in educational environments who rely on fair use when using copyright protected works for teaching and research, it is a hopeful sign. Consider what it might mean relative to the market for permissions when developing teaching materials like course packets. Some have feared that the existence of a market for permissions means that permission must be sought and requested royalties paid, that the existence of the market was the end of the discussion. If the 9th Circuit has its way, it becomes clear that the market for permissions is neither irrelevant nor controlling. It is simply one of the facts to be considered, weighed and balanced within the larger contest of the overriding purpose of copyright law.
Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2008 Workshop Series The 2008 schedule has been posted on the main workshop page. Registrations and details for workshops past January will be posted soon. Inventive Uses Of Media And Tools In Online Learning - January 2 - 11 What are some of the available media applications that can increase learner motivation and engagement? Educators need effective tools to promote idea sharing, understandings, and collaborative, creative explorations. A wide range of media and tools are being designed and deployed in online education. This workshop seeks to explore effective emerging technologies that improve instruction and learning increasing satisfaction among students and faculty. Click here for details and registration. Support Services and Emerging Technologies - January 9 - 18 A student's online academic journey can be complex, but should it? When designed properly, emerging technologies can assist both institutions and students. What does an institution need to support online learning endeavors? Lets explore creative applications of technology for: -Staff and faculty development and training -Library considerations -Academic and student support services -Open source utilization and partnerships -Peer learning, and -Self-learning paradigms. Click here for details and registration. Getting Started: Online Course Development Basics - January 16 - February 8 A student's online academic journey can be complex, but should it? When designed properly, emerging technologies can assist both institutions and students. What does an institution need to support online learning endeavors? Lets explore creative applications of technology for: -Staff and faculty development and training -Library considerations -Academic and student support services -Open source utilization and partnerships -Peer learning, and -Self-learning paradigms. Click here for details and registration. |
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The Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C), sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is composed of institutions and organizations dedicated to continually improving the quality, scale, and breadth of their online programs, according to their own distinctive missions, so that education becomes a part of everyday life, accessible and affordable for anyone, anywhere, at any time, in a wide variety of disciplines. The Sloan-C View is published by Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C™). Responsibility for the contents rests with the authors and not with Sloan-C™. Copyright ©2007 by Sloan-C™. If you have a question or comment, would like to submit an article for publication, or would like to suggest an event to be listed on the Sloan-C View Calendar, please email sloan-cview@sloan-c.org. Materials in the Sloan-C View, unless otherwise noted, may be distributed freely for educational purposes. However, if any materials are redistributed they must retain the copyright notice and use the proper citation. Kindly send an email to sloan-cview@sloan-c.org indicating how you are using the material for distribution. Your privacy is important to us, you can view our privacy policy at www.sloan-c.org/aboutus/privacy.asp This issue is being sent to: %%emailaddr%% If you do not wish to receive future issues, please send a blank email to %%email.unsub%% and your email address will be removed from our list. The Sloan Consortium, Olin Way, Needham, MA 02492-1200 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||