Greetings! Today's Chronicle of Higher Education (Jan. 22, 2004) carries an article about the following. Unless you have an online password to CHE, you will not be able to read this current article. Our Park Library has a password and if any of our faculty members are interested in reading it, please let me know. Here is a brief about the open-source courseware project identified as Sakai: * FOUR UNIVERSITIES have announced a $6.4-million venture to create open-source courseware tools and related software for higher-education institutions. The system, called the Sakai Project, is expected to offer open-source code for colleges to modify and share freely, and to provide course-management systems that can be tailored to an institution's needs. --> SEE http://chronicle.com/daily/2004/01/2004012204n.htm 4 Colleges Collaborate on Open-Source Courseware By ANDREA L. FOSTER In what may be a big threat to commercial providers of course-management systems, four universities have announced a $6.8-million collaborative venture to create open-source courseware tools and related software for higher-education institutions. The universities developing the system, called the Sakai Project, are the Indiana University system, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, which will lead the effort. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has given $2.4-million for the project. Each of the four institutions is providing services worth about $1.1-million over two years. Sakai is expected to offer open-source code for colleges to modify and share freely, and to provide course-management systems that can be tailored to an institution's needs. Such systems are Web-based software programs that include online versions of class rosters, course outlines, assignments, discussions, quizzes, and grade books. Colleges will be able to gain access to Sakai software through an enhanced version of uPortal, a Web-based application made up of open-source-software parts created by several hundred universities. Sakai also will make use of the Open Knowledge Initiative, another collaborative effort among universities to support educational software. Sakai, named for a Japanese chef, includes a "tool-portability profile" that will describe the specifications for writing and using software that is Sakai-compatible. The profile will be especially useful for colleges that want to integrate open-source educational tools with commercial e-learning products, said Jeffrey W. Merriman, a senior strategist in academic computing at MIT and a member of the Sakai board. Another member of the Sakai board cited a different benefit. "By committing to work with each other and devote our resources to the common good, we are assuring that the collective value is returned to our own institutions, to our partners' institutions, and to the community," said Lois Brooks, director of academic computing at Stanford. "We're pretty psyched about it," said Joseph Hardin, chairman of the Sakai board and director of the Collaborative Technologies Laboratory at Michigan. "We think there's a lot of opportunity for innovation in pedagogy." According to the Campus Computing Project, which conducts annual national studies of computing in higher education, about 80 percent of colleges have committed themselves to a commercial vendor for their course-management systems, with the leading providers being Blackboard and WebCT. Kenneth C. Green, director of the Campus Computing Project, said Sakai could encourage higher-education institutions to abandon commercial contracts in favor of its open-source offerings. "It has the potential to gain traction," he said, adding that Sakai's selling points for colleges are quality software, potential cost savings, and the encouragement of a collaborative culture among higher-education institutions. Others, however, are skeptical of Sakai's ability to threaten the courseware market of Blackboard or WebCT. "Open source is great and it's free, but who do you go to when it's not working right?" asked Trace Urdan, an equity analyst at ThinkEquity, in San Francisco. "There is value to the sales process. It isn't simply how you get the customer to buy the product. There's education, and support, and accountability." Matthew S. Pittinsky, Blackboard's chairman, acknowledged that his company could face competition, saying that Sakai is partly "duplicative and wasteful of resources." But he also said Blackboard is interested in a partnership with Sakai. "It will take some time before this project has anything tangible to show," said Mr. Pittinsky. Meanwhile, he said, Blackboard has captured 40 percent to 42 percent of the market for course-management systems, and has agreements with publishers and other companies that make it easier for colleges to coordinate their courseware with other e-learning products. He also suggested that it may not be cost-effective for colleges to choose Sakai over Blackboard, since Blackboard has more clients that can absorb research and development costs. "Do you want to be part of a small-developer community, or do you want to join a large-developer community where the costs are spread out more?" Mr. Pittinsky asked. The timing of the Sakai announcement could hit Blackboard hard because, according to recent news reports, the company is poised to go public. However, Mr. Pittinsky would not confirm or deny that speculation. Officials at WebCT were not available for comment. Mr. Hardin said the project would provide opportunities for commercial vendors, like Red Hat, that offer support for open-source systems. Blackboard and WebCT have not discussed a Sakai partnership with the project coordinators, said Mr. Hardin. The Sakai software isn't scheduled for release until June or July. But as many as 13 universities -- including Carnegie Mellon, Northwestern, and Yale Universities, and the University of California at Berkeley -- have already expressed interest in early access to the system, which would allow them to offer recommendations about its next generation, said Mr. Hardin. The interested colleges include some that have built their own course-management systems and others that have hired commercial vendors to build them. During the past year, many colleges have been frustrated with commercial courseware, complaining about the rising costs of licensing software and their inability to make adjustments to it to suit their institutions' instructional or administrative needs. Furthermore, some colleges have discovered more bugs than they expected in the software. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Background articles from The Chronicle: Sharing the Code: More Colleges and Universities See Open-Source Software as an Alternative to Commercial Products (8/1/2003) MIT's Open Window: Putting Course Materials Online, the University Faces High Expectations (12/6/2002) The Power of Portals: More Colleges Create Web Services That Can Be Customized to Help Students and Professors (8/9/2002) Universities Begin Creating a Free, 'Open Source' Course-Management System (5/4/2001)
GIFTS TO OUR PARK LIBRARY Greetings! Ahhhhh, there is good news tonight! What benefits these fine folks offer our Library. 1. From Lois Boynton comes the much needed "Press and Public Relations Handbook: 2003 Contact Directory." [Note: this directory offers contact sources for PR agencies, corporations, and services.] PR students and researchers will discover a valuable resource here. It is located at the Park Library Reference Desk. 2. From Chuck Stone comes the extraordinary ten-volume "African American Encyclopedia." This second edition (2001) contains a wealth of biographical, historical, and pictorial information about African Americans. The indexes are extensive. Especially noteworthy is the "People by Profession" index; it includes biographies of slave revolt leaders, actors, social scientists, engineers, explorers, pioneers, cowboys, entertainers, sports figures, and, of course, journalists. This is an impressive addition to our Park Library collection. This encyclopedia will be shelved with our other encyclopedias in the Reading Area. With admiration and gratitude, Barbara Semonche, Park Library Director
UNC-CH LIBRARY TUTORIALS Greetings! What helpful resources await! Web accessible guides, examples, and quizes on the topics listed below are found at this URL: http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/tutorials.html * Citing Information (info on plagiarism, APA citation style, MLA citation style, Chicago Manual of Style, and CBE Council of Biology Editors) * Evaluating Information (info on evaluating books, articles and websites) * Guide to Copyright (info on copyright, plagiarism, honor code, digital copyright issues, copyright alternatives) * Humanities Research Tutorial (research strategies, research tools, librarian services) * Information Ethics Tutorial * Introduction to Library Research (gives examples of popular and scholarly serials and much more) * Latin American Studies Tutorial (research strategies and research tools) * Manuscripts Tutorial (fundamentals of manuscript research, finding manuscripts, using manuscripts, collections available) * Using the Web Some of this material might be new to folks; others might find these guides a helpful refersher course. The quizes for each topic require folks to register. If you have questions, please contact me. I'm happy to help. Best regards
TRAINING IN ENDNOTE OFFERED EndNote is a bibliographic management and formatting program that can be used to: * Create and maintain your own searchable database of references * Centralize and organize your research information * Insert citations into word processing documents * Format references and bibliographies in a variety of styles The University Libraries offer introductory EndNote workshops throughout the semester. The introductory workshops show you: * How to create an EndNote Library * How to modify the EndNote software to suit your personal preferences * How to search for citations using EndNote * How to import citations from library databases * How to format a word document using the EndNote software January/February 2004 Schedule of Workshops: (Date, Time, Location) * Friday, January 16 10:00 am - 12:00 pm Davis Library, Room 246 * Wednesday, January 21 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm House Undergraduate Library, Room 124 * Tuesday, January 27 9:00 am - 11:00 pm Davis Library, Room 246 * Monday, February 2 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Davis Library, Room 246 * Thursday, February 12 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm House Undergraduate Library, Room 124 * Friday, February 20 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Davis Library, Room 246 * Tuesday, February 24 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Davis Library, Room 246 If you would like to attend one of the introductory workshops listed above, please register by submiting an e-request form. http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/endnoterequest.html If you have already attended an introductory workshop or you already use EndNote and would like a more advanced workshop or individual consultation, please contact .
Factiva Database Tracking Media Mentions of the Democratic Presidential Candidates Greetings: Factiva (aka Dow Jones & Reuters) is tracking media mentions of the Demo candidates from Nov. 2003 through July 2004. Here is a link to the Dec. 2003 data: http://www.factiva.com/investigative/releases/MA010504.asp?node=menuElem1176 I'll try to keep track of this data myself. Barbara
NEW DISPLAY IN THE PARK LIBRARY: VINTAGE AND CURRENT IMAGES OF WAR CORRESPONDENTS AND COMBAT PHOTOGRAPHERS Greetings! When you have a free moment you and your students might want to peruse the new display located just outside The Park Library. Photos of 1940s war correspondents and combat photographers with their special unit insignias are displayed. From The Park Library's book and video collections you'll find related material on the issues and trends involved with war reporting. Angie Sloan's article in the Carolina Communicator about our School's alums serving "embedded reporters" in included. Also, an article about "blogging" in Iraq published recently in the Nieman Reports is displayed. As always, your comments and suggestions are welcomed. Best regards,
FACTS ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: U.S. CENSUS BUREAU January 6, 2004 U.S. Census Bureau Special Edition The 2004 Presidential Election Every four years, voters head to the polls to select our nation's president. The process begins with a series of primaries and caucuses in the winter and spring and culminates with the general election in November. To mark the start of the 2004 presidential election season, the Census Bureau has culled from previously released statistical reports the following facts: State Turnout Trends In both Iowa, home of the first-in-the-nation political party caucus, and New Hampshire, home of the first-in-the-nation party primary, 67 percent of citizens voted in the 2000 presidential election. (See attached table.) http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html In 2000, the highest voting rates were found in the District of Columbia, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Maine and Minnesota, each at or about 70 percent. (See attached table.) http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html National Turnout Trends 60 Percentage of eligible voters who cast their ballots in the November 2000 presidential election, slightly higher than the 58 percent who voted in 1996. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html 70 Percentage of citizens who were registered to vote in 2000, compared with the 71 percent registered in 1996. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html 111 million The number of people who voted in the 2000 presidential election, short of the record high of 114 million set in 1992. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html 86 Among citizens registered to vote in the 2000 presidential election, the percentage who reported they cast ballots, up from 82 percent in 1996. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html 61 Percentage of eligible women voters who voted in the 2000 presidential election. That is higher than the 58 percent of men who voted. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html 72 Percentage of citizens ages 65 to 74 who voted in the 2000 presidential election. This age group has the highest voting participation of any age group. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html 21 Among people who said they were registered to vote in 2000 but did not actually vote, the percentage who gave as a reason that they were too busy or had conflicting work or school schedules. This was the most common reason given for not voting. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/voting/000505.html ADDITIONAL ELECTION LINKS AND RESOURCES: This census page can show you voting age hispanics by state (but not necessarily registered voters): http://eire.census.gov/popest/data/states/stasro.php  A number of newspaper articles on hispanic voting clout cite the Tomas Rivera Institute as a source. Here's the contact info for their CA offices.  The Tomás Rivera Policy Institute University of Southern California School of Policy, Planning & Development 650 Childs Way, Lewis Hall, Suite 102 Los Angeles, CA 90089-0626 Telephone (213) 821-5615 Fax: (213) 821-1976 Also Gary Price has been compiling election resources on his ResourceShelf.Com site. Please consult these two resources: Comp #1 http://digbig.com/3gxw Comp #2 http://digbig.com/3fek Best regards,
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