Saturday, October 25, 2008

Open Technology, Content and Knowledge --Implications for Higher Education

A kind e-mailer, Arun, alerted me through an e mail to World Association of Online Education, that there is freely available access on the Web for

The Collective Advancement of Education through Open Technology, Open Content, and Open Knowledge
Edited by Toru Iiyoshi and M. S. Vijay Kumar
Published by the MIT Press, September 2008

The website introduction to the book includes the following:
"These essays by leaders in open education describe successes, challenges, and opportunities they have found in a range of open education initiatives. They approach—from both macro and micro perspectives—the central question of how open education tools, resources, and knowledge can improve the quality of education."
Quote from http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11309, retrieved October 25, 2008.

Electronic versions of the book are made available under a Creative Commons license, thanks to support of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching.

Here is a link to the concluding chapter: "New Pathways for Shaping the Collective Agenda to Open Up Education," in which Toru Iiyoshi and M.S. Vijay Kumar recommend the following

"As the idea and practice of open education expand, it becomes increasingly critical to undertake systematic and systemic studies to better understand and clarify the transitions from traditional roles of educators and institutions to those needed to be effective in this ecology of technology-facilitied open education. ....One of the most significant aspects of the changes in front of us is the promise of blended learning environments that involve optimal combinations of the physical and virtual, and integrate conventional pedagogical methods with innovative network-based learning to deliver quality educational opportunities."

Other recommendations include:

"Change Education's Culture and Policy ...Recontextualize Roles and Values,"
"Make Open Education Solutions Sustainable,"
"Make Practice and Knowledge Visible and Sharable,"
"Build the Commons through the Collectivity Culture"

The authors go on to write:
"We encourage all involved in any aspect of developing and delivering education to heed this palpable "open" movement that is afoot, presenting the opportunity to redefine, rethink and rearticulate educational practice at several micro and macro levels--courses, programs, institutions or even nations."
Quotes are from http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/0262033712chap28.pdf, retrieved October 25, 2008
In 3 Ways Web-Based Computing Will Change Colleges, Jeffrey R. Young predicts that "In the next five years, Web-based computing will likely bring important changes in how students study, how scholars do research, and how college information-technology departments operate." His article appeared in Academe Today, the Chronicle of Higher Education's Daily report, Oct 23, 2008. Jeffrey R. Young alerts us to other resources on the same topic, from Daniel J. Solove and Educause.

Major concerns include privacy, as discussed by Daniel J. Solove, a law professor at George Washington University, in his book The Digital Person: Technology and Privacy in the Information Age.

Another work, which also discusses the confusions and promises of cloud computing in higher education, is The Tower and the Cloud scheduled to be released next week by Educause and freely available on its website.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Using Google Scholar at GGU

The University Library is currently testing out a way to access articles online via Google Scholar. If you would like to participate, here's how:
  1. Go to http://scholar.google.com
  2. Click the "Scholar Preferences" link to the right of the search field
  3. In the Library Links field, type: Golden Gate University
  4. Click the Find Library button
  5. Place a checkmark next to "Golden Gate University Library - Full-Text @ My Library"
  6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Save Preferences" button
Whenever an article found in Google Scholar is available in one of the University Library's full-text databases, you can click the "Full-Text @ My Library" link to access it.

Note: GGU patrons accessing Google Scholar from a a computer on the main SF campus do not need to configure anything, as it is automatically setup for you.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

4.2 million green jobs by 2038--report by Global Insight for the U.S. Conference of Mayors

There are currently 750,000 green jobs in the U.S. economy, and by 2038 there will be 4.2 million green jobs, according to an October 2008 report prepared by Global Insight for the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Mayors Climate Protection Center. See US Metro Economies: Current and Potential Green Jobs in the U.S. Economy, http://www.usmayors.org/pressreleases/uploads/GreenJobsReport.pdf

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

California Statistical Abstract

Are you having a difficult time locating statistical information about our fine state? If so, consider taking a look at the California Statistical Abstract. Compiled and published by the California Department of Finance, the report is:
...a compilation of data on social, economic, and physical aspects of the State. The volume is a cooperative effort of various government agencies, coordinated and issued annually by the California Department of Finance, Economic Research Unit.

You can find the abstract online, in PDF format, at: http://www.dof.ca.gov/HTML/FS_DATA/STAT-ABS/Statistical_Abstract.php

You can also download all of the table data included in the report to Microsoft Excel format for your own statistical needs.