A Faculty Guide to Cyber-Plagiarism Quite a useful resource produced by the University of Alberta Libraries. Contains sections on detecting and dealing with plagiarism (including links to resources), an examination of why students plagiarize (and therefore, how to limit the need through selective tutoring) and useful handouts for students. By Tami Oliphant, University of Alberta Libraries, November 1, 2001.[Refer]

Giving Them What They Want: Information vs Learning Artile that criticizes the idea that the provision of information alone is sufficient to engender learning. Some sort of teaching is also required in most cases. Cool yin-yang diagram illustraing the idea. Good, but I think that a third component is also required: community. By Alan Nelson, NelsonCroom, Undated.[Refer]

Long-Term Learning is Natural Behaviour Elliott Masie is on a roll this week... in this first item, he questions current systems of assement where the test ocurs shortly after the learning has been completed. Whereupon, of course, the material is immediately forgotten. Real learning, argues Masie, is long term learning, yet our assessment methods ignore that completely. OK, we've heard that all before, but Masie takes the argument an important step further: "The extension of learning over time is one of the really exciting possibilities that e-learning provides." Yes. Today I was discussing with a colleague a 'course' that would start in grade 9 and end (if it ever ended at all) in graduate school. More on that some time in the future. For now, let's just say: Masie has a point. By Elliott Masie, IT Training, November, 2001.[Refer]

No More Digital Page-Turning In another item, Masie poses the following challenge: "I am waiting to see newer and more provocative design models emerge for e-learning—models that combine classic instructional design principles with the engagement components of gaming and e-commerce." Again, I agree. Let's see some of the really interesting applications of new technology. We've seen tantalizing hints in the pages of this newsletter. But there's so much more that could be done. Like I said, Elliott is on a roll. By Ellliott Masie, eLearning Magazine, November, 2001.[Refer]

Making Better Use of Educational Technology Here's a site that looks like it's just starting but has the potential to become a valuable tool (or it might fail miserably - that's the risk of opening a site like this). Making Better Use of Educational Technology is a set of learning resources for educators, sorted into four categories and ranked from novice to expert. Each listing contains a description and URL along with some background information. The entire site appears to contain only a dozen resource or so, so there's some work to be done. But site users can comment on each article and share their points of view, thus (in theory) stimulating a community of practice. I have some quibbles about the design, but there is much to like about this site. Worth watching. By Unknown, Office of Learning Technology, Unknown.[Refer]

An Overview of Progress and Problems in Educational Technology Good survey paper with a useful diagram classifying networked learning tools and a list of five principles for the effective use of technology in education. The principles are worth listing: (1) The Learning Principle: Learning is fundamentally about change (2) The Experience Principle: Experience is the starting point for understanding (3) The Context Principle: Context determines meaning (4) The Integration Principle: Relevant learning contexts are often broad and multi−faceted (5) The Uncertainty Principle: We know less than we are inclined to believe. I strongly agree with principles two and three (and generally agree with the others, though I would rework them). Essay in PDF format. By J. Michael Spector, Interactive Educational Multimedia, number 3, October, 2001.[Refer]

NYUonline Will Shut Down Turns out it wasn't a cash cow after all... and so NYU is shutting down its three-year-old stand-alone online learning branch, NYUOnline. By Dan Carnevale, Chronicle of Higher Education, November 28, 2001.[Refer]

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