This week, a small departure from libraryland as we look at some hot topics in e-learning�the issues, the challenges and the excitement! First off, some new information about copyright, (very important to consider when developing online courses); then some predictions for e-learning for 2004; next, an interesting look at integrating SCT Banner, Pipeline/Luminus and online courseware in higher education, and then an indispensable piece on the social software that your students are using! Don�t be left out in the cold�get in the loop with these essential e-reads!
1. Copyright Exclusions
Access Copyright has made a change to the copyright Exclusions List which takes effect 60 days from Feb.1, 2004. �Institutions are entitled to use, offer for sale, sell or distribute all copies of any published work made prior to the April 1, 2004 effective date.� More information.
To download a copy of the Exlusions list:
http://www.accesscopyright.ca/pdfs/PressReleases/postsec_exclusions.pdf
2. Predictions on the future of e-learning
Check out this month�s issue of the free, online journal eLearn Magazine for some interesting predictions of e-learning trends for 2004. Fascinating quotes from visionaries in the e-learning field are included in the �Column� section of this month�s issue.
http://www.elearnmag.org/
3. �Integrated Information Systems for the Campus�
�is the title of an article in this month�s issue of Syllabus. (Syllabus is a free online magazine about technology in higher education.) This article is particularly interesting for us here at Mohawk as it details how a university in the U.S. implemented SCT Banner, Pipeline/Luminus as well as many different course management packages (just like we are doing now!) An interview with the Associate Vice President for Computing and Information Technology and CIO at Wayne State University is featured. Check it out at: http://www.syllabus.com/article.asp?id=8865
4. What your students are doing on the Internet�
�We-Learning: Social Software and e-Learning Part II�
From the free, online journal Learning Circuits comes a must-read article about social software and its effect on e-learning. Find out what your students are using to manage their online social networks. The article notes that social software has been called the �Technology of the Year for 2003� and it is certainly coming of age now in 2004. Not only does this article contain a useful overview of the concepts but it also features links to the popular social software tools out there as well as a great webliography so that you can learn more about it.
