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Thursday, September 15, 2011

POD Network News | Fall 2011


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Technology Review: Lessons From the Gutenberg Bible for Publishers Going Digital


Gutenberg's reward for the invention of the printing press was financial ruin, but others figured out a unique way to keep the printing business afloat. Christopher Mims 06/22/2011



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Learn the Net News: Online education gaining ground in US, but challenges remain


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University Business: Pell Grants Likely Face Cuts In Budget Talks


Some rancorous debate in Congress in the next few months could have significant consequences for college students — and plot the course for future higher-education funding.

Congressional budget-cutters are likely to tape a big bull's-eye squarely on the back side of the federal Pell grant program, which for 40 years has provided bedrock funding to make college more affordable for low- and middle-income students. As a big-ticket budget item, the Pell grant program makes an inviting target.

More than 9 million students now rely on Pell grants, which provide a maximum of $5,550 a year.

The grant money doesn't require repayment, but it now covers less than a third of the cost of attending a four-year public college compared with more than half a couple of decades ago. That's the smallest share in the history of the program, according to the Institute for College Access & Success, a nonprofit organization that promotes efforts to make higher education affordable.

The Detroit News
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Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection Opens for Research at Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media Contact:
September 13, 2011 Nicholyn Hutchinson/Robert W. Woodruff Library
404-978-2114 nhutchinson@auctr.edu
Versa Manos/Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation
323-782-9000 versa@gorgeouspr.com

The Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library announces the opening of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Collection on the fifteenth anniversary of the platinum recording artist, actor and poet’s death. The Shakur Collection represents a partnership between the AUC Woodruff Library and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to make available for scholarly research the manuscript writings and other papers of Shakur.



Spanning a period from 1969 to 2008, the collection includes song lyrics, poems, track lists and video treatments, as well as manuscripts by Shakur family members and members of the rap groups Dramacydal and the Outlawz. Memorabilia, correspondence to and from Shakur, fan mail, media clippings and publicity materials are also included.


Born in East Harlem, New York, Shakur first came to prominence in the early 1990s as a featured rapper for the vocal group Digital Underground and went on to become one of the most significant cultural icons of the hip hop generation. Prior to his untimely death at the age of 25, Shakur released five record albums and appeared in four motion pictures. Ten albums, numerous compilations and four feature films have been released posthumously, including Tupac: Resurrection, which received an Academy Award nomination for “Best Documentary (Feature)” in 2005.


“We’re honored to have partnered with the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation to preserve the artistic legacy of Tupac Shakur through this collection,” said Loretta Parham, CEO and Library Director. “He transformed the landscape of hip hop culture and was one of the most compelling voices and talents of his generation. As an academic library, we feel privileged to be the stewards of the Shakur Collection and to promote scholarly research of Shakur’s work.”


For inquiries about researching the collection, e-mail archives@auctr.edu  or call 404-978-2052.

About the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation is home to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, just outside of Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The Center is dedicated to providing youth and the community with educational programs in the arts. The Center’s programs have served youth of all social and economic backgrounds, giving countless young people the courage to get off the streets and learn vital skills that have the potential to positively impact their communities. For more information or to make a donation, visit www.TASF.org


About the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library and Archives Research Center
The Atlanta University Center (AUC) Robert W. Woodruff Library serves the collective information and resource needs of Clark Atlanta University, the Interdenominational Theological Center, Morehouse College and Spelman College. The Woodruff Library’s Archives Research Center is the repository for historical materials documenting the AUC institutions, as well as manuscript collections and organizational records, including the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection. To learn more, visit www.auctr.edu
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University Business September 2011 Issue Now Online


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Learning Online Info - Online Learning Technology - Contemplating the Prospects in Actual Learning

Technological advancement and communication development have made its way in the sectors of academics and profession simultaneously. Correspondence education or distance learning that has prevailed in the system of education for long achieved a new taste of success via the tech craze. Online Education became the buzzword of the generation in the tech-ridden society that has recorded big leaps in the face of 21st century. Implementation of Online Learning Technology in the education world is the craze that is taking the world of education by storm in delivering education at every corners of the globe.
Wikipedia page on distance learning offers a complete view on the mode of learning reflection on its present evolution following the historical paths. For a comprehensive understanding, you can always refer to the link Wikipedia: Distance Learning.


Implementing Online Learning Technology has been one trend that is followed for a considerable time. Earlier the method was used for test preparations and computer based learning. However, in the face of 21st century, this has attained a new turn and is gaining a solid base in the environment of learning via distance and distance learning courses. Implementation of such technologies in offering the course programs makes way for a more personalised experience adapting the students with the resource materials required for skill development and performance enhancement.


The growing interests in distance learning courses in the globalization age have been massive. With higher education becoming a farfetched dream for many – thanks to the rise or increasing costs, online education came across as a boon for the wide mass. Moreover, today’s professionals now enjoy an easy access to education and professional development via the road of Online Learning Technology. E learning has become the base of online study and distance learning courses. Wikipedia offers a complete guide on e-learning and its uses over educational prospects in large. You can refer to the link Wikipedia: E-Learning for a detailed understanding on the subject.


The trend of online learning and implementation of technological advancements over distance learning courses are on a slow but steady rise. As reports the Independent Student Newspaper of Kentucky University ‘The Northerner’, Online Learning Still on the Rise.


Well, the rise of the online education and implementation of Online Learning Technology can be attributed to the amalgamation of few factors. Firstly, the achievements in communication and technological advancements have been wide and exemplary. From voice-to voice text translators to tablets Pcs and iPads the reach is wide. This mode of learning and the implementation of technological advancements have created the ripple in the world of education, as it took education at all corners of the globe via successful integration of distance learning courses.


In recent news, Ohio’s Franciscan University of Steubenville have launched an online instruction distance learning course awarding a masters degree to facilitate the teachers in adapting to the technological implementation of such tools to deliver education better. You can find the report here: Schools Prepare Teachers to Engage in Online Education


However, the trend of implementation of Online learning Technology in distance learning courses is highly debated upon.


Huffington Post focusing on the subject has two reports published by Joel Shatzky, an English teacher by profession detailing on the prospects of Online Learning and the trend of implementing technological advancements in such form of learning. You will find the reports here: Educating for Democracy: Is “On-line Learning” Learning? Part I and Part II.


With the issue being a debated upon, which side do you wish to take?


Robert Williams says here about the importance and convenience of distance learning courses in today’s world in comparison to the typical classroom learning sessions.


Online Learning Technology – Contemplating the Prospects in Actual Learning is a post from Learning Online Info, a blog dedicated to the world of e-learning and the emerging learning technologies.







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BET National: Alcorn State University Blazes Path for HBCUs



September 14, 2011
Leaders at the university make an ambitious overhaul in operations to attract more students and raise graduation rates.


By Britt Middleton
Birthed at a time when racism and segregation barred Blacks from equal opportunities to education, historically black colleges and universities served as a veritable doorway to success.


HBCUs maintain their relevance in the Black community by catering to non-traditional students—those who may be older, work-full time, or attend college sporadically. Now, many of these institutions struggle to keep their doors open, or face merger with nearby schools as low enrollment and dismal graduation rates threaten their futures.

Southern University at New Orleans was once a target of such fate. The graduation rate for first-time, full-time freshmen completing a bachelor's degree within six years was less than 8 percent. These bleak numbers prompted the state legislature to propose merging the HBCU with nearby and largely white University of New Orleans, as both institutions have struggled to regain enrollment levels seen before Hurricane Katrina devastated the region in 2005. After meeting intense opposition from Black lawmakers and after failing to receive enough votes in the State House of Representatives, the proposal was killed in May.


As many HBCUs survive from state and federal funding, lean fiscal times could threaten the futures of other schools that are underperforming.


M. Christopher Brown II, the new president of Alcorn State University, located outside Lorman, Mississippi, has been charged with the tedious task to ensure that doesn’t happen at Alcorn State.


Brown has high hopes for the university and has already set into motion several key initiatives to tackle the largest issues plaguing HBCUs, including include stagnant enrollments; low retention and graduation rates, specifically among black males; financial instability; and a lack of student interest to attend HBCUs over other public flagship universities.


Brown, who became president in January, set an ambitious goal of enrolling 2,000 students in summer courses. The school just fell short with 1,900 students, yet that was a marked improvement of only 500 students in years past.


"It's hard to underfund something when you're growing," says Percy Norwood, president of the university's National Alumni Association, to USA Today. "If you're not growing, if you're declining in enrollment, then why should they fund you when students are going elsewhere?"


Brown has looked at other state schools when creating his plans, which include getting Alcorn State's first-year retention rate to 85 percent, which would match other public universities around the country. Alcorn State currently sits at 60 percent.


Recent reports from the U.S. Department of Education show that African-American college students face great gaps in obtaining college degrees, which could keep them from staying competitive in the rapidly changing global market.


If other HBCUs follow Alcorn State’s lead, that gap could soon be narrowed.

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