University Business: U of Maryland, Baltimore County Seeks Fresh Ways To Teach Familiar Introductory Courses

http://www.universitybusiness.com/news/u-maryland-baltimore-county-seeks-fresh-ways-teach-familiar-introductory-courses

Bill LaCourse felt inadequate.

Some of his Chemistry 101 students sat in the back of the lecture hall and spaced out. Others simply left class as they pleased. "Maybe you're just not a good teacher," his department head said when LaCourse sought advice.


His ego would not tolerate that as a final answer. So the University of Maryland, Baltimore County professor decided to put up a fight. If he couldn't make the class work in a traditional lecture format, the format would have to change.


"We need to do something drastic," he remembers thinking as he and his colleagues dreamed up a space they christened the Chemistry Discovery Center. The center would become a prime example of the teaching innovation that is a major component of UMBC's rising national reputation.

Source: The Baltimore Sun

University Business: U of Maryland, Baltimore County Seeks Fresh Ways To Teach Familiar Introductory Courses

Campus Technology: Federal Commission Recommends Sending Faculty to Accessibility School

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/12/07/federal-commission-recommends-sending-faculty-to-accessibility-school.aspx

By David Nagel
12/07/11
The federal AIM Commission this week posted recommendations for improving accessibility in higher education, among them the recommendation for mandatory, system-wide faculty orientation programs concerning accessibility "in all aspects of the education enterprise, including readings, courseware and instructional technology, assessments and instructor-made materials."

The Advisory Commission on Accessible Instructional Materials in Postsecondary Education for Students with Disabilities ( http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/aim/index.html ) -- known more colloquially as the AIM Commission--was established for the purpose of making recommendations to Congress and the United States Secretary of Education for improving the state of accessible educational resources for students with disabilities, to improve the effective use of those resources, to identify best practices in the use of accessible materials, and to support model demonstration programs. The commission's membership includes academic, corporate, non-profit, and government leaders.



Following a 14-month review of the state of accessibility in higher education, the group issued several findings on the shortcomings of accessibility in education in its final report, along with 18 recommendations for overcoming some of those problems. Those recommendations fell into five broad areas: policy and the law, market, technology, capacity-building, and discretionary investments in demonstration projects. ***MORE***

Campus Technology: Federal Commission Recommends Sending Faculty to Accessibility School

Campus Technology: Islands in the Stream: Academic Technology, Digital Copyright, and The TEACH Act

By Raymond Uzwyshyn
12/14/11
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2011/12/14/academic-technology-digital-copyright-and-the-teach-act.aspx
Puzzling over the arcana of the TEACH Act [Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act, 2002], more than a few university administrators will be reminded of the minutiae of the tax code. To be sure, copyright law needs to be reconceptualized for the new millennium. Libraries and universities are witnessing a sea change from an earlier era of historical development. Definitions of copyright, technology, and the online classroom need to be recast or the laws become peripheral in handling digital copyright questions that increasingly arise. Recent cases represent the widespread confusion among players. Various strong opposing debates regarding streaming media and the TEACH Act illustrate these facts well. [For examples in the education media read Steve Kolowich’s article, “Hitting Pause on Class Videos,” Inside Higher Ed, January 26, 2010, or his more recent article, “Stream Away,” also in Inside Higher Ed, October 5, 2011.]  ***MORE***

Campus Technology: Islands in the Stream: Academic Technology, Digital Copyright, and The TEACH Act