In the News

Virtual Vitae; MOO's You Can Use; Texas Education Debated; and 'Net Surveys Released

27 October 2000

Internet Policy and the 2000 Elections
In a 10/13/00 Industry Standard article, writers Keith Perine, Aaron Pressman, and Elizabeth Wasserman review pending Internet issues and possible legislation at stake in the 2000 election. Among them are those that have to do with privacy, Internet filtering, and fair use and copyright, all issues of importance to teachers, librarians, and students. To read their analysis of how a Republican or Democratic led Congress and/or White House could affect Internet policy, go to http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,19237,00.html.
 
MOOs You Can Use
The Chronicle of Higher Education Online also did a short article on the use of MOOs--online spaces where users can log in, go to different "rooms" for class meetings, and communicate by typing in messages for real-time discussions. As the article notes by highlighting Joel English's advanced composition course, the MOO can be be used as local campus teaching tool, a distance education tool, or as bridge between local and distant students. The article is also noteworthy for focusing on EnCore MOO, which was designed and made freely available to educators by Cynthia Haynes and Jan Rune Holmevik, both at the University of Texas at Dallas, where Haynes directs the rhetoric and writing program, and Holmevik, her husband, is a visiting scholar in arts and humanities. To read Jeffrey Young's 10/24/00 article, go to http://chronicle.com/daily/2000/10/2000102401u.htm.
 
Texas Test Scores Skewed
In his Slate analysis of a recently released Rand study that finds that the scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) are inflated when compared to scores on the National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests, Jacob Weisberg does a good job of explaining why an earlier Rand study put the TAAS scores in a more favorable light and why the new report, when considered closely, is in fact nonpartisan. The study's key point--one that critics of high-stakes testing often make-- is that because the TAAS scores affect teacher pay, school funding, and other issues, teachers teach to the test, narrowing down what students learn and how they're taught. When students are given a more "objective" test, one students are not directly taught to, the apparent gains fall off. For Weisberg's full analysis, see his 10/26/00 article at http://slate.msn.com/code/BallotBox/BallotBox.asp?Show=10/26/2000&idMessage=6354 .
Also, a 10/30/00 New York Times Online piece by Jim Yardley examines the issues and finds the same central concern: teaching to the test straight-jackets teaching and learning. Yardley's piece is available at http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/30/politics/30TEXA.html.
 
Campus Computing Project's 2000 IT Survey
The Campus Computing Project's Web site offers up a summary of its "2000 National Survey of Information Technology in US Higher Education." The survey finds more courses and colleges are using computers, the WWW, and other information technologies (IT), but that most campuses lack a detailed and strategic IT plan. Attempts to hire and keep smart IT workers, people who can help support and train faculty both technologically and pedagogically, are stymied by the worth those workers have to higher-paying businesses and industries. Also, the report finds, campuses haven't planned adequately for IT financing, as well as how IT will affect the education market. The report summary is free, and available at the Campus Computing Project Web site. Full copies of the report will be available on December 10 for $37. To see the summary, go to http://www.campuscomputing.net/.
 
UCLA Study Finds 'Net Doesn't Hurt Family Time
TA new survey by the UCLA Internet Project refutes many findings by earlier studies that depicted the Net as having a debiliting social effect, but it still finds area of concern, especially in privacy. The survey finds that nearly two-thirds of Americans have Internet access of one kind or another, and that nearly half, 47.1 percent, report going online in their home in the company of another family member or friend. Further, 88.4 percent of those surveyed say that having the Internet in their home did not reduce the amount of time family members spend together. And more respondents (36.4 percent versus 24.9 percent) say they've been ignored by someone watching TV than by someone on the Internet. For more summary details of the survey, go to this 10/25/00 press release from UCLA's public relations office at http://www.ucla.edu/Templates/NewsItem1.html.
There's no link with the press release to the report; however, if you want to go directly to the full report, you can use this URL: http://www.ccp.ucla.edu/newsite/pages/internet-report.asp.