Reusable learning objects support packaging of educational materials allowing their discovery and reuse. Open educational resources emphasize the need for open licensing and promote sharing and community involvement. For both teachers and learners, finding appropriate tried and tested resources on a topic of interest and being able to incorporate…

School library websites enhance and explain the services provided by the library. Most schools have a library website. Jurkowski (2004) reviewed thirty-four school library websites and ranked the most common features: website links, databases, policies, Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC), and websites by subject. These features give patrons a…

This study reports findings from a year-long pilot study during which 991 students in 9 core courses in the Virginia State University School of Business replaced traditional textbooks with openly licensed books and other digital content. The university made a deliberate decision to use open textbooks that were copyrighted under the Creative…

The concept of "publishing" has changed again, just in the last few years, due to YouTube, Blogger, Second Life, Flickr, and other new social networking tools (John Marshall Law School, 2005). Whether they are making it possible for everyone to view a video on YouTube on how to install a hard drive on a Mac, add a collaborative student writing…

The existing Copyright Act of 1976 makes it virtually impossible for distance educators to transmit audio-visual or non-dramatic, literary works to students through any medium which may be received by the general public. It is a law that perhaps unintentionally discriminates against distance learning students. Certain revisions of the law are…

The electronic environment is currently forcing educators at all levels to revisit issues concerning intellectual property. Quick availability of information and data through the Internet has changed the way the general public views information since it seems to be in endless supply from any computer on any individual desktop. This paper presents…

Discusses peer to peer technology which allows uploading files from one hard drive to another. Topics include the client/server model for education; the Napster client/server model; Gnutella; Freenet and other projects to allow the free exchange of information without censorship; bandwidth problems; copyright issues; metadata; and the United…

This set of proceedings assembles papers presented at the 1995 Council for Higher Education Computing Services (CHECS) conference, held at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico. CHECS members are higher education computing services organizations within the state of New Mexico. The main focus of the conference was the Internet…

Helping students become information seekers, synthesizers, analyzers, evaluators, innovative thinkers, problem solvers, decision makers, producers of knowledge, communicators, and collaborators is one way to create an environment that minimizes cheating, plagiarism, and copyright violations. In such an environment, you may also be able to take…

Analyzes the nature of computer misuse. Addresses issues that deal with managing and controlling computer misuse that will help in developing ethical practices to minimize computer misuse. Argues that by addressing ethical issues at both formal and informal levels, the risks associated with information technology usage can be minimized.…

IMHE-Info is the newsletter published by the Institutional Management in Higher Education (IMHE) programme. This issue includes: (1) Giving Knowledge for Free; The Emergence of Open Educational Resources; and (2) Education at a Glance 2007. IMHE News, publications of interest and upcoming events are included. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Internet access has recently been introduced into over 30,000 schools in the UK. While web provision has been heralded by some as an educational panacea, it is also recognised that there are dangers inherent in school Internet use. Adopting the cultural risk perspective, drawing upon a social-cultural analysis of Internet regulation and utilising…

Outlines 10 basic principles for managing intellectual property in a digital environment. Expands upon each principle and provides specific examples of how and where these principles might be applied. Briefly discusses the history of electronic documentation, recent changes, and how these impact on the world of scholarly communication. (MJP)

Maintains that a shift in the practice of literacy such as is suggested by the term, "literacy online," has epochal significance. The death of one world and its replacement by something else signals a change in civilization. Online literacy is likely to entail a radical reworking of all the most basic terms and practices of our print-based…

The development of digital content raises new issues as rapid technological developments challenge existing business models and government policies. This OECD study identifies and discusses six groups of business and public policy issues and illustrates these with existing and potential OECD Digital Content Strategies and Policies: (1) Innovation…