Argument mapping (AM) is the activity of plotting a diagram representing the logical connections between evidence and the claims it supports, with boxes connected by lines. AM can massively benefit students and their communities. Not only is it about twice as effective at improving student critical thinking any other method and enhance student…

Digital Badges--icons that can represent skills and achievements at a more fine-grained level than a degree--give colleges and universities a new way to document learning outcomes and to map the pathways students follow to earn a degree. They also provide a common currency to denote learning outcomes and give employers a visual representation and…

This paper presents a mobile learning application for a learning course at higher education level. Based on the RSS feed technology, the presented mobile application establishes an in-time communication channel between the instructor and his/her students to keep them up-to-date with all course important dates, instructions and information in…

College campuses are hothouses of data, including course schedules, degree requirements, and grades. But much of the information remains spread out across software systems or locked on university servers. Start-up companies want to pry the information loose from campus servers in order to offer personalized services that could transform the…

More faculty and administrators are seeking access to student files and class rosters and are gaining it through the proliferation of computer terminals on campus, raising the level of responsibility of registrars far above the actual level of control. An institutional approach to records security is recommended. (MSE)

Boston College's student public-access record-keeping system provides students access to their own academic, account, and financial aid information. The system was first made available on computer terminals and then on a Consumer Transaction Terminal. (MSE)

An electronic information service established by the Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries provides access by computer to 12,000 scholarly journals and periodicals. Facsimile copies are available for a fee, including copyright fee when required. The service is particularly helpful as reduced library budgets require that subscriptions be cut.…

Through integration of administrative information systems across diverse technology platforms and opening access to institutional data, Indiana University has begun to expand the concept of academic information systems. The university's experience has resulted in conclusions and guidelines for other institutions to use in AIS planning and…

Argues that, in the long run, computers may have overstated their application while playing down their specialties. Describes four ways computers in education can limit choice--the physical, the medium, money, and the content--and notes the falsity of "interactivity" for describing computer-oriented programs. (AEF)

While college libraries embrace new technologies to provide access to a broader range of information, they must also cope with high costs, both financial and legal. In the print medium, access and distribution are governed by copyright laws; in the electronic media, they are dependent on the technology available to the library and on terms of…

Information technology can enhance clinical teaching in medicine by increasing the amount of relevant information available to learners, promoting rapid integration of information into the teaching encounter, facilitating information processing in small groups, and helping compensate for discontinuities inherent in the current clinical teaching…

Faced with the challenge of providing security across a complex, multiprotocol institutional information network, computing services at Indiana University implemented a responsive, collaborative security architecture designed for the future. Information systems design, security principles and strategy, and implementation are described. (Author/MSE)

In planning for institutionwide access to information, Cornell University's information services focused on providing access to usable, sharable data from the university's legacy systems, keeping the interface as transparent as possible. A development strategy and user modules were designed that could be transferred to a variety of institutional…

At the University of Delaware, World Wide Web tools are used to produce multiplatform administrative applications, including hyperreporting, mixed media, electronic forms, and kiosk services. Web applications are quickly and easily crafted to interact with administrative databases. They are particularly suited to customer outreach efforts,…

A project demonstrated the feasibility of accessing library information (online public access catalogs, commercial online databases, Internet) from a distance using handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) equipped with cellular communication capability. The study is described, and other uses of wireless communications in libraries and…