Depending on the evolving technological possibilities, distance and online education applications have gradually gained more significance in the education system. Regarding the issues, such as advancements in the server services, disc capacity, cloud computing opportunities resulting from the increase in the number of the broadband internet users,…

This paper explores the numerous definitions of digital literacy, discusses its relationship to information literacy, and describes applications of digital literacy instruction in institutions of higher education. It also offers opportunities for academic librarians, and especially those in junior and community colleges, to enhance students'…

The internationally recognized "NMC Horizon Report" series and regional "NMC Technology Outlooks" are part of the NMC Horizon Project, a comprehensive research venture established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact over the coming five years in education around the globe. This volume, the "NMC…

Educational institutions have rushed to put their academic resources and services online, beginning the global community onto a common platform and awakening the interest of investors. Despite continuing technical challenges, online education shows great promise. Open source software offers one approach to addressing the technical problems in…

Though open educational resources (OER) promise to transform the conditions for teaching and learning worldwide, there are many barriers to the full realization of this vision. Among other things, much of what is currently considered "free and open" is legally, technically, and/or culturally incompatible. Herein, the authors give a brief history…

It is widely accepted that inquiry-based curriculum programs have positive effects on cognitive achievement, process skills, and attitudes toward science (NRC 2000). Science teachers seek engaging, effective, and inquiry-based activities that are standards-aligned and convenient to implement in their classrooms. For many years, the web has…

Anatomy teaching is undergoing significant changes due to time constraints, limited availability of cadavers and technological developments in the areas of three-dimensional modelling and computer-assisted learning. This paper gives an overview of methods used to teach anatomy to undergraduate medical students and discusses the educational…

New technologies are used in many courses and for many occasions. Good teachers try to use the best tool and the best method to introduce or to treat difficult subjects by presenting the information in different ways: spoken words, written text, pictures, graphs, movies or by using interactive computer tools. It is a fact that students who…

The Eighth Annual EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey asked campus information technology leaders to rate the most critical IT challenges facing them, their campuses, and/or their systems. Four findings associated with all respondents to this year's survey merit special mention. First, for the 2007 survey, the CIC decided to split a key issue choice…

Discusses the results of a survey in which 291 parents of an urban elementary school reported on their computer equipment at home, the type and frequency of their children's educational software and Internet use, and shared their ideas how better connections between computer use at home and school might be created. (Author/LRW)

Responds to the article, "Blackboard's COURSEINFO: Supplementing In-Class Teaching with the Internet," by David M. Fahey. Focuses on the benefits and drawbacks to using this software to have a paperless course Includes an overall review of COURSEINFO. (CMK)

Discusses the use of Blackboard COURSEINFO at Miami University (Ohio). Focuses on the promotion of courseware intended for supplementing traditional teaching, but not replacing it. Describes the content of COURSEINFO and includes graphics, displaying sections of COURSEINFO. (CMK)

This paper explores the Web 2.0 ethos with respect to the application of pedagogy within 3D online virtual environments. 3D worlds can create a synthetic experience capturing the essence of "being" in a particular world or context. The AliveX3D platform adopts the Web 2.0 ethos and applies it to online 3D virtual environment forming a Web…

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.)

Benchmarking information technology services has become a vital activity for colleges and universities. The COSTS Project (http://www.costsproject.org/) is an ongoing quantitative effort to benchmark the costs of providing IT services in higher education; the project helps institutions understand their IT budgets and staffing relative to peer…