Guest Contributor:
Barry Maid, Professor of English,
University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Contents:
- Using Moo Technologies to Tutor - Barry Maid
- Melissa Hughes Joins Distance Education Staff
- Academic Universe: An Unknown Full-Text Treasure - Judy Tribble
- Mark Your Calendar for WinterFest 2000 (January 26-29)
- CTA Workshops
- Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera
- Thought for December
Welcome to Interaction, ISU's monthly electronic newsletter for people
interested in developing and teaching distance education courses. The
purpose of Interaction is to provide you with information on course
development and design, new technologies, and teaching distance
courses. As the name implies, we hope to make this electronic
newsletter "interactive," its contents reflecting current issues,
challenges, and innovations in teaching. Your part is simple-just tell
us what you want. Send us your questions, frustrations, and topics of
interest, and we will include information on that topic in a future
issue. In addition, we invite you to share your experiences and tips
on teaching distance courses, and to send us announcements of upcoming
events. Please submit your comments and requests to interact@web.indstate.edu, a
secured access e-mail account. Your contributions will not be posted as a "global"
message to subscribers of Interaction. The staffs of Continuing Education/Instructional Services,
the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Library, ACNS, and other
ISU offices are eager to answer your questions and offer you assistance
as you develop and teach your distance education courses.
Using Moo Technologies to Tutor
Barry Maid
It was a long time ago in cyberyears. (Just like folks say there are seven
dog years to one human year, I think there are at least twelve cyberyears to
one calendar year.) It was the spring of 1994. That makes it around 80 or
so cyberyears around the human equivalent of a lifetime.
Yes, that sounds about right. The virtual world was completely textbound.
While some people were talking about graphics using a program called
Mosaic, the World Wide Web was barely newborn. Netscape 1.0 wouldn't
appear till the next winter.
Still, back then in the primordial net, I met Jennifer Jordan-Henley of
Roane State Community College in Oak Ridge, TN. We met at the Netoric
Project's Tuesday Caf* then held at MediaMOO. (The Tuesday Caf* still meets
every Tuesday evening at 8:00 pm Eastern time. It's now located at
ConnectionsMOO at telnet://connections.moo.mud.org:3333)
For those of you still new to virtual worlds, there needs to be some
explanation. First of all, a MOO is text-based virtual reality. It is a
place of synchronous (real-time) conversation. Today, people will see it as
a form of chat, but it's really much more. Having its roots in gaming (MOO
stands for MUD Object Oriented and MUD was originally a MultiUser Dungeon,
now usually a MultiUser Dimension or Domain) a MOO offers people an
opportunity to not only talk with others but also to program the environment
so that they may also interact with the environment.
The Netoric Project's Tuesday Caf*, which is still going strong, is a place
where professionals interested in computers and writing meet once a week
to talk about professional and pedagogical issues. Back in 1994, some of
us were exploring the emerging technologies and looking for ways to
integrate them into our teaching.
It was after one of the Tuesday Caf*'s that Jennifer and I realized that we
might be able to use the technology to solve a teaching problem. Jennifer
directs a Writing Center at a small community college. As a result, it was
difficult for her to get peer tutors. I work in a program that has MA
students who are always looking for more ways to get teaching/tutoring
experience.
It seemed like a great match. We devised a project where my grad students
in Arkansas would use both email and MOO technologies to tutor Jennifer's
students in Tennessee. The peer tutor model was simple. We took
the same techniques that are successful for face-to-face tutoring and
employed them in both asynchronous (email) conferencing and synchronous
(MOO) conferencing. It seemed to work. In fact, I was funded to take the
model I used with the community college in Tennessee to work with community
colleges in Arkansas.
During the time I was beginning to work on transferring the tutoring project
I had been doing with Jennifer to Arkansas community colleges, I met Barbara
D'Angelo, then a graduate student finishing her MLS degree at the University
of Illinois. On learning of my cyberspace project, she asked if I wanted a
MOO librarian. Honestly, I had never considered the idea. However, since
many of the first year composition classes my students were tutoring for
taught research writing and research skills, it seemed like a natural idea,
especially because the community college libraries have limited resources
not only in holdings but also in staff. Barbara was able to provide virtual
services that some of the community college libraries would have liked to
have provided but are, at this time, unable to deliver.
As a result, Barbara built the ArkMOO library. The library, itself, exists
in both MOO and webspace. The way the MOO is presently configured, using
the Surf and Turf interface (developed by Ken Schweller of Buena Vista
University), it is possible to log into the MOO through a web browser and
navigate through and communicate within the MOO while calling up targeted
web pages.
The ArkMOO library, which Barbara built, is comprised of a general section
including web research tutorials and a section devoted to specific courses
at the community colleges we are working with. Barbara consults with the
instructors at the community colleges, and then builds web pages with
appropriate links for the individual courses. All of these pages are
accessible through the MOO. Barbara is also a virtual reference librarian
'on call,' through both email and MOO meetings.
What remains most important here with both aspects of the project is that
internet technologies can be effectively used to deliver academic support
services over distance. Whether it be writing center tutorials or library
reference services, students who may not physically be on campus or whose
schedules prohibit them from accessing services at available times may now
have a chance to be served.
Barry Maid is a Professor of Rhetoric and Writing at the University of
Arkansas at Little Rock. If you are interested in more information,
please e-mail Barry at bmmaid@ualr.edu
Melissa Hughes Joins Distance Education Staff
Melissa Hughes has recently joined the Distance Education staff as the
Program Development Coordinator. The Program Development Coordinator
serves as a facilitator to all the separate entities involved in the
development, design, and delivery of distance education courses.
Melissa's experiences include working in the Office of Student Financial Aid
at Indiana State and more recently nearly five years in the Office of
Admissions. Melissa completed her bachelor's degree in 1993 from ISU in
Physical Education and a specialization in Athletic Training. In December
of 1998, she completed a master's degree in Human Resource Development.
According to Melissa, "My first task is to inform the ISU community of the
services that the Distance Education office can provide to departments and
faculty who wish to develop courses at a distance."
Academic Universe: An Unknown Full-Text Treasure
Judy Tribble, Distance Learning Librarian
Beginning with the Fall 1999 semester, you (and your students) have had
access to Academic Universe from off campus. Academic Universe provides
the full text of over 5,000 publications divided into five categories: news,
business, legal research, medical, and reference.
Unlike ProQuest Direct, you cannot search the entire product, but must
choose among the five categories and subcategories within each.
To give some idea of the richness of this database, some of the categories
and subcategories are listed below:
News
- U.S. & international newspapers, magazines, newsletters & journals
- Today's news updated throughout the day
- Wire service reports
- Transcripts from television and radio news broadcasts
- Chronicle of Higher Education and student newspapers
- Foreign language news in Spanish, French, Italian, German and Dutch
Business
- Business articles from newspapers, magazines, journals,
wires and transcripts
- Detailed company financial information
- News from 25 industries
- EDGAR filings, annual and quarterly reports and proxy statements
- Accounting journals and literature
- Directories for trade shows and world business opportunities
Legal Research
- Articles from legal newspapers, magazines and newsletters
- Articles from law reviews
- Decisions from all federal court levels
- State high court and appellate decisions
- Federal code, U.S. Constitution and court rules
- Federal regulations, agency opinions and U.S. Attorney General Opinions
- All state codes, court rules, and Attorneys General opinions
- European Union law
- U.S. tax law
- All U.S. patents from 1971 to present
- Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory
- Law school directories
- National Association for Law Placement's Degrees of Difference:
A How-To Guide to Choosing a Law School
Medical
- News from medical and health journals
- Article citations and abstracts (summaries only) from Medline
Reference
- Biographical information
- Country profiles from Kaleidoscope: Current World Data and
Walden Country Reports
- Polls and surveys from Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
- Quotations from Simpson's Contemporary Quotations and 3500
Good Quotes for Speakers
- World Almanac and Book of Facts
If the search terms used result in more than 1,000 items, Academic Universe
asks that you reformulate your search to retrieve fewer items. Since most
search screens let you limit by date of publication, you can usually narrow
your search by requesting more recent material.
If you need assistance in searching Academic Universe or any other library
database, please contact the ISU Library at 1-800-851-4279 or libtrib@cml.indstate.edu
Mark Your Calendar for WinterFest 2000 (January 26-29)
ISU's annual four-day conference on teaching and learning will be
held on January 26-29, 2000. The theme for this year's conference is:
Teaching And Learning In Transition: Toward A Scholarship Of Teaching
In the coming weeks, the schedule of presenters and a registration form
will be posted at http://web.indstate.eu:80/ctl/wf99call.html
WinterFest is free to all, so come - and invite a friend!
Also, if you are interested in presenting, the CTL is looking for
innovative ideas for special sessions, workshops, panels, and tutorials.
For more information, contact Sherry L. Beland at (812) 237-3053.
CTA Workshops
The following is an overview of workshops and orientations to be
offered in the upcoming year. For details on these and other workshops
and faculty support services, please contact Mary Luz Petrowski at
extension 8689 or aafpetro@amber.indstate.edu
The Course Transformation Academy (CTA) is a faculty development program
for faculty members preparing to use technology in their teaching.
Dates:
- Spring CTA: January 28 - April 14 (1:00 - 3:00 pm)
- Summer (Intensive) CTA: May 15 - 19 (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 pm)
Course Transformation Academy Follow-Up
This new 3-day summer workshop is designed for faculty members who have
experience teaching in the distance education environment. Participants
will have opportunities to share successes and concerns, to choose from
among several topic sessions focused on teaching learning issues in the
distance education environment, and on advanced application of instructional
technologies.
Dates:
- June 20 - 22 (9:00 a.m. - 4:00 pm)
Teaching on Television Orientations
Designed for faculty members scheduled to teach on television, these
orientations offer an overview of the television teaching environment,
including tips and techniques for maximizing the use of the technology,
information on videoconferencing, the classroom equipment, and support
provided to instructors during their televised classes.
Dates:
- January 6 (1 - 2:00 pm)
- January 7 (1 - 2:00 pm)
Etcetera, Etcetera, Etcetera:
ISU News, Interesting Links and So Forth
Distance Education - Enrollments
In Fall '98, 350 students were enrolled in ISU distance education
courses. For Fall '99, the number jumped to 1,010 - a 289% increase.
Since July 1, the Office of Student Services (in Continuing Education)
has received over 1,400 requests for information on distance education.
805 of these were for DegreeLink programs. The remainder were for
associate degrees and graduate-level degrees and programs. Individuals
who are requesting this information may live as far away as Chile - or as
close to ISU as Terre Haute.
ISU Computer Integrated Manufacturing Lab
http://fcrc.indstate.edu/fcrc/tech/desktop.html
Interested in robotics control? Then visit Larry Health's desktop
learning site. Students can program the robot from a remote site,
and then view (via one of two camera views) the robot performing
the programmed tasks. This site is an example of how distance
technologies can be used to effectively teach lab components of a
course - without onsite lab participation. Currently, this lab is being
tested with students from Illinois, Missouri, and Northern Indiana who
are enrolled in the Ph.D. in Technology Management. For more
information, contact Larry Heath at ext 3399.
Interactive Services
http://interact.indstate.edu
Please tell your students about ISU's Interactive Services web site.
ERIC Clearinghouse for Adult, Career, and Vocational Education
http://ericacve.org
The Clearinghouse announces four new Trends and Issues Alerts:
* Roles for Adult Educators
* Multiple Intelligences and Career Development
* Emotional Intelligence: Keeping Your Job
* The Mobile Worker in the Flexible Workplace
To receive a free copy, contact Judy Wagner at wagner.6@osu.edu
In the upcoming weeks, all four titles will be accessible from their site.
Thought for December:
"No facts are to me sacred; none are profane.
I simply experiment, an endless seeker with
no past at my back."
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
Interaction is an electronic newsletter delivered on the first day of
the month via electronic mail. Each issue offers information on
teaching, learning, course design and educational technologies, and
events pertaining to distance education at Indiana State University.
We invite your comments, articles, and suggestions. Please contact
Interaction at interact@web.indstate.edu
Interaction is published by the Office of Continuing
Education/Instructional Services.
