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Issue Contents Podcasting in Higher Ed: Reflective, Disruptive, and Evolving Ray Schroeder
I have spent a good portion of my time in recent months up in the air, literally, as I shuttle among conferences and between the campuses of the University of Illinois and the University of Southern Maine where I have the good fortune to work with faculty and professionals dedicated to innovation and quality in online learning. Yet, wherever I may be, I notice white earbuds on young and old at every campus, hotel, restaurant, airport and airplane. If you are a people-watcher, you'll have noticed those wearing pinstripe suits, blue jeans, and ski jackets all sporting the iPod earbuds. You'll see those white wires emerging from hair that is jet black, brown, blond, gray and blue -- even on heads like mine with little or no hair at all! The advent of podcasting in higher education is reflective of a broad movement in our society. With cumulative sales now approaching the 100 million mark (Wikipedia, 2007), the iPod is ubiquitous. Of course, an iPod is not necessary to take advantage of RSS dissemination to automatically download and listen to (or view) a podcast, but, the iPod and associated iTunes software have led the way in promoting mobile learning through podcasting. While the original marketing of the iPod was as a highly-portable music player, through podcasting it has become much more. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that those Americans with some college are rapidly picking up on the podcasting phenomenon. Six percent of those with some college reported having downloaded a podcast last April; that number more than doubled to 13% by August (Madden, 2006). The advent of podcasting in higher education is disruptive in the sense of changing the very foundations of the field (Christensen, 2007). Podcasts have been used in higher ed for a couple of years, but Apple's announcement of iTunes U in January, 2006, accelerated the adoption of podcasting. In the intervening year, hundreds of universities have joined the movement by making podcasts available to their students. Many, like the Harvard Extension School, have signed on with the free iTunes U service; others are creating their own online distribution systems like Purdue's BoilerCast (Read, 2007). The daily culture of college classes has changed. No longer are missed class sessions forever lost; no longer is on-the-fly note taking the key skill for academic success. Podcasting of lectures has entered the marketing mainstream of colleges and universities and is touted as one more reason to select a given university. And students are rallying behind the movement. Podcasting in higher education is evolving. No longer merely mp3 audio-only recordings of lectures, podcasts have become multi-media enhanced. With text, graphics, video, and chapters, enhanced podcasts offer a rich mix of media to carry content such as laboratory experiments. And, it's not just the professors who are podcasting in classes; students are submitting assigned reports and journals in podcast form (as my colleague Dr. Burks Oakley demonstrated in his online class more than a year ago). And, the nascent Apple iPhone along with a host of other 4G wireless technologies and services promise waves of enhancements yet to come that academic podcasting will ride to bring learning to the next generation of digital natives. So, hang onto your earbuds, the podcast revolution has just begun! (2007). iPod - Wikipedia. Retrieved January 28, 2007, from Wikipedia Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod#Sales_Chart.
(Join Sloan-C in our online workshop- Podcasting in Higher Education: Current Trends and Applications, March 7- March 16. Burks Oakley II and Ray Schroeder of the University of Illinois will host.)
Copyright Protection and Worthless Works Linda K. Enghagen, J.D.
In January of 2007, in the case of Kahle v. Gonzales, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments of two plaintiffs who challenged the constitutionality of copyright extension laws claiming the term extensions violate the First Amendment. Both plaintiffs maintained online archives of copyright protected works they claimed to be of little or no commercial value. The archives were available for free online. Copyright Term Extension Laws: The Move from Opt-in to Opt-out Taken together, the Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 alter the nature and length of copyright protection in certain respects. Under prior law, copyright protection lasted for a period of years but was subject to renewal. That is, if a copyright owner failed to file for a renewal (i.e. continue to opt-in to copyright protection), the copyright expired and the work passed into the public domain. Under this system, copyright owners tended to not renew the copyright of works possessing little or no commercial value. Consequently, for example, orphaned works tended to be in the public domain. The Copyright Renewal Act of 1992 in conjunction with the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 changed the old copyright protection system significantly. First, the system was no longer opt-in with required renewals for extended copyright protection. Instead, under the new rules, copyright protection is automatic. The owner doesn't need to do anything. Not only is there no need for registration, copyright owners don't need to place a copyright notice on the work. Instead, the system became an opt-out system. That is, copyright ownership becomes the default presumption and an owner must do something to opt-out. While the law does not prescribe specific &magic words& to accomplish this, the owner must explicitly place the work in the public domain to opt-out of copyright protection. Second, these two laws reached back in time to the period between 1964 and 1977 eliminating the renewal requirement for works created during those years. Consequently, there are works from that period that would have passed into the public domain if the copyright had not been renewed, but instead, under the new opt-out rules, they continue to be protected. Opt-out and the First Amendment Among other things, the First Amendment protects the free exchange of ideas. Essentially, the plaintiffs in Kahle v. Gonzales argued that the copyright term extensions along with the change to an opt-out system must be reviewed to determine whether they unconstitutionally interfere with the freedom of speech. Their rationale focused on a variety of considerations. From a legal perspective, they argued that extending the duration of copyright protection limits the ways in which users may utilize such works thereby potentially interfering with their right to use them in the exercise of their First Amendment rights. They argued that any balancing of First Amendment rights against copyright protection should weigh in favor of the First Amendment when dealing with worthless works. The Ninth Circuit disagreed. The court concluded that any constitutional concerns were settled under the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft. Significance of Decision In many respects, this decision is unremarkable. The Ninth Circuit undertook a straightforward application of the relevant court decisions in concluding that a copyright is a copyright is a copyright. And, that is why this case is worth noting. It clearly stands for the proposition that copyright protection is not dependent on the commercial value of the infringed work. It stands for the proposition that copyright protection applies even if that work is literally worthless. It stands for the proposition that copyright law is not completely and inextricably intertwined with the wheels of commerce because something can be worthless yet remain worth protecting-just not in the manner the plaintiffs had in mind. Useful Web Sites More information and other perspectives on Kahle v. Gonzales: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/case/kahle-v-gonzales
(Join Sloan-C in our online workshop- Copyright Compliance for Online Educators, March 21- 30. Linda Enghagen of the University of Massachusetts Amherst will host.)
Learn From the Experts - The Sloan-C 2007 Workshop Series The new Sloan-C 2007 workshop schedule has been posted. Transforming Curriculum Development and Assessment Practices - February 7 - 16 In distance education, the risks of failure can be quite high. Pressured by mounting institutional and public scrutiny, requirements from accrediting organizations, a desire to increase enrollment, and operate more effectively, online educators are looking for curricular alignment and student assessment strategies that truly measure learning outcomes. This workshop offers new insights into practical curriculum development, evaluation methodologies, and online assessment strategies institutions can implement into their own programs. Facilitators represent for-profit and non-profit institutions. Click here for details and registration. Using the Quality Matters Rubric to Improve Your Online Course - February 21 - Mar 16 Recognizing quality is much like recognizing art - you know it when you see it, but everybody sees something different. And when it comes to online courses, your students, faculty, administrators, peers, and accrediting bodies may certainly not see what you do. In fact, they might not even know what to look for in assessing quality. Sloan-C announces an interactive online workshop focused on learning how to improve your online course(s). Learn how to use the rubric tool developed by the nationally recognized, FIPSE-funded Quality Matters (QM) project. The QM rubric provides a research-supported framework with annotations and examples for applying quality practices to specific course design standards. Affirm the strong areas in your course(s) and generate specific ideas for improvements. The QM rubric is the centerpiece of the QM process. Additionally, this course serves as a stepping stone for faculty interested in becoming certified course peer reviewers. Click here for details and registration. NEW- Podcasting in Higher Education: Current Trends and Applications - March 7 - 16 Podcasting has had a revolutionary impact on formal and informal teaching and learning. Rising out of the advent of the Apple iPod, podcasts have grown into the mainstream of online media since their inception in early 2004. The power of the individual to use podcasts to communicate globally has important implications for educators. Higher education professionals must learn how to harness the power of podcasting to reach an increasingly more tech savvy population of students and colleagues.Learn all about podcasts and podcasting in this online workshop conducted by two of the pioneers in using this technology in higher education: Burks Oakley II and Ray Schroeder. Click here for details and registration. Copyright Compliance for Online Educators - March 21 - 30 As an online educator, you need to know how copyright affects you when using materials to supplement your online courses. You also need to know how your original works can be protected. In this workshop, Linda Enghagen, of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will take you through the key copyright issues that you and your colleagues should be aware of when preparing and delivering your online courses. Click here for details and registration. Moving the Laboratory Online* - April 18 - 27 Is it possible to create authentic and engaging "hands-on" scientific experiments over the internet using remote instrumentation? Can the internet be used to overcome some of the traditional approaches to lecture and laboratory teaching practice? How can we provide educators and students with shared access to instructional materials, expertise and modern scientific instrumentation to enhance the science learning experience? What are the implications of using remote instrumentation for research? The use of remote instrumentation is emerging as a legitimate alternative to the traditional "hands-on" laboratory learning experiences for teaching and learning in the basic and instrumental sciences. This workshop will provide participants with information on the mechanics of connecting instruments remotely, security issues, experiences from the field, curriculum development, collaboration, research opportunities and impact on student learning. *This workshop is part of the Select Series and College Pass Members must use their additional 50 seats provided to take advantage of this workshop. Click here for details and registration. Getting Started: Online Course Development Basics - April 25 - May 18 Based on research and the Sloan-C effective practices, this workshop provides the foundation for designing and delivering online courses. Faculty gain enhanced pedagogical knowledge and learn effective strategies for creative, online classroom facilitation. During the three-week workshop, facilitators will review the benefits and challenges of online curriculum development and teaching and address the qualities of effective online education. The workshop is designed as an 'active' learning experience, enabling faculty to explore actual online courses in several disciplines and institutions, as well as build a syllabus leading to the major outcome of the workshop: building a complete online course module relevant to their own educational interests. Click here for details and registration. |
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