Ownership of New Works at the University: Unbundling of Rights and the Pursuit of Higher Learning

This booklet offers a framework for present and future discussions of issues surrounding the ownership of intellectual property. It addresses three concepts which are important for education and for the creation and use of information. First, the initial ownership of newly created intellectual property in traditional university settings, and the subsequent disposition of the associated ownership rights, often has been unguided—sometimes to the detriment of teaching, learning, and research. Second, the effectiveness of higher education requires a better understanding of how ownership rights associated with new intellectual property promote the mutual benefit of faculty, staff, students and their learning communities. Third, new models for the allocation of intellectual rights must be considered and designed which anticipate the influence of new technologies on teaching, learning, research, and creative activity in American universities

Already at a disadvantage? ICT in the home and children's preparation for primary school. (ICT Research Bursaries 2004 - Final Report)

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of socio-economic disadvantage on pre-school children's development of competences in information and communications technologies (ICT). The study focuses on children's experiences of ICT in the home and in pre-school settings in the year before they begin formal education, and seeks to investigate concepts of advantage and disadvantage in this context. The study also aims to investigate teachers' perceptions of children's ICT competences on entry to school

That’s more like they know me as a person": one primary pre-service teacher’s stories of her personal and ‘professional’ digital practices

In contributing to debates about how student-teachers might draw from personal experience in addressing digital literacy in the classroom, this paper explores the stories that one primary student-teacher told of her digital practices during a larger study of the role of digital literacy in student-teachers' lives. The paper investigates the 'recognition work' this student-teacher did as she aligned herself with different discourses and notes how themes of 'control' and 'professionalism' seemed to pattern her stories of informal and formal practices both within and beyond her professional education. The paper calls for further research into how student-teachers perceive the relevance of their personal experience to their professional role and argues for encouraging pre-service and practising teachers to tell stories of their digital practices and reflect upon the discourses which frame them

Fair Use of Copyrighted Works: A Crucial Element in Educating America

This pamphlet addresses three important points. First, higher education will benefit by the formation of a national alliance focused on fair use. Second, the effectiveness of higher education requires a thorough understanding of the fair-use doctrine. Finally, faculty, in particular, necessarily apply the fair-use doctrine as they perform their work

The Academic Library in the Information Age: Changing Roles

This booklet addresses three important areas. First, expectations for the academic library in today's information age. It seemed critical to examine requirements for the library itself, before exploring what would be needed from its staff. Second, an array of new functions and partnerships for library staff that flow from changes to the university and the library. A group of illustrative scenarios suggest some of the roles library staff will assume in the information age. Third, the implications that these changes within the library will have for all parts of the academy. What will the changes mean for students, faculty, academic administrators, technical staff, and library staff themselves

A real-time emergency response scenario using Web 2.0 (Yammer) technology

Published version used with permission from Higher Education Academy. Miller, S., & France, D., (2013). Planet, 27(2), pp. 21-29Higher Education Academ

Other end of the telescope

PowerPoint presentationHaving access to online learning materials and courses would enhance education and academic learning in Africa. Publishing and Alternative Licensing Model of Africa (PALM Africa) looks at flexible licensing as a means to increase access to online learning materials in a sustainable manner. The presentation provides some provocative graphics and maps that depict the gaps between global scientific research, publishing, and developing countries’ research outputs. Contributing to online web content and electronic publishing would help put Africa on the map. Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) is a contemporary resource and publishing model; HSRC Press is South Africa’s open access publisher

New technology in schools: is there a payoff?

Despite its high relevance to current policy debates, estimating the causal effect of Information Communication Technology (ICT) investment on educational standards remains fraught with difficulties. In this paper, we exploit a change in the rules governing ICT funding across different school districts of England to devise an instrumental variable strategy to identify the causal impact of ICT expenditure on pupil outcomes. The approach identifies the effect of being a 'winner' or a 'loser' in the new system of ICT funding allocation to schools. Our findings suggest a positive impact on primary school performance in English and Science, though not for Mathematics. We reconcile our positive results with others in the literature by arguing that it is the joint effect of large increases in ICT funding coupled with a fertile background for making an efficient use of it that led to positive effects of ICT expenditure on educational performance in English primary schools