IT Trends :: Thursday, May 25, 2006
IT News
NU Advises Players to Exercise Vigilance in Internet Postings
Northwestern's women's soccer team's hazing rituals were recently exposed on social networking sites and now the college is warning students to be careful. The university's athletic director says, "We have not ordered them to take pictures down. With privacy laws and freedom of speech, we cannot tell them what they can and cannot do. We've just urged them to use caution."… (The Daily Northwestern)
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Trial Run with Net Teaching Has Some Faculty Nervous
California State University, Stanislaus, is launching eCollege for the summer semester. According to this article, some professors are "worried about loss of intellectual property rights, the lack of student-teacher interaction and the possibility of Stanislaus State becoming a diploma mill." However, the school is not offering fully online degree programs yet. Some say the success of online teaching depends on students, and for Stan State's commuter students, this new approach to learning is one they eagerly look forward to… (The Modesto Bee)
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It's All About Me: Why E-mails Are So Easily Misunderstood
Two professors are researching the most common problems in virtual communication. The lack of facial expression and body language is an obvious disadvantage, but there other factors that contribute to Internet miscommunication. This article also discuses carelessness that results from the fact that "the prospect of instantaneous communication creates an urgency that pressures e-mailers to think and write quickly," and how "the inability to develop personal rapport over e-mail makes relationships fragile in the face of conflict."... (The Christian Science Monitor)
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IUSA Plans Downloading Services
The reigning student government party at Indiana University promised students a legal media downloading service, and they intend to keep that promise. University Information Technology Services is working with the Student Association to decide which service to use and when to sign up. Major concerns include cost (of course), accessibility, and security… (Indiana Daily Student)
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