'Scholarly Communication'
Copyright, author’s rights, and licensing of personal works continue to enter into discussions at all levels of university work. From faculty authorship to students’ creative works available on the Internet, each individual can now specify the conditions for the distribution and use of their works using the Creative Commons.
[From the Creative Commons website:]
What You Can Do Here
Creative Commons helps you publish your work online while letting others know exactly what they can and can’t do with your work. When you choose a license, we provide you with tools and tutorials that let you add license information to your own site, or to one of several free hosting services that have incorporated Creative Commons.
With a Creative Commons license, you keep your copyright but allow people to copy and distribute your work provided they give you credit — and only on the conditions you specify here. For those new to Creative Commons licensing, we’ve prepared a list of things to think about. If you want to offer your work with no conditions, choose the public domain.
On November 21st BGSU Libraries will be hosting its final session dedicated to discussing and learning about Creative Commons. The sessions are from 2:30-4:30pm in 113 Olscamp Hall and 1011 Cedar Point Center (Firelands campus). Registration isn’t needed for this event, you’re welcomed to just show up for the session. For more information, please send questions to: ctl@bgsu.edu or call 419.372.6898.
November 19th, 2008
Do you ever have a hard time finding books and sources to help you prepare for lectures and classes? Do you have a list of books that you would love to read, but just don’t have the time or money? Could your students benefit from free book viewing online? Well, Google has launched something that could help: Google Books.
Google Books allows you to search through a wide variety of books and even provides access to the content of those books. This means that you can read whole books online, although some authors and publishers only allow a few pages to be read. Google books categorizes books into subject matter, has a great searching capacity and even allows you to create your own library where you can recommend books and write reviews.
The topics that can be found within the archives of Google Books are vast. A simple search of books on teaching pulled up 131,582 results. This could be a tool that may help in your research and something that may help your students in your classes as well.
What do you think about Google Books?
November 17th, 2008
On October 31, 2008, Michael Carroll presented “Copyright and Your Right to Use and Share Your Scholarly Materials” at BGSU’s Olscamp Hall. His presentation was recorded, so be sure to set aside 60 minutes for this thought-provoking view of the coming shift in scholarly communication:
For BGSU community – Click here to view (with description, time, scheduling options, etc)
For other non-BGSU viewers – Click here to view (with no other data or scheduling options)
Dr. Carroll began by comparing the scholarly communication movement of today to recycling 20 years ago – now recycling is commonplace as will scholarly communication (open access/author’s rights, etc.) eventually, due to changing times, needs, and the availability of digital tools.
Copyright laws are the crux of the issue behind the scholarly communication movement and the pressing need for change. The first laws, enacted in the early 18th century, were intended to protect those who wanted to make money from their written works rather than those who wrote for impact, as researchers and scholars do. Currently, when an author signs over their copyright to the publisher, they become limited in their own access to the work as well as limit many others due to what Dr. Carroll calls “the pay wall.”
From the price of individual journals offered through library subscriptions or access costs for individual articles online, the prices have skyrocketed, leaving many institutions to make difficult decisions about what they can or can no longer afford for their faculty and students. (Access to some individual journals can cost over $10,000 per year.) Carroll asks that researchers and authors make responsible decisions regarding the publication of their works – to consider the effects of simply signing the first or “opening offer” a publisher extends.
The issue of open access (OA), where the consumer of the works (reader, researcher) does not have to pay for access to the published works, often leads to misinformation about OA… “Open access does not mean lower quality or less rigor.” In fact, Carroll listed several ways that OA is good for authors/researchers:
- increases impact (# of citations) due to easier access by researchers
- serendipitous researchers come across works more often, making previously unforeseen connections
- researchers need broader access to a myriad of sources/literature
- helps international and poorly financed researchers – access/cost
- medical researchers – providing out of date treatments due to lack of access to most recent findings
- current pay-for journals are not searchable because they are not linked (lots of information could be added to the general pool of accessible resources)
One example Dr. Carroll highlighted was the OA journal, PLOS (Public Library of Science), and its successful growth over the past few years, including a 90% rejection rate, high impact, and the ability to publish peer-reviewed works immediately on the web. Other journals are using a similar model, but many other options are being investigated as viable options. (See Philosophers’ Imprint from the University of Michigan, which has been in service since 2001)
When considering to transfer your copyright to a publisher, Carroll asks authors to take an “Aretha Franklin moment” — “You better think…” In other words, you may be limiting or hurting yourself and other future researchers by giving away all copyright control to a publisher.
So, what can faculty authors do?
- Check current authors’ rights with publishers (these can sometimes be altered after the fact)
- Negotiate with the publisher – they are getting used to this process and providing options for authors (it’s your call – they want to keep a good relationship with you too)
- Many publishers already allow some form of open access, but most authors still are not asking/requesting; it’s a usually a workflow issue, habit, or simply non-awareness (most faculty are simply not aware of their options nor the benefits of OA)
As Dr. Carroll opined, “we’re reaching the tipping point… (and we) need help to push this forward.” Spread the word and become a part of the soon-to-be-in-crowd of Open Access authors!
For more information:
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What are your thoughts on Open Access and author’s rights? How knowledgeable are faculty or graduate students (future scholars) in your department?… Click on the COMMENTS link below to get started!
November 12th, 2008
DiRT is the acronym for a new wiki, Digital Research Tools. DiRT offers an array of resources for grad students or instructors in higher education. This wiki is a collection of resources that helps scholars do everything from manage citations, author a multimedia work, or analyze texts. There are over two dozen links to different software resources and websites that can offer help for researchers.
For example, you’re writing an article with the intention of getting it published. This wiki can help with the publication process. DiRT offers a platform to share your work with other researchers, compare resources, help contribute to a collection, or help you organize your research tools.
Take a look for yourself and invite other people to visit DiRT.
Here’s your link to this wiki: http://digitalresearchtools.pbwiki.com
November 5th, 2008
The Center for Teaching and Learning is sponsoring 13 learning communities (LC) for the 2008-09 academic year. Below are brief updates from four of them, regarding their accomplishments and future plans.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning LC (Facilitated by Jackie Cuneen and Mark Earley)
The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning LC read and discussed anthropologist Rebakah Nathan’s book My Freshman Year, an insider’s observation of modern college students focusing on the current state of academics and campus culture.
In addition, we examined other materials such as a 60 Minutes feature entitled Here Come The Millennials, and interacted with invited guest Professor Michael Coomes from the Department of Higher Education and Student Affairs, an expert on the Millennial student and co-author of Serving the Millennial Generation. SoTL LC member Colleen Boff collected information from the group and created a LibGuide (see http://libguides.bgsu.edu/millennials) containing a comprehensive listing of scholarly sources about working with and teaching Millennials. The LibGuide features a menu of “Classroom Activities,” and LC members will add activities to the menu throughout Spring Semester 2009. The SoTL LC will demonstrate the LibGuide at the CTL’s Teaching and Learning Fair on February 6, 2009 (watch CTL’s website for more information on this event).
Publication LC (Facilitated by Allie Terry)
The Publication LC has met 4 times to discuss 6 Learning Community members’ research thus far and has already built a “culture of accountability” for the publication process within the group. Each session, at least one LC member pre-circulates a publication in progress for critique and discussion by the group. During our meeting, we dissect the text, move it forward in terms of readers’ comments, conceptual frameworks, and issues of style.
The culture of mutual trust and respect in the group provides an ideal environment of “safe critique,” one in which the shared goal is to publish the research in the best form possible. Thus, the author understands that the critique is not aimed at intellectual failure, but rather at intellectual achievement in the eventual publication of the research. Our LC’s current works-in-progress include: 21 articles, 7 book chapters, at least 4 book manuscripts, 2 grant proposals, and 16 conference papers. (Note: this LC has 10 members this year.)
Library e-Tools LC (Facilitated by Colleen Boff and Linda Rich)
The Library e-Tools LC has been having fun digging into EBSCOhost, a common search interface to dozens of library research databases covering a variety of topics and disciplines. Here’s what we are in the process of exploring:
- Basic and advanced searching
- Customization of the search screen
- Saving searches and organizing research into folders
- Sharing research folders with other users (e.g. students, colleagues, etc.)
- Setting up automatic searches via email alerts/RSS feeds
- Setting up table of contents alerts for favorite journals
- Using EBSCOhosts’ Page Composer to easily build web pages
As we explore these different Web 2.0 enhancements, we discuss ways to use these value-added features with students in our teaching and for our own research and work with colleagues.
Pedagogy and Scholarship in Second Life Learning Community (facilitated by Anthony Fontana and Bonnie Mitchell) has been investigating various approaches to integrating SL into the BGSU learning environment and the issues involved. Members continually share their experiences, concerns, opinions, expertise and interests during group discussions and interactive dialog. The community consists of members from a variety of disciplines including Art, Interpersonal Communication, Intervention Services, the Writing Center, Computer Science, Psychology and Pop Culture.
The facilitators have shared the knowledge that they obtained while attending the Second Life Educators Community Conference in Florida and the Internet Research Conference in Denmark. As a group, the Pedagogy and Scholarship in Second Life Learning Community discussed issues related to research ethics and procedures, relevant and popular research topics in SL, and developments in virtual world technologies. Other meetings have focused primarily on teaching using Second Life and teaching experiences on the virtual campus.
For more information about these and other learning communities, visit the CTL’s LC page or contact us at ctl@bgsu.edu or 372-6898.
October 30th, 2008
Would you like to be discuss over 37 thousand topics concerning higher education with more than 22 thousand people around the world? Do you have a strong opinion about some practice in the classroom that you want to share with someone?
The Chronicle for Higher Education has a discussion forum where you can peruse more than 790 thousand posts that concern just about any imaginable topic of higher education. Faculty can go into forums about everything from taking attendance with an iPhone, on up to reforms that would better prepare students for college. The dozens of articles that the Chronicle posts are always being discussed there.
Please visit the forum and see what kind of discussion you get involved in.
Link to forum:
http://chronicle.com/forums/index.php
Link to Chronicle of Higher Education home page:
http://chronicle.com/
August 7th, 2008
Just last week an article by Andrea L. Foster was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education. The article has been generating plenty of traffic and just as much discussion. If you wonder why the article may be attracting so many readers, please read the first two paragraphs of her article (below) and what she writes about the overhauled Higher Education Act that recently was overwhelmingly approved by Congress.
“Tucked away in a 1,200-page bill now in Congress is a small paragraph that could lead distance-education institutions to require spy cameras in their students’ homes.
It sounds Orwellian, but the paragraph — part of legislation renewing the Higher Education Act — is all but assured of becoming law by the fall. No one in Congress objects to it.“
Many instructors and students may not realize the impact this act may have on them. We would like to hear what some people say. Please read Foster’s article or get some more facts on the Higher Education Act and give us a comment on what you read.
Link to Foster’s article:
<http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i46/46a00103.htm?utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en>
August 1st, 2008
Would you like to be able to read what people all over the world are saying in the realm of higher education about an array of interesting topics? If this is something you would like, then you should read what a huge network of professionals share almost everyday on Tomorrow’s Professor.
This is a collaborative effort by Stanford University and M.I.T., which shares advice, experiences, research and blog postings from all over the world. Tomorrow’s Professor has a sharing network of over 25,000 people, at more than 600 institutions, in 108 countries. People can find articles that concern topics ranging from “Avoiding scientific misconduct” to “How to Get the Most Out of Scientific Conferences.” In their blog you can find postings concerning a variety of topics, like “Adaptive Learning” and “Academic Advising in the New Global Century.”
Please see their Listserv and blog with the links below:
Listserv: <http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/index.shtml>
Blog: <http://amps-tools.mit.edu/tomprofblog/>
Please leave us a comment about what you think about Tomorrow’s Professor.
July 25th, 2008
The
Office of Service Learning is beginning to plan for the
Fall ‘08 Faculty Focus Workshop series.
“If you have taught, are teaching, or are planning on teaching a service-learning course, we would like to have you participate in our series.“
Here is a description of the Faculty Focus Workshop series offered each semester:
Faculty Focus Series
These discussion-based workshops feature faculty members talking about their service-learning courses and experiences working with all aspects of service-learning and civic engagement. If you would like to present in a workshop or know of someone who you think would be beneficial to hear from, please let us know!
April 11th, 2008
This is a final reminder concerning the upcoming submission deadline for
Insight: A Journal of Scholarly Teaching. Insight focuses each edition on a specific topic or theme relevant to current trends in higher education; the
theme of the third issue is scholarship of teaching and learning.
Submission details are as follows:
- STYLE - All manuscripts must be formatted in either APA or MLA style.
- LENGTH – Manuscript should be no more than 10 pages (not including abstract, references or appendices). Authors are encouraged to include appendices that promote application and integration of materials (i.e., assignments, rubrics, examples, etc.).
- ABSTRACT - Each manuscript must be summarized in an abstract of 50 to 100 words.
- AUTHOR – Each author should provide his/her full name, title and departmental affiliation, campus address, telephone number, and email address. Each author must also include a brief biography (no more than 50 words per author).
- FORMAT – All manuscripts must be submitted via email as attachments in Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format. Do not include personal identifiers within the manuscript. Include contact information only on a separate cover sheet. Each manuscript will be assigned a unique identifier for blind review processes. Send submissions to cetl@park.edu.
- DEADLINE – All submissions must be received by 4:00pm on April 7, 2008 (CST).
If you need additional information, please review the Call for Papers and Quick Tips located at http://www.park.edu/cetl/Insight.aspx or contact CETL at cetl@park.edu.
April 1st, 2008
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