Paul Evan Peters, Coalition for Networked
Information
On March 3, 1995, a group of librarians and faculty gathered in the Odegaard Undergraduate Library for the second Faculty Council on University Libraries Symposium entitled Virtually Yours: Electronic Resources, Wired Professors, Classes Online. Paul Evan Peters of the Coalition for Networked Information set the tone for the Symposium with an anecdote about Albert Einstein. On a train trip, Einstein was unable to find his ticket to produce for the conductor. He became upset, but when told not to worry he replied, "It's not a matter of the ticket, it's a matter of the destination." With this story, Peters illustrated that the value of electronic resources to higher education is determined by the choice of destination, as well as by the system used to get there.
The Symposium, supported by the Kenneth S. Allen Library Endowment and the Friends of the University of Washington Libraries, featured Peters and Susan Perry, director, Mt. Holyoke Library as keynote speakers. John Coldewey, chair of the Faculty Council on University Libraries, opened and closed the event and introduced David Thorud, acting provost who welcomed the participants.
Betty Bengtson, University Libraries, introduced Peters who began the morning session with a description of the current environment of electronic resources and information that is now affecting higher education. With Internet use skyrocketing, higher education is being challenged to incorporate new digital libraries and networks into the teaching, learning and research missions of the university.
Paul Evan Peters, Coalition for Networked
Information
Introduced by Leroy Searle, Center for the Humanities, the morning panel spoke to the theme New Tools, New Tasks: Patterns of Access, Models of Research. Vladimir Chaloupka, Physics Department, described how the World Wide Web originated in a 15 year, 5 million dollar physics project involving 1300 physicists and 140 institutions. A high speed communication network was developed that is now available to researchers and students all over the world. In his paper "And the Earliest Shall Be the Latest", Paul Remley, English Department, described how electronic tools have significantly enhanced the ability of scholars to examine medieval manuscripts for textual variations and to develop concordances and other textual analyses.
Sherrilyn Fuller, Health Sciences Library and Information Center, described the IAIMS (Integrated Advanced Information Management System) project which is a grant supported by the National Library of Medicine. Attempting to provide seamless access to information, resources, databases and other tools to support both clinical and academic health sciences research and teaching, IAIMS is providing a framework for cooperative development of information tools.
To open the afternoon session, Perry surveyed several projects in which educators have attempted to build electronic learning communities. An elementary classroom took virtual trips to learn about other countries and peoples. In another project, anthropologists from several universities guided their students in the shared development of a solar system simulation, building a virtual community on Mars.
Perry related several lessons learned from these projects. First, collaboration between subject specialists and information specialists greatly enhanced the educational objectives of the project, but curriculum design using networked information did not save time or money. It did, however, engage students more actively in their own learning. Ms. Perry emphasized that all of the projects used conventional and available technology such as electronic mail, word processing and other "off the shelf" programs. These widely available tools were used by the participants to build a community of learners who were able to build and share their skills and experience.
The afternoon panel, Ordinary Classrooms, Extraordinary Material: Melding Public Technology and Pedagogical Talent introduced by Tim Nyerges, Department of Geology, focused on local case studies using networked information or tools in the classroom. Joe Heim, Department of Industrial Engineering, described his use of e-mail to structure his class and communicate with his students. Gail Stygall, English Department, spoke about issues of discourse in a virtual environment. Ease of access and anonymity allows students freedom to offer their opinions and ideas, but also presents problems of etiquette and rules of exchange.
The UWired Pilot Project was represented by several participants. Fred Johnson, Fisheries Department, spoke of his positive experience using technology to assist with teaching a large lecture course. Louis Fox , Undergraduate Education, echoed Perry when he related the "UWired Axioms" which have evolved from the planning group's experience. "Nothing is simple. It costs twice as much, requires twice as much staff and takes three times as long." Anne Zald, UW Libraries, outlined the goal of the year-long information and technology seminar taken by the UWired participants which is to integrate information navigation, retrieval and evaluation skills into student coursework.
Four UWired student participants, Jean Dahl, Laura Groenwald, Karen Thompson and Mo Falkner related how the use of technology has improved their ability to communicate with faculty and peers, and has provided flexibility in completing research and delivering assignments to instructors. The students felt that the UWired program has given them a jumpstart on participating in the electronic age.