Discusses how, despite many obstacles, open-source software has the potential to strongly influence the future of software development and support in the academic world. (EV)

Offers benchmarks to help campuses evaluate their efforts in supplying information technology (IT) services. The first three help understand the IT budget, the next three provide insight into staffing levels and emphases, and the seventh relates to the pervasiveness of institutional infrastructure. (EV)

Discusses how using intelligent agents (sets of independent software tools designed to help a user better interact with a computer application) in a course-management software (CMS) environment can diminish some of the current limitations of the CMS systems used in distance education. (EV)

Describes a new support model created to address the need for improved technology integration opportunities--Whole-Context, Instruction-Driven Support for Higher Education Technology (WISE)--and its initial pilot. (EV)

Identifies characteristics of a flexible information system, using UniverSIS--a student information system developed at the University of Cincinnati--to illustrate principles of flexible design. Benefits include increased business control over system behavior, reuse of system solutions, and reduced involvement of technical staff as business…

Identifies the main issues confronting academic institutions in developing a structured plan for acquisition and replacement of information technology hardware assets, and recommends steps for developing such a plan. (EV)

Describes how Drexel University, a technology-rich private university in Philadelphia, found a way to assist other, smaller schools in offering e-programs and services through partnerships. As an application service provider, Drexel provided information technology (IT) support and coordinated training and vendor relationships. (EV)

Describes how Cleveland State University implemented a strategy that includes a standard, support, and training for use of personal digital assistants (PDAs). Explains how this has helped put the campus in control of how the technology is used in the enterprise. (EV)

Comparing student personality types to satisfaction with online versus in-class courses revealed that, contrary to the hypothesis, extroverted students, and those more sensitive than intuitive, preferred the online medium of instruction. (EV)

Explores risks for higher education and democracy that accompany technology-enabled personalization of information. Asserts that these institutions need people to have "unanticipated encounters" with information and a range of "common experiences." (EV)

Discusses the impact of open-source technology on higher education, exploring the possibility of new instructional arrangements, new spaces for learning, and new business models for sustaining rich, technology-assisted environments. Describes examples of institutions taking advantage of the open-source movement, such as the OpenCourseWare…

Describes "black box" classrooms, which incorporate audiovisual and information technologies to provide an inherently flexible learning environment. Details various technological components of such classrooms. (EV)

Using the example of Ferris State University, discusses how a "net-enhanced" university functions and offers guiding principles: serve the core activity, recognize the limits to technology, create a policy structure, provide technical infrastructure, provide personnel infrastructure, build communities, digitize, and don't duplicate. (EV)

Details happenings in the Internet world, particularly its technology, but also its policy, economics, and philosophy. (EV)

Discusses how using the job itself as a key professional development (PD) tool, identifying core competencies, assessing skills, and reviewing available opportunities leads to an effective PD plan for higher education information technology personnel. (EV)