Friends,

Academic Commons is interesting for two reasons.
The first is that it is a forum on issues of pedagogy and
technology that many of us follow.

The second is that it offers an interesting model for
some of the many design research ventures now
mounting web sites.

Worth a visit.

http://www.academiccommons.org/

Details below.

Ken Friedman



We are pleased to announce the first edition of ACADEMIC COMMONS.

Academic Commons <http://academiccommons.org/> offers a forum for
investigating and defining the role that technology can play in liberal arts
education. Sponsored by the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts at Wabash
College <http://liberalarts.wabash.edu/>, Academic Commons publishes essays,
reviews, interviews, showcases of innovative uses of technology, and
vignettes that critically examine technology uses in the classroom. Academic
Commons aims to share knowledge, develop collaborations, and evaluate and
disseminate digital tools and innovative practices for teaching and learning
with technology. We want this site to advance opportunities for
collaborative design, open development, and rigorous peer critique of such
resources.

Academic Commons also provides a forum for academic technology projects and
groups (the Developer's Kit) and a link to a new learning object referatory
(LoLa). Our library archives all materials we have published and also
provides links to allied organizations, mailing lists, blogs, and journals
through a Professional Development Center.

Highlights of our First Edition

The first edition of Academic Commons features essays by Richard Lanham
("Copyright 101"), Michael Joyce ("Interspace: Our Commonly Valued
Unknowing"), Patricia O'Neill and Janet Simons ("Using Technology in
Learning to Speak the Language of Film"), and Michelle Glaros ("The Dangers
of Just-In-Time Education"), and an interview with Gerald Graff. The issue
also includes two teaching and learning "vignettes," a good handful of
reviews (websites, hardware, and software) and showcases (exemplary academic
web projects), and links to a variety of interesting teaching, learning, and
technology projects. We've already formed a number of groups onsite and look
forward to more participation. The complete Table of Contents is at

http://academiccommons.org/august2005/.

Contribute!

We are always looking for contributions from faculty, librarians,
technologists, and other stakeholders in the academic enterprise. We publish
original content for which we pay a small honorarium. We also publish
selected links to interesting and useful materials published elsewhere, as
well as a growing collection of links to professional associations,
resources, announcements and conferences organized into a Professional
Development Center. Please consider playing a part in the Academic Commons!

Stay Informed!

Receive the Academic Commons's quarterly newsletter. If you are already a
member of www.academiccommons.org <http://www.academiccommons.org/> , log
onto the website and click on "My Account." Choose the Edit tab, then click
on the Professional Information link. Check the box at the top of the page.
If you are not already registered, join us at

http://academiccommons.org/user/register. An RSS feed is available at
http://academiccommons.org/rss.xml. Questions and comments can be sent to

[log in to unmask]

Academic Commons Editorial Board:

Founding Editors:
    Michael Roy, Wesleyan University, and John Ottenhoff, Alma College

Managing Editor: Jennifer Curran, Wesleyan University

Section Editors:
    Essays: David Bogen, Emerson College
    Reviews: Bryan Alexander, NITLE: The National Institute for Technology and
Liberal Education
    Interviews: Michael Roy, Wesleyan University
    Showcase: Rachel Smith, NMC: The New Media Consortium
    Announcements: Jennifer Curran, Wesleyan University
    Center for Teaching and Learning:  John Ottenhoff, Alma College
    Developer's Kit: Peter Schilling, Amherst College
    Library: M. Claire Stewart, Northwestern University
See http://academiccommons.org/about/current-editors for more information
about our editorial board. A listing of our advisory board is at
http://academiccommons.org/about/current-board-members .

The Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts
<http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu>  at Wabash College sponsors the Academic
Commons. Academic Commons is licensed under a Creative Commons License
<http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/> .


~~~~~
John Ottenhoff
Associate Provost
Chair and Professor, Department of English
Alma College, Alma, MI 48801
phone: 989.463.7138
fax: 989.463.7717

Editor, Center for Teaching and Learning
Academic Commons
http://www.academiccommons.org