Wednesday, October 15, 2003

MIT OCW Update for Oct. 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The MIT OpenCourseWare Update: October 2003 A Monthly E-mail Newsletter for Users and Friends of MIT OpenCourseWare ---------------------------------------------------------------- The October 2003 MIT OpenCourseWare Update Contains: 1. New Courses Bring Total to 500 2. Fostering MIT OCW Learning Communities 3. Digging Deeper: Course STS.085 4. A Frequently Asked Question 5. Comments 1. New Courses Bring Total to 500 ---------------------------------------------------------------- The official "launch" of MIT OpenCourseWare, with the publication of approximately 500 courses, came on September 30, 2003. We hope that you are finding courses that interest you among the 500 courses, which come from all 33 of MIT's academic disciplines. This issue of the newsletter, we are pleased to highlight the course materials from 50 of those new MIT course offerings, including: Civil and Environmental Engineering (link to list of courses from this department) 1.011 - Project Evaluation 1.050 - Solid Mechanics Mechanical Engineering 2.093 - Computer Methods in Dynamics 2.094 - Finite Element Analysis of Solids and Fluids 2.25 - Advanced Fluid Mechanics Materials Science and Engineering 3.11 - Mechanics of Materials 3.320 - Atomistic Computer Modeling of Materials Electrical Engineering and Computer Science 6.012 - Microelectronic Devices and Circuits 6.021J - Quantitative Physiology: Cells and Tissues 6.042J - Mathematics for Computer Science 6.045J - Automata, Computability, and Complexity 6.825 - Techniques in Artificial Intelligence 6.933J - The Structure of Engineering Revolutions Physics 8.333 - Statistical Mechanics 8.811 - Particle Physics II Brain and Cognitive Sciences 9.18 - Developmental Neurobiology 9.402 - Language and Thought 9.601J - Language Acquisition I 9.63 - Laboratory in Cognitive Science 9.67 - Object and Face Recognition 9.911 - Reasonable Conduct in Science 9.912 - Special Topics in Brain and Cognitive Sciences 9.98 - Language and Mind Ocean Engineering 13.00 - Introduction to Ocean Science and Technology Economics 14.05 - Intermediate Applied Macroeconomics 14.123 - Microeconomic Theory III: 14.32 - Econometrics 14.472 - Public Economics II Sloan School of Management 15.067 - Competitive Decision-Making and Negotiation 15.660 - Strategic HR Management Aeronautics and Astronautics 16.920J - Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations Political Science 17.100J - Political Economy I: Theories of the State and the Economy 17.196 - Globalization 17.508 - The Rise and Fall of Democracy/Regime Change 17.547 - Government and Politics of China 17.554 - Political Economy of Latin America Mathematics 18.S66 - The Art of Counting 18.085 - Mathematical Methods for Engineers I 18.366 - Random Walks and Diffusion Foreign Languages and Literature 21F.084J - Introduction to Latin American Studies 21F.402 - German II History 21H.802 - Modern Latin America, 1808-Present: Revolution, Dictatorship, Democracy 21L.485 - 20th-Century Fiction Writing and Humanistic Studies 21W.742J - Writing About Race Nuclear Engineering 22.351 - Systems Analysis of the Nuclear Fuel Cycle Health Sciences and Technology HST.121 - Gastroenterology Media Arts and Sciences MAS.450 - Holographic Imaging MAS.961 - Designing Sociable Media 2.993: Designing Paths to Peace Science, Technology, and Society STS.062J - Drugs, Politics, and Culture STS.467 - Research Seminar in Deep Sea Archaeology For a complete list of all MIT OCW offerings, visit the complete course list. Look for notice of new courses in subsequent issues of "The MIT OpenCourseWare Update" email newsletter. 2. Fostering MIT OCW Learning Communities ---------------------------------------------------------------- Since the MIT OCW pilot site opened to the public in September 2002, we have discovered that several learning communities have sprung up around certain MIT OCW courses. Some of learning communities are simply a few friends who gather to read through MIT's course materials, or test each other on the content provided by MIT OCW. But others have taken on a more focused approach to utilizing the materials presented on the MIT OCW site, much to the delight of MIT's faculty and staff. Listed below are some learning communities that we are aware of. MIT OCW does not coordinate or manage these groups, but we encourage users of MIT OCW course materials to check them out: MIT OpenCourseWare on Yahoo The purpose of this list, founded shortly after MIT OCW was first announced in April 2001, is to discuss MIT OCW and consider its implications more broadly and deeply. The group boasts 64 members and 650 messages have been posted since it was created on April 7, 2001. MIT OpenCourseWare on MSN A group created to discuss MIT OCW, and other issues surrounding openness and sharing of information on the Web. Course 1.00 - Introduction to Computers and Engineering Problem Solving This course, published as part of the MIT OCW pilot on September 30, 2002, was one of the first to have a discussion group spring up around its material. Course 21L.002-2 - Foundations of Western Culture II: Renaissance to Modernity Discussion based on the "Topics for Discussion" as presented in the "Assignments" listed for Course 21L.002-2. This group was created by a self-learner to engage other learners in a discussion about the course material. Course CMS.930 - Media, Education, and the Marketplace A group that discusses "Media, Education, and the Marketplace," an offering of MIT's Comparative Media Studies Program. Users are encouraged to utilize the Web to communicate with other MIT OCW users. If you let us know about your group, we will publicize it in upcoming edition of the "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" email newsletter. To start a group on Yahoo, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/start ; to start a group on MSN, go to http://groups.msn.com , or to create a group on AOL, go to http://groups.aol.com. 3. Digging Deeper: Course STS.085 --------------------------------------------------------------- Each month, this newsletter offers subscribers an in-depth guide to one particular subject. This month, we delve into "Course STS.085: Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier," a cross-listed course from MIT's Program in Science, Technology, and Society, and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. MIT Professor Hal Abelson, one of the pioneers of the MIT OCW project and a Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, presents a consideration of the interaction between law, policy, and technology as they relate to the evolving controversies over control of the Internet. The Syllabus includes a listing of the instructors for the course, which include Professor Abelson; Joe Pato, the chief technology officer of the Internet Security Solutions Division at Hewlett-Packard; Danny Weitzner, director for technology and society at the World Wide Web Consortium; Mike Fischer, an MIT professor of anthropology; Joanne Straggas of MIT Information Systems; and Professor Jonathan Zittrain of the Harvard Law School. Topics covered in the Lecture Notes for this course include "An Introduction to Internet Law and Policy Issues," "Digital Music, Napster, P2P," and "The Cryptography Debate." The class has many Readings, mostly short and available on the Web, including studies of "Computer Crime," "Computer Communications and Freedom of Expression," "Information and Intellectual Property," and "Encryption and National Security." Under Projects, read about the guidelines and expectations for the term paper all MIT students of this class must meet. To benchmark their work and understanding of how to write an acceptable paper, users also have access to six actual MIT student term papers from past semesters, with such titles as PARANOIA Security Standard for Wireless Networks, by Richard Hu, Pius A. Uzamere II, and Fei Xing; and Analysis of Local Boston Television News Story Selection Bias, 1993-2002, by Keith Winstein. 4. A Frequently Asked Question ---------------------------------------------------------------- Q. Will non-English language versions of MIT OCW course materials be made available? A. MIT OCW has entered into a formal agreement with Universia.net, a consortium of colleges and universities in Latin America, Spain and Portugal, to translate a sample of 24 MIT OCW courses into Spanish and Portuguese. Universia.net, a Web portal based in Spain, is currently active in 10 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico and Venezuela) and counts more than 720 universities among its members. MIT OCW is excited about this relationship as it has the potential to extend our reach to a new non-English-speaking audience, and Universia will work with MIT OCW to evaluate the impact of these translated sites in Latin America. Since September 2002, when the MIT OCW pilot phase opened to the public with 50 subjects, we know that MIT course materials have been translated into at least 10 languages, including German, Mongolian, Vietnamese, and Russian. MIT asks that any MIT OCW materials translated into other languages from the original English must be accompanied by the following disclaimer: "These MIT OpenCourseWare course materials have been translated into [YOUR LANGUAGE] by [YOUR INSTITUTION] and MIT OpenCourseWare makes no representations or warranties of any kind concerning the materials, express or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or the absence of errors, whether or not discoverable. MIT OpenCourseWare bears no responsibility for any inaccuracies in translation. Any inaccuracies or other defects contained in this material, due to inaccuracies in language translation, are the sole responsibility of [YOUR INSTITUTION] and not MIT OpenCourseWare." ---------------------------------------------------------------- MIT OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW) is a large-scale, Web-based publishing initiative with the goal of providing free, searchable access to MIT course materials for educators, students, and individual learners around the world. These materials are offered in a single, searchable structure spanning all of MIT's academic disciplines, and include uniform metadata about the contents of the individual subject sites. "The MIT OpenCourseWare Update" welcomes your feedback and suggestions about this newsletter and the MIT OCW Web site. Please send your feedback to Jon Paul Potts, MIT OCW Communications Manager, at jpotts@mit.edu. To subscribe a friend to this newsletter, forward the following link to them: http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/ocw-mail If you choose to not receive the "MIT OpenCourseWare Update" e-newsletter, unsubscribe at: http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/ocw-mail 1:19:39 PM    COMMENT []

Who Uses What? Report on a National Survey of Information Users in Colleges and Universities This information-use survey is full of useful facts. E.g., users seem equally comfortable with electronic and print resources, "In all groups combined, 93.9% of respondents agreed strongly or moderately with the statement, 'I am comfortable retrieving and using information electronically.' Agreement by faculty members (91.6%) was almost as extensive as agreement by graduate students (94.8%) and undergraduates (94.6%). Strong-to-moderate agreement about comfort remained above 90% regardless of institutional type or academic field, except for a slight dip to 88.6% in the arts and humanities (restricted to foreign languages and literatures, architecture, and the theory, history, and practice of music and art). In fact, the proportion of respondents expressing comfort with electronic information was less than one percentage point below the proportion (94.8%) agreeing strongly or moderately with the statement, 'I am comfortable locating and using print information.'" The survey covered 392 colleges and universities and included 3,234 faculty, graduate, and undergraduate respondents. JH ______ Who Uses What? Report on a National Survey of Information Users in Colleges and Universities. Deanna B. Marcum, Library of Congress; and Gerald George, Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) [D-Lib Magazine] 9:25:10 AM    COMMENT []