***************************************************** Edupage is a service of EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. *****************************************************
TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 2006 Some Faculty See Downside of Technology Yahoo to Open More Research Centers U.K. Calls on Banks to Increase Online Security New Service Hopes to Add Features to VoIP SOME FACULTY SEE DOWNSIDE OF TECHNOLOGY Despite the obvious benefits of putting lecture materials online, some faculty have seen a sharp rise in absenteeism that results from students' having access to class content over their computers. Terre Allen, a communication studies scholar at Cal State Long Beach, said that when she posted most of her notes online, attendance in her classes dropped from about 65 percent to only about 35 percent. "Too much online instruction is a bad thing," she said. Faculty at other institutions have reported similar drops in attendance when lecture notes are available on the Web, and many have adjusted their approach to teaching in an attempt to deal with the change. Some, like Lee Ohanian, an economics professor at UCLA, only post selections from lecture notes. Others have resorted to giving more pop quizzes, including test questions that specifically are not covered in the notes posted online, and offering extra credit to students who show up for class. Los Angeles Times, 17 January 2006 http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-me-noshow17jan17,1,3883942.story YAHOO TO OPEN MORE RESEARCH CENTERS Yahoo has announced plans to expand its stable of research centers outside the United States, with new facilities in Spain and Chile added to the four U.S. locations. Ricardo Baeza-Yates, a native of Chile who has worked with universities in Santiago and in Barcelona, will head the new research centers. Baeza-Yates authored "Modern Information Retrieval," a highly regarded textbook on search technology, as well as other books. The center in Barcelona will operate with the Barcelona Media Innovation Centre, with support from Universitat Pompeu Fabra and other local colleges. The Santiago research center will be hosted by the Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences at the University of Chile and will work in cooperation with the Center for Web Research, which was founded by Baeza-Yates. Areas of investigation at the new sites will include Web search and data-extraction technologies. CNET, 23 January 2006 http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6029663.html U.K. CALLS ON BANKS TO INCREASE ONLINE SECURITY The Financial Services Authority (FSA), a financial watchdog organization in Britain, has called on the country's banks to increase online security. According to the FSA, losses to online banking fraud tripled in the first half of 2005 compared to a year earlier. A study conducted by the FSA revealed that half of online banking customers are concerned about security and that three-quarters would stop banking online if they are forced to bear the costs of fraud. The group acknowledged that part of the responsibility lies with consumers, who need to understand the risks and the steps they can take to minimize them. Banks, however, must do more to increase security and to educate users, said the FSA. Some banks are piloting projects aimed at increasing online security. Lloyds TSB issued 30,000 electronic security devices that users must have to access their accounts. The devices generate new ID codes every 30 seconds and must be used in tandem with existing security measures. BBC, 23 January 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4637226.stm NEW SERVICE HOPES TO ADD FEATURES TO VOIP A new company called Tello Corp. will begin offering a new voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) service that its founders hope will alter user expectations about what the technology can do. Jeff Pulver, one of the people behind Tello, said VoIP is primarily used today simply to make inexpensive phone calls. VoIP has the potential to create a very different experience from mere calling, he said, including a sense of "presence" that comes with instant messaging. The Tello service will let users see who else is logged in, how long they have been connected, when they were last connected, and other user information. The "presence" features of the service are also likely to make it a target of privacy advocates because it can allow organizations to track the whereabouts of employees, for example. Doug Renert, chief executive of the new company, said the service is not a "Big Brother application," noting that users have the option of defeating the tools that would allow for tracking. Wall Street Journal, 23 January 2006 (sub. req'd) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113798191905653294.html ***************************************************** EDUPAGE INFORMATION To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your settings, or access the Edupage archive, visit http://www.educause.edu/Edupage/639 Or, you can subscribe or unsubscribe by sending e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To SUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SUBSCRIBE Edupage YourFirstName YourLastName To UNSUBSCRIBE, in the body of the message type: SIGNOFF Edupage If you have subscription problems, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ***************************************************** OTHER EDUCAUSE RESOURCES The EDUCAUSE Resource Center is a repository for information concerning use and management of IT in higher education. To access resources including articles, books, conference sessions, contracts, effective practices, plans, policies, position descriptions, and blog content, go to http://www.educause.edu/resources ***************************************************** CONFERENCES For information on all EDUCAUSE learning and networking opportunities, see http://www.educause.edu/31 ***************************************************** COPYRIGHT Edupage copyright (c) 2006, EDUCAUSE
