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TOP STORIES FOR MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2006 2006 NSSE Looks at Distance Education British Close Denial-of-Service Loophole Java Goes Open Source 2006 NSSE LOOKS AT DISTANCE EDUCATION Results from the 2006 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) indicate high levels of student engagement in online and distance programs. The survey, which began in 1999, this year added questions designed to shed light on the habits of nontraditional students, including adult and distance learners. Among its results, the NSSE found that these students were more likely to be prepared for class, to ask questions, and to rewrite papers before submitting them. Students in distance-education programs reported being more academically challenged than on-campus students, also noting that they saw larger developmental gains. Distance students also reported comparable levels of interaction with faculty as did on-campus students. George Kuh, director of the NSSE and a professor of higher education at Indiana University at Bloomington, said, "This is a group that spends more time on academic matters, is highly focused, serious, more motivated perhaps than the typical-aged student." Kuh said it was "gratifying" to learn that online students are at least as engaged as traditional students. Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 November 2006 (sub. req'd) http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i13/13a03901.htm BRITISH CLOSE DENIAL-OF-SERVICE LOOPHOLE British legislators have passed a bill that expands and clarifies portions of the Computer Misuse Act, which was passed in 1990. The Police and Justice Act 2006 addresses a number of concerns that arose with the growth of the Internet and as the scope of computer-based criminal activities has broadened. In November 2005, a British teen was acquitted of charges brought under the Computer Misuse Act when the judge found that the defendant's sending five million e-mail messages to a former employer did not violate the terms of the law. Although the action was intended to cause harm to the company's computer systems, the judge ruled that sending e-mail to an e-mail server--in any quantity--was not prohibited. Although the teen was later found guilty, legislators wrote the new law to close the apparent loophole. The new law explicitly prohibits actions that are meant to cause harm to computer systems, including impairing the computer's operation, interfering with access to programs or data on a computer, and preventing the operation of any program or data on a computer. The Register, 12 November 2006 http://www.theregister.com/2006/11/12/uk_bans_denial_of_service_attacks/ JAVA GOES OPEN SOURCE Sun Microsystems announced plans to release Java as open source software in an effort to draw more developers to the language. Java, which is more than 10 years old, is widely used in cell phones and other handheld devices and in servers and personal computers. As an open source application, Java will be accessible to developers to make changes and share those changes with others. Rich Green, executive vice president of software at Sun, said the decision to release Java as open source will result in "more richness of offerings, more capability, more applications that consumers will get to use." Java, he said, "will become a place for innovation." Analysts agreed that a healthy community of Java developers would be beneficial to Sun. Michael Cote, an analyst with RedMonk, noted, "Sun profits from the Java ecosystem thriving." Green said that all of the Java source code should be available by March 2007. BBC, 13 November 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6144748.stm ***************************************************** 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
