DAT News

In April 2010, Educause published a concise article about LMS Analytics.  The URL for the article follows at the bottom of this message. 

Seven Things you Should Know about Analytics

The abstract below was published with the article:

Analytics tools provide statistical evaluation of rich data sources to discern patterns that can help individuals at companies, educational institutions, or governments make more informed decisions. Colleges and universities can harness the power of analytics to develop student recruitment policies, adjust course catalog offerings, determine hiring needs, or make financial decisions. In a teaching and learning context, data from such sources as the LMS, college application forms, and library records can be used to build academic analytics programs that use algorithms to construct predictive models that can identify students at risk for not succeeding academically.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.

In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About…" briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution. To learn more, please visit the ELI Resources page.

Institutions that would like to integrate Turnitin WriteCycle with Moodle now have 3 choices:

1. Moodle Basic — a framed-in integration plug-in for all Turnitin WriteCycle services. This is an integration/plug-in for Moodle developed by iParadigms, and is supported through the Open Options for Integrations program. This plug-in allows access to all Turnitin services inside a browser frame without having to leave Moodle or log into Turnitin directly. This was the only Moodle integration available from iParadigms prior to April 2010. This option should be used by institutions that want to access all three tools included in the WriteCycle suite (Turnitin, GradeMark and PeerMark) and/or use Turnitin, GradeMark and PeerMark in languages other than English.

2. Moodle Direct — a new plug-in available April, 2010 that provides a more Moodle-like experience for delivering Turnitin and GradeMark services. This plug-in allows access to Turnitin and GradeMark (but not PeerMark).  It looks and feels like a native Moodle user experience. Turnitin and GradeMark assignments are accessed via the Moodle inbox. This option should be used by those that want the Turnitin and GradeMark experience to look and feel more like Moodle.

3. Using an authorized partner like Moodlerooms to integrate their enterprise learning management platform with Turnitin and GradeMark services using supported code from iParadigms.

Additional information, release notes, and user manuals are available at:

http://turnitin.com/static/integration/manuals_versions_moodle.html

IT Organizations: Balancing Centralized Efficiencies with Localized Needs
by John Voloudakis
Research Bulletin 9, 2010

Released May 2010

Abstract: This ECAR research bulletin outlines an approach for rethinking the structure for delivery of IT services in colleges and universities that have multiple IT groups. It examines where in the institution IT services can be delivered and how such delivery can be streamlined, while recognizing that there are unique local needs that are not likely to be effectively met by a single, centralized approach. It also describes steps to articulate a service model that is clearly understood and aligned with user and management expectations.

Audiences: This research bulletin may prove particularly interesting to chief information officers, deans and directors, and IT staff in central and distributed IT organizations.

Note:  accessing this file requires a campus ECAR subscription. 

The file can be downloaded from the EDUCAUSE Website.

The DAT committee has formed subgroups to conduct focused work on specific technology areas.  Several areas have been identified, and DAT has begun work on the following areas.  For information, including meeting times, about either group, please contact the chair:

• Web Conferencing (Chair:  Hye Ok Park, CSU Pomona <hyeok@csupomona.edu>).  Current charter
• Lecture Capture (Chair: Chris Laxton, San Jose State University <chris.laxton@sjsu.edu>): Initial meeting notes
  

At the DAT meeting on 3/25/2010, Kathy Fernandes presented an update on CSU campus LMS transitions and the CSU System-wide LMS services development.  Slides from the meeting are posted below. 

Please contact Kathy Fernandes if you have any questions.