Alerta de Artículos Recientes 10-11 Octubre
Educación, Bibliotecas y Tecnologías de la Información

Using the iPhone and iPod touch @ Work: the rise of the mobile web and the ease of access afforded by smartphones, particularly the iPhone, have the potential to transform reference and customer service once again. Author(s): Susan Kendall , Mary Nino and Sandra Stewart. Source: Computers in Libraries. 30.2 (Mar. 2010): p14. With more than 3 billion apps downloaded as of January 2010, the iTunes App Store continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. Many institutions and businesses are jumping into the fray with their own apps, hoping to enable customer convenience and to inspire loyalty. With web access through smartphones now outpacing access through laptops or desktops, many library systems have already developed mobile-friendly websites.

Leveraging Service Blueprinting to Rethink Higher Education. Center for American Progress. Amy L. Ostrom et al. October 31, 2011.

There is much discussion today about the need to transform higher education. Experts and researchers list numerous challenges: low student retention and graduation rates, the increasing cost of higher education, and concerns that graduates don't possess the skills required to compete successfully in today's interconnected, global marketplace. Less than 60 percent of students who enter four-year institutions in the U.S. earn a degree within six years and the graduation rate at many institutions is much lower than that.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/10/pdf/service_blueprinting.pdf [PDF format, 76 pages]. Librarians Weigh Kindle Ebook Lending against Reader Privacy. American Libraries Magazine. October 19, 2011. The library world was thrilled at the September 21 announcement that library vendor OverDrive had enabled its library customers to loan the ebooks they’d licensed from OverDrive to patrons with Kindle e-readers—provided that the ebooks were in Kindle-maker Amazon’s sales inventory.http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content/librarians-weigh-kindle-ebook-lending-against-reader-privacy

HANDHELD EDUCATION: APPLIED MOBILE TECHNOLOGY (Choice, vol. 48, no. 9, May 2011, pp. 1605-1614)
This essay provides an overview of the proliferation of mobile computing programs across undergraduate educational institutions and in libraries, examines electronic resources available in mobile versions, explores a variety of commercial and free tools available for use in developing components of mobile programs, and identifies useful resources for keeping abreast of developments in mobile technology in higher education and libraries. The author, director of Virtual Services, University of Nebraska Omaha Criss Library, believes that many colleges are examining ways to incorporate mobile technologies into the educational experience of undergraduates. In an effort to support academic institutional missions and provide library resources and services to a growing number of constituents on the move, many libraries are developing mobile initiatives that may include mobile Web sites, device or platform-specific mobile applications, and other mobile services. The movement to support mobile access within academic libraries has librarians evaluating newly emerging mobile products and creating library-specific mobile products and services.

McMillan, Graeme HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY USE TWITTER? GOOD QUESTION (Time Magazine, August 29, 2011)
Twitter estimates there are about 460,000 sign-ups per day; some 200 million users total. But Business Insider estimates that there are actually less than 21 million active users -- "active" meaning more than 30 feeds being followed. Currently available online at http://techland.time.com/2011/08/29/how-many-people-actually-use-twitter-good-question/

The Tablet Revolution and What it Means for the Future of News. Project for Excellence in Journalism. October 25, 2011. Eleven percent of adults now own a tablet computer. About half get news on it every day, and three in ten spend more time consuming news than they did before. But contrary to what some in the news industry hoped, a majority says they are not willing to pay for news content on the devices, according to the most detailed study to date of tablet users and their news consumption habits. http://www.journalism.org/analysis_report/tablet?src=prc-headline [HTML format, various paging].

Casting a Wider Net: Lessons Learned in Delivering BBC Content on the Censored Internet. Canada Centre for Global Security Studies and Citizen Lab at Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. October 11, 2011. The study reports on a series of real-world tests to deliver access to BBC websites into Iran and China, where they are regularly by authorities. The research combines data from three major sources: two years' worth of traffic data from the BBC's web content services, in-field testing of Iranian and Chinese Internet censorship undertaken by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI), and service delivery of Psiphon Inc., a

Canadian "circumvention" service that delivers uncensored connections to the web for citizens living behind national firewalls. http://munkschool.utoronto.ca/downloads/casting.pdf [PDF format, 63 pages].
Fallows, James HACKED! (Atlantic Monthly, November 2011)

After his wife’s Gmail account was hacked by a scammer who sent a bogus email to everyone in her address book asking for money because she had been “mugged in Madrid” and she lost six year’s worth of emails, Fallows launched a serious investigation of such attacks at the epicenter of Internet activity, Google. What he discovered from Google experts is sobering, and a warning about the importance of vigilance and the use strong, varied passwords. Big Internet companies such as Google, which sustain thousands of hacking attempts daily, are quickly developing counter strategies because of the volume of attacks. Nevertheless, countless vulnerable spots are uncovered daily as cybercriminals become more sophisticated. The message is that responsibility is both individual and organizational in the emerging era of “cloud” data storage. Currently available online at http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/11/hacked/8673/

The Road Ahead: A Look at Trends in the Educational Attainment of Community College Students. American Association of Community Colleges. Christopher M. Mullin. October 2011. In response to the demands of students, as well as of business and industry, community colleges are rebalancing institutional missions and practices to focus more directly on ensuring student success. The brief presents data on educational attainment at community colleges, with an eye to what the data portend. One extremely positive conclusion can be reached: Educational attainment for all key populations is increasing at community colleges. The investments made in a community college education, by individuals and by society as a whole, are paying off, according to the author. http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Documents/PB_RoadAhead.pdf [PDF format, 22 pages].

Merit Aid for Undergraduates: Trends from 1995-96 to 2007-08. National Center for Education Statistics. October 18, 2011. This Statistics in Brief uses nationally representative data from 1995-96, 1999-2000, 2003-04 and 2007-08 to examine trends in merit aid to undergraduates by student and institutional characteristics and in comparison to need-based grant aid. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012160.pdf [PDF format, 23 pages].

Using Technology to Personalize Learning and Assess Students in Real-Time. Brookings Institution. Darrell M. West. October 6, 2011. The report examines new models of instruction made possible by digital technologies. Pilot projects from across the country are experimenting with different organizations and delivery systems, and transforming the manner in which formal education takes place. By itself, technology will not remake education. Meaningful change requires alterations in technology, organizational structure, instructional approach, and educational assessment. But if officials combine innovations in technology, organization, operations, and culture, they can overcome current barriers, produce better results, and reimagine the manner in which schools function. http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/1006_personalize_learning_west/1006_personalize_learning_west.pdf [PDF format, 19 pages]. Learning at a Distance: Undergraduate Enrollment in Distance Education Courses and Degree Programs. National Center for Education Statistics. October 5, 2011. This Statistics in Brief investigates undergraduates' participation in distance education using nationally representative student-reported data collected through the three most recent administrations of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012