Top higher-education technology news: August 2012

Top higher-education technology news: August 2012From staff reports
Read more by eCampus News Staff

Here are some of the top higher-education technology news stories in our July/August 2012 edition.

eLearning programs have gotten a reprieve from a controversial federal rule that some people viewed as too heavy-handed; a new resource helps ed-tech leaders understand the various standards for ensuring that campus technology systems are compatible with each other; and two recent court rulings have important implications for campus technology use: These are among the top higher-education technology stories in the July/August edition of eCampus News.
Our July/August edition is now available in digital format on our website. You can browse the full publication here, or click on any of the headlines below to read these highlights:
eLearning programs get a reprieve
The U.S. Court of Appeals has sided with an earlier court ruling that would eliminate a controversial federal regulation that some higher-education officials characterized as heavy handed and a potentially devastating blow for online learning…
Ed-tech leaders schooled on interoperability standards
When campus technology directors purchase an innovative product from one vendor and a new upgrade from another vendor, they can find themselves in a tangle of incompatible formats. A primer released by the Software & Information Industry Association explains how adoption of interoperability standards can streamline technology systems in K-20 education…
Colleges join web giants in long-awaited IP change
June 6 was perhaps the most important day in the history of the commercial internet, and hardly anyone noticed…
Admissions officials: Students shouldn’t bank on multimedia gimmicks
College applicants shouldn’t rely on a viral YouTube video to spring them from the confines of a university’s lengthy wait list, admissions officials say—despite the success of one high-profile applicant whose video plea recently went viral…
For colleges, social media ‘Klout’ isn’t everything
A blitz of retweets and Facebook likes can be a nice boost for a college’s social media presence, but measuring success with the popular Klout score could give schools a false read of their Twitter and Facebook influence…
Court: Facebook posts about student’s lab cadaver justified punishment
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that the University of Minnesota did not violate a mortuary student’s free-speech rights by punishing her for Facebook posts about the school cadaver she was working on, which included “satirical commentary and violent fantasy.” But the court, in one of the nation’s first decisions addressing college students’ online free-speech rights, said the sanctions imposed by the university were justified by “narrowly tailored” rules directly related to “established professional conduct standards.”
Judge: Schools can publish small excerpts of texts online for students
In a case closely watched by academia and publishers, a federal judge in Atlanta has ruled mostly in favor of Georgia State University in a copyright case that would allow professors to continue posting excerpts of published works online for their students…