Dr. David S. H. Rosenthal is recently retired after nearly two decades as chief scientist of the LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) Program at the Stanford University Libraries.

We’re in a period when blockchain or “distributed ledger technology” is the Solution to Everything™, so it is inevitable that it will be proposed as the solution to problems in academic communication and digital preservation. But there are those who have strong doubts about the implementation of this technology.

CNI Podcast: Blockchain: What's Not to Like?

Kenning Arlitsch is dean of the library and Scott W.H. Young is user experience and assessment librarian, both from Montana State University.

A recently published study audited the websites of 279 academic libraries to test for the presence and effective use of the secure hypertext transfer protocol, the presence of the Google Analytics tracking protocol, and whether libraries have implemented the privacy features that are available in Google Analytics. The results of the study demonstrate conclusively that academic libraries must do more to ensure user privacy.

CNI Podcast: Do Academic Libraries Protect Privacy in the Digital Age?

Micaela Parker is program coordinator for the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments.

Although data-driven research is already accelerating scientific discovery, substantial systemic challenges in academia need to be overcome to maximize its impact. Toward that end, working in partnership with one another and with the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, three universities (the University of California Berkeley, New York University, and the University of Washington) have been attempting to create supportive environments for researchers using and developing data-intensive practices. Known as the Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments (MSDSE), this collaboration is structured through a set of working groups on cross-cutting topics viewed as critical to advancing data science in academia: career paths and incentives, software development, education, reproducibility and open science, reflexive and reflective ethnography, and the role of physical space in collaboration.

The Moore-Sloan Data Science Environments

Roger Schonfeld is director of the Library and Scholarly Communication Program at Ithaka S+R. 

Ensuring the long-term preservation of digital information for future users has been one of the key aspirations of the research library community. Ithaka S+R has been exploring the current state of digital preservation in order to identify research questions and areas for action. Based on interviews with 21 subject experts, we gathered perspectives on the successes, gaps, outstanding issues, and emerging needs in digital preservation.

Link to study:  https://doi.org/10.18665/sr.310626

CNI Podcast: The State of Digital Preservation

Are you effectively leveraging your technology investment to provide big wins for your small college? Are you a technology leader at a small institution whose day is filled with the joys and challenges of supporting your institution's mission through the evolving use of technology, with limited resources? Do you have a hard time translating what larger, more resourced institutions accomplish to your institution? If you answer yes to any of these questions, this podcast is for you. We spoke with a panel of experienced CIOs of smaller institutions.

William Anderson, CIO, Saint Michael’s College

Carol Thomas, Vice President, Technology and Marketing Communications, New England College

Kevin Brassard, CIO, Nichols College

Little College, Big World: Big Tech Wins for Small Schools [podcast]

Observations and strategies in the face of challenges from COVID-19.
Featured speakers include:

Beth McMurtrie
Sr. Writer
Chronicle of Higher Education

Bryan Alexander
President
Bryan Alexander Consulting
Author of the new book: 
Academia Next: The Futures of Higher Education

Amy Collier
Associate Provost for Digital Learning
Middlebury College

Rapid Recalibration During COVID - 19

Recently EDUCAUSE;s Malcolm Brown had an opportunity to catch up with Jessica Williams, the newly appointed director of Every Learner Everywhere (ELE), a network of 12 partner organizations seeking to work with post-secondary institutions to promote student academic success. Their conversation ranged across a variety of topics, including the impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having across higher education, Jessica’s vision for ELE going forward, and its unique focus on students who are low-income, first generation, and students of color. 
Here's the link for ELE
https://www.everylearnereverywhere.org/about

Breaking New Ground: A Conversation With Jessica Williams

As higher education adjusts to the reality that Covid-19 may be around for a while, many campuses are creating virtual versions of typically on-ground experiences, including student orientation. Recently, Kathe Pelletier, director of student success community programs at EDUCAUSE, had an opportunity to spend time with two experts in online orientation design and delivery: Jaimie Hoffman and Megan Eberhardt-Alstot. Hoffman is the vice president for student affairs and learning at Noodle Partners, where she works with campuses to create ecosystems that are inclusive of online students. Eberhardt-Alstot is a learning designer at California State University, Channel Islands. This conversation extends the expertise already shared in the recent webinar Transforming Your Orientation from On Ground to Online: Creating an Engaging Student Experience and the EDUCAUSE Review article Orienting Students to Online Learning: A Must for Student Success.

The discussion offers suggestions for creating and evaluating high-quality, engaging online orientation experiences, with topics that include applying instructional design principles to orientation courses, using best practices for multimedia (e.g., letting go of being “perfect” on video), assessing online orientation experiences, providing micro-credentials to document completion and learning outcomes, and developing a scalable approach to designing and delivering online orientation. Above all, Hoffman and Eberhardt-Alstot recommend taking this opportunity to truly rethink traditional orientation practices and build a holistic approach that offers choice, flexibility, and a thoughtful delivery of content and experiences that will lead to a positive transition to campus for students.

Rethinking Traditions: Creating an Engaging and Effective Online Orientation Experience

Two IT security leaders find a new way to initiate campus discussions about the critical importance of privacy and security to higher education institutions.

Sol Bermann
Chief Information Security Officer
Executive Director of Information Assurance
University of Michigan Ann Arbor

Michael Corn
Chief Information Security Officer
UC San Diego

Privacy And Security: The Six Words Project

EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit association and the foremost community of IT leaders and professionals committed to advancing higher education.

EDUCAUSE helps those who lead, manage, and use information technology to shape strategic IT decisions at every level within higher education.

IT is more than technology to EDUCAUSE members. It is a system of people, processes, organizations, and challenges that are constantly evolving.

EDUCAUSE

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