Fortnightly Mailing

Richard O’Dwyer, a student and his computer – an American perspective by Jim Farmer

Photo-credit awaited

So the question being asked around the world in the wake of Obama's online forum is the following: Who is this Richard O'Dwyer, and why is he so important?

International Business Times, 30 January 2012

A query about Richard O'Dwyer, a 23-year-old Sheffield Hallam undergraduate who faces jail if sent for trial and convicted in the US, was the most [2,073] asked of more than 133,000 questions submitted to a live online Google+ "hangout" with the [U.S.] president broadcast on Monday.      

The Guardian, 31 January 2012

Recent actions of the U.S. government have shattered our understanding of copyright. Universities now need to provide new detailed guidance to faculty and students. They will also need to action to protect Internet Domain Names of their affiliates.

On January 13^th a Magistrates' Court in the United Kingdom ruled that Richard O’Dwyer, a student at Sheffield Hallam University, could be extradited to the U.S. on U.S. charges of copyright infringement, even though he has never left England and never had infringing files on this computer.

One week later two helicopters, 76 New Zealand police and 4 U.S. FBI agents raided and searched Kim Dotcom’s home in Auckland arresting Dotcom and four colleagues ¹. The U.S. Department of Justice seized Megaupload.com and fifteen other domain names, all but one of his bank accounts, and his physical assets. Computers were seized for evidence. He is currently in custody. The New Zealand police were careful to say they did not file charges, but rather executed the raid on behalf of the U.S. government.

The strategy used by the U.S. government against O’Dwyer was explained by a U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement [ICE] official who said: “This was like drugs. You want to cut out the middle man.”

The future of VLEs (Virtual Learning Environments) in tertiary education - Guest Contribution by Jim Farmer

At Blackboard World on 13th July 2011, four publishers announced new products and new services:

• Pearson integrates MyLab and Master learning services with the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). This integration gives faculty immediate access to tools, assignments and learning analytics based on their Blackboard logon and returns grades to Blackboard.
• Cengage creates a deeper integration and full interoperability of Cengage Learning’s digital content through automatic sign-on and grade book integration. This added level of integration includes Web-services architecture (MindLinks). The partnership also includes integration of Cengage Learning’s MindTap program and MindTap applications.
• Macmillan provides integration of Macmillan’s digital learning offerings and Blackboard. It automates automated access via Blackboard and upload of grades and performance data into Blackboard’s gradebook.
• Wiley provides seamless access to Wiley’s learning content and tools. Wiley supports access via Blackboard credentials and automatically synchronize grades and other data with Blackboard.

Collectively these announcements suggest learning delivery services (LDS) as a more effective model for online learning than local delivery of static content , integration of the learning delivery and management systems and single sign on [SSO] for user convenience.

THE-QS World University Ranking - a US perspective that takes account of country size: Guest Contribution by Jim Farmer

When the 2009 Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings of the world’s universities were published 8 October, Editor of the THE-QS rankings, Phil Baty wrote: “America's superpower status is slipping as other countries' efforts to join the global elite begin to pay dividends.” And he could have written the U.K. universities continue to improve their rankings.

Bologna: are European entrepreneurs now leading the US on the development of Higher Education student record software? Guest Contribution by Jim Farmer.

On Wednesday 21 May the Institute of Higher Education Policy released a report “The Bologna Club: What U.S. Higher Education Can Learn from a Decade of European Reconstruction.” One week later, 28 May 2008, two young European entrepreneurs, Manuel Dietz and Stéphane Velay, of the German company unisolution GmbH, described the collaborative work of 13 European software and service providers to automate administrative services supporting the emerging Bologna Process.

The report's author Clifford Adelman wrote:

What has transpired since 1999 cannot be but lightly acknowledged in the United States. While still a work in progress, parts of the Bologna Process have already been imitated in Latin America, North Africa, and Australia. The core features of the Bologna Process have sufficient momentum to become the dominant global higher education model [emphasis added] within the next two decades. We had better listen up.

Microsoft certified Moodle – Guest Contribution by Jim Farmer

A "Microsoft certified" version of Moodle can be downloaded now from SpikeSource, a venture capital backed US company that aims to make Open Source software "business ready". Available since February 27, 2008,  neither Microsoft or SpikeSource announced the certified version. A representative for SpikeSource said this was a routine extension of the company’s certifications for Microsoft.

The new "post-patent" environment for e-learning: a perspective. Guest contribution by Jim Farmer.

The simultaneous announcement of the Blackboard patent [3 MB PDF] and the issuing of the complaint [200 kB PDF] against Desire2Learn on July 26, 2006, is one of those events that immediately changes our perception of ourselves and what we do. The emotions - disbelief, anger, frustration, resignation, and denial - show how unexpected, shocking, and important this event was to higher education. As bloggers educate us on patents, Blackboard business strategy, and the history of e-learning, three sharply different issues are emerging:  policies to encourage innovation; the commercialization of teaching and learning;  and collaboration among higher education and its suppliers.