March 2008 News

Posted March 25, 2008 To strengthen and support UD graduate education, the Office of the Provost created a fund for Graduate Program Improvement and Innovation Grants last year. Administered through the Research and Graduate Studies Office, these grants, typically ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, are offered to academic units for innovative initiatives and projects designed to improve the graduate experience and graduate student success at UD.

Read the full article at UDaily.

Posted March 24, 2008 An international debate is raging between industrial nations and developing ones over who should move quickly to ease pressures creating climate change. Poor nations, eager to build roads and industry, say the rich industrial world should act first to slow global warming. Some rich nations, including the United States, say they won’t budge unless developing countries like China and India agree to the same restrictions. A powerful characteristic of climate change is that poor nations seem more susceptible to the dangers of global warming, but don’t have the resources and government institutions to do much about it.

This week, the University of Delaware’s “Global Agenda” series tackles these issues in its program called “Boiling Point: international politics of climate change.” UN Foundation senior analyst Janet Hall answers questions about the special challenges faced by the world’s poorest nations. Moderated by former CNN world affairs correspondent and UD distinguished journalist in residence Ralph Begleiter.

Time: Wednesday, March 26 at 4:30 p.m. SLT / 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Second Life location:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/University%20of%20Delaware/142/228/30

Posted March 23, 2008 At March 3's Faculty Senate meeting, Provost Dan Rich, staff from IT, and Fred Hofstetter, professor of education and of music, and Robert Simons, professor of psychology, introduced senators to the Sakai learning management system (LMS).

According to Havidán Rodríguez, vice provost for academic affairs and international programs, Sakai will replace WebCT as UD's LMS platform over the next two years.

The following UDaily articles provide more information:

• Campus prepares for new learning management system
• What is Sakai?
• Who’s using Sakai?
• What’s UD’s migration plan?

Posted March 22, 2008 The University of Delaware's Global Agenda speaker series has gone where no UD speaker series has ever gone, with an appearance on Second Life, an Internet-based 3-D virtual world entirely created by its residents.

UD entered the world of virtual reality from Mitchell Hall on March 12, when New York Times environment writer Andrew Revkin's presentation, “The Media and Climate Change,” became the first UD event to be simulcast in Second Life.

Read the full article in UDaily.

Posted March 14, 2008 Andrew Revkin from the New York Times blogged about his visit to the University of Delaware in a post titled "Second Life and Real Life." An excerpt follows.

"More and more these days, I make video 'visits' to colleges to talk about the environment and development, saving time and the environmental and financial costs of travel. But I hadn’t found my way into the completely synthetic universe of Second Life until Wednesday, when I made a real visit to the University of Delaware to talk about journalism, climate and sustainability... While I stood in an actual auditorium on campus, live video of my talk was streamed on screens on a cube floating over an artificial amphitheater, bathed in late-afternoon sunshine, on the university’s Second Life “island.”

Read the full blog entry at the New York Times.

Posted March 12, 2008 The University of Delaware is presenting its first simulcast in Second Life tonight, featuring the Global Agenda 2008 series, Boiling Point: International Politics of Climate Change.

Tonight's session:
The Media and Climate Change, Andrew Revkin, New York Times

Date and time:
March 12, 2008, 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Second Life location

Session description:
Controversy over global warming extends to a debate over how the media are handling the issue. Do the media “cry wolf” or do they accurately reflect scientific and political discussions about climate change? What role do the media play in making political decisions about climate change, both domestically and internationally.

New York Times environment writer Andrew Revkin addresses these and other questions in a “live” presentation at the University of Delaware, Wednesday, March 12, part of the 2008 edition of the university’s “Global Agenda” international affairs speaker series. Moderated by former CNN world affairs correspondent and UD distinguished journalist in residence Ralph Begleiter.

For more info, visit the Global Agenda web site.

Posted March 11, 2008 An update on the transition from the use of WebCT to the Sakai learning management system topped the list of items discussed at the UD Faculty Senate Meeting held March 3 in Gore Hall.

Leila Lyons, director of Information Technologies-User Services, reported on the WebCT problems that required the learning management system to be taken down for a week beginning February 14. The problem was due to a few corrupt files on the University's server and the inability of WebCT support services to provide a rapid response.

As full support from the WebCT vendor, Blackboard, will end by October 2009, Rich announced that UD has decided to replace WebCT with Sakai, open source software, used by more than 100 colleges and universities, including Stanford, MIT and the University of Michigan.

Fred Hofstetter, a professor in the School of Education, and Bob Simons, a professor of psychology, gave presentations of Sakai and how to incorporate course content into Sakai based on their experience. Hofstetter's review of Sakai is available online.

Posted March 6, 2008

University of Delaware Information Technologies-User Services has announced that it will temporarily relocate both its service areas and staff offices starting in April and will return to Smith Hall in mid-August.

“This spring and summer, Smith Hall will undergo HVAC renovations. All our services must be moved from Smith, but they will remain available to the campus community in temporary locations,” Leila Lyons, director, User Services, said.

PRESENT will temporarily move to 221 McDowell Hall, telephone 0640.

“We will keep the campus informed of these temporary arrangements through UDaily articles, posters in affected service areas and a web site,” Lyons said.

A web site is available with up-to-date information.

“The site is designed to keep the campus informed of our progress,” Lyons said. “You will find links to campus maps and buildings to locate any of the temporary sites as well as for staff office relocations.”