CTL Newsletter

A Newsletter from the Center for Teaching and Learning at Western Kentucky University

April 2000 "Ideas not Absolutes" Vol. 10, No. 3

Articles in this edition:
Thanks to all who helped us this year!
Some Thoughts on Citation of Electronic Information
Faculty Web Address

A special “THANKS” to all who helped us this year!
So many people have contributed that we may have inadvertently left someone out.
If we did, we are sorry and will give your name in the next edition, if you let us know.

Workshop Presenters Jo Ann Albers, Journalism
Lynn Austin, Allied Health
Dawn Bolton, Community College
Barbara Burch, Academic Affairs
Cathy Carey, Economics & Marketing
Stan Cooke, SISTE
Thad Crews, Jr., Management & CIS
Carol, Crowe-Carrico, History
Chad Davis, GA, Biology
Freida Eggleton, Registrar
Sam Evans, CEBS
Blaine Ferrell, Biology
Joe Fulmer, IDE
Carol Graham, Management & CIS
Allan Heaps, Academic Technology
Chuck Henson, IDE
Ted Hovet, English
Luther Hughes, Academic Affairs
Martha Jenkins, CFS
Cindy Jones, Freshman Seminar
Barb Kacer, SISTE
Michael Kennedy, GA, English
Ruth Kinnersley, Library
Joan Krenzin, Sociology
Matt Kubasik, Chemistry
Beth Laves, WKU Coordinator KCVU
Jim Lobdell, SISTE
Leroy Metze, Psychology
Alice Mikovich, SISTE
Elaine Moore, Library
Phil Myers, Sponsored Programs
Pamela Napier, Sponsored Programs
John O’Connor, Psychology
Patty Silfies, CFS
Stacey Sympson, Sociology
Edric Thompson, GA, English
Linda Todd, Community College
Linda Uhlenkott, English
Deborah Wilkins, WKU Attorney
Peggy Wright, Library
David Young, Theater & Dance

CTL Faculty Associates

Margaret Curtis, fall 1999
Darleen Pigford,
fall 1999-spring 2001

Teaching Resource Faculty
Committee Barb Kacer, Teacher Education
Deborah Lively, Community College
Richard Aldridge, Accounting & Finance
Roger Scott, Physics & Astronomy
Larry Snyder, Philosophy & Religion
Sally Ann Strickler, Library Public Services
Randall Kinnersley, Accounting & Finance

Scholarship of Teaching Booklets
(Articles)

Barb Kacer, SISTE
Linda Uhlenkott, English
Allen Heaps, Academic Technology
Karen Adams, CEBS
Jo-Ann Huff Albers, Journalism
Blaine Ferrell, Biology
John Hagaman, English
Retta Poe, Psychology
Herb Simmons, SISTE (retired) (Editorial Board) Meaghan Duff, History
John Hagaman, English
Ron Milliman, Economics & Marketing

Newsletter Articles/Reviews

Margaret Curtis, Philosophy/Religion
Darleen Pigford, Computer Science
Pamela Napier, Sponsored Programs
Phil Myers, Sponsored Programs
John Petersen, Academic Affairs

CTL Faculty Advisory Council

John Crenshaw, Computer Science
Felicia Lassk, Economics &Marketing
Tom Noser, Economics & Marketing
Del Hayden, Ed. Leadership
Linda Todd, Community College
Ted Hovet, English
Barbara Kacer, SISTE
David Kelsey, Music
Retta Poe, Psychology
Matt Pruitt, Sociology
Ruth Kinnersley, Library
Jim Sanders, Academic Technology
Allan Heaps, Academic Technology

Others . . . Shelia Eison, On-Campus
Sheryl Hagan, Photographer
Bob Skipper, Photographer
Joan Krenzin, Sociology

Articles in this newsletter

CTL Homepage

WKU Homepage

CTL Newsletter
Articles
Index

Some Thoughts on Citation of Electronic Information
by Sally Kuhlenschmidt, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning

     I had an interesting experience in February that I wanted to share with you — a consequence of how we all struggle along in this information age.
     A rather lengthy commentary that I posted in response to a question on an electronic mailing list was forwarded about three times. At the last point a person decided to print my commentary in a newsletter sent to current and former graduate students of a program at a national university in a western-European type country far around the world.
     On the positive side, this was very flattering and exciting to have some impact so far away and so quickly. It is also the purpose/consequence of posting to an electronic mailing list—to spread ideas around.
     But there were several . . . downsides.

Even though my name and address were still attached to the note I was not contacted for permission to reprint the comment.
Somewhere along the way, the question I was answering got merged with my commentary so I was misattributed and the question-asker was cut out.
The editor of the newsletter confessed to making some changes so it would be more accessible (culturally) to his audience. The changed document appeared under my name without my permission or review.

     Because electronic media seems impermanent, and because it is so easy to do, it is tempting to forward, rearrange and otherwise alter work by other people. We don’t seem to generalize our scholarly skills (e.g., citation) to the on-line environment and do things electronically that we would fail students for doing in print.
     I know when I post electronically that I lose control in reality even if I retain hypothetical ownership. What I hope is that you will realize how very easy it is to fall into the mistake of not documenting electronic material. Citation information needs to be kept with forwarded material for scholarship’s sake.
     In this instance there was a chance for the mistakes to be corrected because my name and email address were still attached. But the date of the posting was lost (which is important for judging the currency of the document) and the name of the original electronic mailing list was lost (important for judging the context of the document).
     In the on-line world, we are all publishers and that means learning to think like publishers—as protectors of scholarship for the long term in citation information and overall structure of material. The function of citation information is to allow for debate and interpretation. Authorship means accountability, dates mean currency and context, and institution conveys context.
     I learned of the publication by someone who read the newsletter and wanted to answer “my” (actually someone else’s question). I was able to trace back, then to the newsletter and communicate with the editor who will print corrections in the next edition. The editor could have avoided the inaccurate information and received a better version if he had contacted me first.
     This has also happened to me with webpage material. An instructor at a school in a distant state posted an out of date, entire copy of a webpage of mine on his server...including the copyright notice at the bottom of the page. I learned about it when a surfer wrote to me (my email address was at the bottom of the page), complaining that the links did not work. I tracked my webpage down using a search engine and asked the person to remove the page and instead link to the one I maintained with current information. It was having my name/Email address and date on the document that enabled me to eventually correct the information.
     At a minimum, web designers are the ones responsible for creating scholarly websites with citation information such as author name, dates (created and last modified) and institutional affiliation. Because a person can enter anywhere, all pages need this information. Email programs automatically attach some of this information, but it is too easily cut off.
     Forwarders of electronic information, particularly if it is more than a simple question or social exchange, have a similar obligation to keep citation information attached and to retain the integrity of the commentary.
     We are all learning about how to function in this world and some stumbling along the way is to be expected. I’m certainly not guilt-free myself. I just wanted to share these experiences more to remind everyone to carry their scholarly skills on-line. Keep these concerns in mind and recall them when you are working (or playing) on-line.

Visit WKU Faculty Website:
Meaghan Duff, History
http://www.wku.edu/~duffmn

Articles in this newsletter

CTL Homepage

WKU Homepage

CTL Newsletter
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Index

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