Edupage, September 27, 2006

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TOP STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2006
  Georgia Tech Redefines Computer Science Degree
  San Jose State Tries to Ban Skype
  University in Spain Joins Google Book Search
  Libraries Develop New Archiving Application


GEORGIA TECH REDEFINES COMPUTER SCIENCE DEGREE
Responding to the large-scale exodus of students from computer science
programs nationwide, the Georgia Institute of Technology is undertaking
a fundamental redesign of the curriculum for computer science majors.
The new approach replaces the core curriculum with courses that follow
"threads" and "roles." Students choose two of eight threads of
instruction and tailor their schedules around those concepts. Threads
include computational modeling, intelligence, and so on. Many of the
courses that compose a student's threads might be taught by faculty
outside the computer science department. For the role part of the
curriculum, students choose either programmer, entrepreneur, innovator,
or communicator, which guides selection of other courses. The hoped-for
result is a curriculum that provides the flexibility and breadth that
students need to compete in the changing high-tech landscape. Richard
DeMillo, dean of the College of Computing, noted that confidence in the
job market for computer science graduates is flagging, saying that he
spends considerable amount of time talking to parents about their
children's prospects. He believes the new curriculum will help allay
their concerns.
Inside Higher Ed, 26 September 2006
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/26/gatech

SAN JOSE STATE TRIES TO BAN SKYPE
Administrators at San Jose State University (SJSU) have temporarily
suspended a ban on Internet phone service Skype but said they would
reinstitute the prohibition if concerns over network usage are not
adequately addressed. A number of universities have blocked use of
Skype because of language in the user agreement that appears to allow
individuals not associated with the university to use the campus
network for phone calls. Skype works by routing calls through available
networks, even for third parties, using computers of users who have
accepted the company's terms of use. "It's a fairly subtle problem,"
said Kevin Schmidt, campus network programmer at the University of
California, Santa Barbara, which has also banned Skype. He said the
result could be "fair amount of traffic that has nothing to do with
university business." Following the ban at SJSU, many students and
faculty objected, saying the service has become vital to their efforts
to keep in touch with families overseas and to promote educational
programs around the globe. Campus officials acknowledged those concerns
but said that if eBay, which owns Skype, cannot address the problem,
the service will be shut off.
San Jose Mercury News, 21 September 2006
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/15576648.htm

UNIVERSITY IN SPAIN JOINS GOOGLE BOOK SEARCH
The Complutense University of Madrid has joined Google's controversial
Book Search project, making it the first institution from a
non-English-speaking country to take part. The university maintains the
second-largest library in Spain, with 3 million volumes; only the
National Library is larger. In addition to books in Spanish, the
library also houses texts in French, German, Latin, Italian, and
English. A spokesperson from Google said the deal with Complutense
University "will be a huge boost to our Spanish-language content, as
well as other languages." Publishers and copyright holders have
objected to the project, whose goal is to digitize millions of texts
and make them available online. Google maintains the project is for the
public good; publishers say that even if full texts are not available
online for protected works, Google is nonetheless violating their
rights by scanning those books.
CNET, 26 September 2006
http://news.com.com/2100-1038_3-6119515.html

LIBRARIES DEVELOP NEW ARCHIVING APPLICATION
Working under the auspices of the International Internet Preservation
Consortium, the National Library of New Zealand and the British Library
have developed a Web curator tool to archive online content. Because
Web pages change constantly, efforts to preserve important online
material present complex challenges for gathering and preserving that
content. The new tool automates the process of harvesting online
content and storing it. Stephen Green, Web archiving program manager at
the British Library, said the tool would initially be focused on sites
deemed important to British culture, such as those of political parties
and about the London bombings of July 7. By the end of the year, the
Web curator tool will be offered as an open source application to other
organizations.
BBC, 26 September 2006
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5382144.stm

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