FAST FIVE for the week of October 20, 2013

News:

LMS usage patterns:

The University of Calgary has published some interested usage statistics about their Desire-2-Learn implementation. The graphs illustrate visits by time of day (midnight utilization is nearly 25% of noon utilization), operating system used by the user (Mac has almost caught up to Windows), visits by day of the week (Sunday is only a little less busy than Monday), and browser type of visitor (Internet Explorer is less than Chrome, Safari, and Firefox). uCalgary D2L

BCIT is alert

The British Columbia Institute of Technology conducted its annual test of its BCIT Alert system recently. The system is used in emergency situations and snow closures to send a short message to mobile devices, email addresses, and voicemail. The annual test sends a message to all registered users. BCIT Alert is used to communicate to the BCIT community in addition to information posted on BCIT websites and other media. Emergency notification

Mobile apps for everything:

Acadia University has a mobile app designed specially their homecoming. The system was built using Yapp, and was designed specifically for this year's homecoming event at the University. Acadia homecoming

Capitalizing on Big Data:

Canada’s federal research granting agencies (SSHRC, NSERC. CIHR, and CFI), have issued a consultation document designed to address digital infrastructure challenges titled "Toward a Policy Framework for Advancing Digital Scholarship in Canada." The document proposes a collective realignment of funding policies to improve data management practices in agency-funded projects. They are asking for stakeholders’ feedback on the document with a deadline of December 16, 2013. Big data feedback

New grade scale:

The University of Windsor has implemented a new grade scale. They have moved to the 100 point scale and updated their student system as well as all related systems. New grades

Question:

Whether MOOCs are successful or not, do you feel they are shifting the conversations and the emphasis in higher ed IT away from administration & research to teaching & learning? Is this a change for the better?

Please forward any comments to mprroman@gmail.com and responses will be published next week.