Teaching E-Competences: A University Perspective

Information Studies programs in universities are changing. Many programs are expanding their offerings in the areas of information technology and policy. For instance, the College of Information Studies (CLIS) at the University of Maryland has recently joined with Computer Science and The College of Education to start a program in Human Computer Interaction. Within CLIS, a course about Digital Libraries taught by the speaker covers topics relevant to electronic publishing and e-commerce. This includes examination of standards such as XML and RDF, laboratory work on the management of Web servers, and network management. Other courses in the College focus on policy issues such as those surrounding the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the effect of information technology on privacy. Finally, typical research topics may range from the use of information technology for managing oral histories, to information retrieval across languages, to the delivery of multimedia for teachers to use in public school classrooms.