Stealing Student Content

The University of Iowa's famous Writing Program is under fire from its graduate students -- and the creative world at large -- for its new "Open Access" philosophy of publishing creative works of its students on the internet to be found and indexed by Google and other search engines.

That attack on the creative spark is not going over well in the creative community because no publisher would want to buy a book if it was already "published" for free on the internet.

This leads to a larger question: Who owns the Copyright? The student? Or the university?

Some universities outright claim at least co-ownership -- if not full ownership -- of anything created under their program mandate.

Few students understand that, by participating in a graduate program, they are forgiving any claims to Copyright ownership in order to be accepted into -- and sustained by -- their university program of study.

That student acquiescence of Copyright is automatic and invisible -- even if the student pays his or her own way in the program.

Many university film programs have always claimed Copyright from their students because, they argue, without their support and inspiration, the film would never have been produced and that makes the university at least a co-author in the creation of the work.

Every graduate student must begin to ask about Copyright ownership of their work before they accept any offer for advanced study.

Smart universities will use the Copyright card as an enticement -- "You create it, you own it!" That philosophy will entice excellent graduate students into their programs.

When a university guarantees its students full ownership of their creations, everyone wins because the original inspiration is legally protected from institutional thievery and future legal dismay.

Removing Campus Computer Labs

We're fortunate here at Boles University that our students and faculty are not required to attend campus sessions in order to enjoy teaching and learning.

The "Big Box" schools and universities are seeing exponential growth in the want for computer labs on campus even though 80% of students own their own laptop.

The reason students prefer labs is one of convenience over immediacy. The computer lab has become the new bar scene and the new pick-up lounge. Students can also use lab printers and get access to expensive computer software they cannot afford alone.

You can also create and foster online communities and we believe the future will hold not only marriages to robots, but the mandate to open virtual computer labs where we all will live together in cybernetically getting the job done.

Now Hosted by Media Temple

UPDATE: April 23, 2008. You should know this Urban Semiotic blog -- and all of David W. Boles' other domains and blogs are now hosted by Pair Networks! We will give you more information soon on what happened and why. We are leaving this article online to protect the chain of understanding and we will update this space as necessary.

Boles University have moved back to being hosted by Media Temple from Mosso.

We are pleased to make this webhosting change because it means a return to speed and reliability for all our students and faculty.

You may read more about the reasons behind this change on Urban Semiotic.

Is Virtual Learning as Effective as In Person Teaching?

We are often asked if learning online in a virtual environment is just as good as taking a class in person.

We believe "Going Virtual" is the way of future teaching because you don't need buildings. You don't need travel time. You don't need to worry about parking or finding a chair or a particular room on a certain day.

Your computer is your classroom and you can "attend class" from the park, your bedroom or a fast food joint.

The key to finding success online is the quality of your professor. It can be easy to ignore student needs and to recreate an in-person class with a virtual one. Students are gifted and important.

Teaching virtually takes special needs and conditions to create a warm and inviting intellectual learning experience that will stay with your forever. We provide that sort of setting right here at Boles University.

Boles University Teaching and Learning

We are pleased to announce Boles University is open for business! Help us break ground and build an institution of greater learning!

We are seeking faculty members and students who wish to teach and take classes with us via our online learning portal. Please go look around the revamped Boles University website to see what's new and let us know what interests you as a teacher or a taker of courses.

Make sure you read all the links that deal with Faculty, Courses, Registration, University and Study to get a handle on what we're trying to do.

All of our courses and teaching styles are unconventional, innovative, unique and nothing like you've ever experienced before!

FACULTY
If you are interested in becoming a member of our Faculty -- you don't need a degree to teach with us, you simply need passion and incredible knowledge of your course topic(s) -- please use this email address to get in touch:

Tell us who you are and what sort of course(s) you would like to teach. Include a resume or C.V. if you like so we can get to know you better.

If we think your philosophy of teaching matches our intention, we will send you an invitation to create a Boles University Account.

Then, using that Boles University Account -- all Faculty and Students are required to have a Boles University Account in order to guarantee a proper communication pipeline -- you will login to our private Faculty Teaching Portal where you can ask questions and get details on how to set up your course(s) and to learn how you will be paid for teaching.

We think this is an exciting time to build an online university while blazing bright paths to victories of the mind. We will help you learn how to best teach online and how to create the best experience for your students.

STUDENTS
We are here to serve you! Please read the links we mentioned above to see if our place fits your style of learning. Our list of online course offerings grows every day, so check back often for updates while we build the courses. If there's a topic or a subject matter that interests you, please drop us a line to let us know your wants and desires for learning. We want to hear from you!

We are everything with you and nothing without you; so please join us in making something out of the ether of nothing.