21 March 2007 // Tufts OCW Quarterly Newsletter March 2007, Vol. 2 Issue 1
Tufts OpenCourseWare is part of a new educational movement where course content is accessible for free to everyone online. Tufts University's initial offerings demonstrate its strength in the life sciences, as well as a multidisciplinary approach, an international perspective, and an underlying ethic of service to our local, national and international communities. Tufts OCW is a publication of Tufts course materials. It does not require any registration, does not offer academic credit and, in most cases, does not provide access to Tufts faculty.
Winter Updates:
We are always looking for news Tufts courses to publish. If you are a Tufts faculty member, we would be happy to provide you with a faculty information packet. Please email
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to start the process.
Tufts OCW in the News:
Mary Lee, M.D. Associate Provost, was quoted in an article about OCW in the January 4, 2007, Christian Science Monitor by Gregory M. Lamb. You can see the article here: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0104/p13s02-legn.html
New Courses:
Three new courses were launched in the December 2006 release:
Human-Animal Relationships - Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
This course is the first part of the Ethics and Values Signature Program, which is one of the factors making Tufts unique in veterinary education. It is designed to enrich the student's understanding of various aspects of our individual and communal relationships with "animals" (or, to use scientific terminology, "other animals"), and to stimulate creative thinking about the expanding horizons of veterinary medicine, particularly those relevant to both traditional and newer forms of human-animal interaction.
Agricultural Science and Policy II - Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy
This course, semester two of a year-long course, highlights the relevance of natural resource conservation for ensuring healthy agricultural, food and environmental systems, as well as the various approaches for implementing it. The course focuses on plant-pest interaction, crop breeding, plant nutrients, and livestock production. Topics covered during the first semester are soils, water, air and energy.
Medicine III: Hospital Clerkship Program, Academic Year 2006/2007 - School of Dental Medicine
This practicum enables the student to assess the level of compromise in the history and physical examination of a medically-compromised patient and modify dental care appropriately and to be competent in the assessment and management of a medically- compromised dental patient in a clinical setting.
Website Redesign:
Recently redesigned, the Tufts OCW website now includes user profiles, highlights of several courses and an improved search tool.
Website Traffic:
Through the end of January, 2007, Tufts OCW has received 490,723 visits. Traffic to the OCW website increased substantially in the fourth quarter 2006, with usage increasing by 22% between Q3 2006 (97,210 visits) and Q4 2006 (118,605 visits). The average number of visits per day improved from 1,056 in Q3 to 1,289 in Q4. December 14, 2006 was the busiest day of the quarter with 1,618 visits. The most traffic comes from these countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, India, China and the Philippines.
Feedback has been collected from users to document the social and cultural impact for faculty members, students, and self-learners of using Tufts OCW materials. Faculty members indicate that Tufts OCW impacts their teaching practices by: providing additional teaching materials (with faculty members integrating Tufts OCW materials into their courses), increasing their knowledge-levels in certain areas, and impacting how course materials are developed by emphasizing instructional technology. Users have also noted that Tufts OCW affects their research endeavors by: providing broader current information, providing references to more related information, and improving awareness of research concepts. Students have noted that Tufts OCW helps to develop their understanding of particular content areas while providing easy access to quality information.
OCW International Consortium (OCWC) News:
The next OCWC Conference will be held in Santander, Spain, in May 2007.
The OCW Consortium Portal is available at http://ocwconsortium.org. You can see Tufts' representation as well as that of the numerous other member institutions, with profiles of each (if available). The site includes a basic cross-site search to find materials on any subject offered by member institution sites, and information for other institutions or organizations who may be interested in sharing their content or supporting the movement. The site also includes news from around the consortium. Tufts is contributing to the consortium in three areas: sustainability, reach and impact, and growing more OCWs.
Notice to all Tufts faculty:
OCW is continually looking for new courses to add to the site. If you would like to participate, please email
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or
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Support OCW:
If you would like to support Tufts in this exciting educational initiative, please visit https://www.alumniconnections.com/donate/tufts. When you reach Step 2 "About Your Gift," skip down to the "Other" field and enter "OpenCourseWare Fund" before entering the amount of your gift. Or you may call 800-737-7035 from anywhere in North America or 617-627-2643 from anywhere in the world to make a gift via credit card. You may mail a donation (check payable to "Trustees of Tufts College") to:
Tufts University P.O. Box 3306 Boston , MA 02241 -3306
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