When we launched Academic Commons in August 2005, we did so believing an audience of technologists, librarians, faculty, and other stakeholders in the academic enterprise would find this a useful forum for sharing ideas and experiences--a place to consider the changes in liberal education wrought by new technologies and networked information.

We were right.

In three months' time, we have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who have signed up for Academic Commons and with the notice we have attracted in the blog-o-sphere and beyond.

With this edition, we pursue a range of often-interconnected topics (for a full Table of Contents, go to http://www.academiccommons.org/december2005):

• Tatjana Chorney reminds us that our 21st-century reading practices can be productively understood by looking back at reading practices that emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries. Turns out, everything is new again.
  
• Peter Schilling extends our thinking about how Net Generation students may be wired very differently from their experiences with new technology, reminding us that kids today aren't like we were, and that our teaching methods may need to adapt to those differences.
  
• Anne Balsamo asks important questions about how our relationships to technology and culture are always embedded in ethical contexts. Her essay includes biting criticism of the present disciplinary structures and division of labor in higher education--and a thoughtful blueprint for new ways of thinking about collaboration. 
• Gail Matthews-DeNatale and Deborah Cotler also focus on collaboration in their essay about faculty authorship of online courses, describing in fascinating detail the trials, tribulations, and ultimately the successes of translating classroom teaching to the computer screen. They provide useful guidance for schools thinking about getting into that business, helpfully defining some of the new roles and new types of writing that this method of instruction requires.
  
• Ray English updates us on the Open Access movement and what we can do to help it succeed. 
• Linda Patrik muses on the ways in which blogs help students of philosophy learn to write philosophically.

This edition includes two more vignettes, teaching reports from the field. David Reichard weighs in on the advantages of student blogging, while S. Raj Chaudhury discusses his use of Personal Response Systems (aka clickers) in introductory science courses. Jolee West also provides a nice summary of the literature on clickers in the reviews section. Bryan Alexander reviews Writely, a nifty web-based collaborative editing software, while Virginia Kuhn reviews TK3, a powerful new multimedia authoring tool. We also have eleven mini-reviews of software tools, and ten showcases that highlight innovative uses of technology in a broad range of contexts.

To our delight, much of this new material came from people submitting their work in response to our initial call for submissions. Please help us build this body of shared knowledge and experience by contributing to Academic Commons. We're happy to respond to queries about new material and will consider featuring (as showcases, posters, or links) great work already web published. Please distribute this invitation to participate on your campus and within your professional networks--and consider using our comment feature to spark conversation. While we are pleased with our beginning, we have much work to do in building this Commons. We need your help.

John Ottenhoff, Alma College
Michael Roy, Wesleyan University

Founding Editors

Contribute!
We are always looking for contributions from faculty, librarians, technologists, and other stakeholders in the academic enterprise. We publish original content for which we pay a small honorarium. We also publish selected links to interesting and useful materials published elsewhere, as well as a growing collection of links to professional associations, resources, announcements and conferences organized into a Professional Development Center. Please consider playing a part in the Academic Commons!

Stay Informed!
Receive the Academic Commons's quarterly newsletter. If you are already a member of www.academiccommons.org, log onto the website and click on "My Account." Choose the Edit tab, then click on the Professional Information link. Check the box at the bottom of the page. If you are not already registered, join us at http://academiccommons.org/user/register. An RSS feed is available at http://academiccommons.org/rss.xml. Questions and comments can be sent to editor@academiccommons.org.
 
Academic Commons Editorial Board:

Founding Editors:
  Michael Roy, Wesleyan University, and John Ottenhoff, Alma College

Managing Editor: Jennifer Curran, Wesleyan University

Section Editors:

•   Essays: David Bogen, Emerson College
•   Reviews: Bryan Alexander, NITLE: The National Institute for Technology and Liberal Education
•   Interviews: Michael Roy, Wesleyan University
•   Showcase: Rachel Smith, NMC: The New Media Consortium
•   Announcements: Jennifer Curran, Wesleyan University
•   Center for Teaching and Learning:  John Ottenhoff, Alma College
•   Developer's Kit: Peter Schilling, Amherst College
•   Library: M. Claire Stewart, Northwestern University