What is CyberSemester? To answer this frequently asked question, a bit of history first. CyberSemester was born out of Chancellor Tien's desire to see that new information technologies take top billing across campus all semester long. The expression was actually coined by the cadre of administrators, staff, faculty, and students (the CCCPB Subcommittee) who help determine technology policy on campus. The "Cyber" theme was adopted by the Academic Senate's Committee on Educational Policy as the first official "Coordinated Curriculum" program, or "theme" semester, as an innovation in undergraduate education at UC Berkeley. So, the CyberSemster "idea" has a complicated and distinguished parentage. In my opinion, it will ultimately be defined in the coming months as we discuss and ponder the positive and negative potentials of new modes of communication such as the Internet and the World Wide Web. CyberSemester has two prime goals: 1) to galvanize the campus community by encouraging departments to offer short courses, freshman seminars, weekly discussion and seminar series to illustrate and discuss the use of computers within their discipline and society at large, and 2) to show the world, through a series of special events such as colloquia, conferences, workshops, and lecture series, how UC Berkeley is actively involved in the development, use, and analysis of the new information technologies. In sum, it is a wonderful opportunity to showcase the varied ways in which UCB is using information technologies to experiment with--and implement--novel approaches to teaching, research and outreach. Along with engineers and scientists, UC Berkeley's artists, musicians, social scientists, historians and others will examine the impact of new technology on society. Courses During CyberSemester, students can expect to hear all sides of the technology story. For instance, freshmen can select from more than a dozen new seminar courses on the theme of computers and society. There are also many general courses being offered, such as "From Wagner to Virtual Reality: A History of MultiMedia" and "An Introduction to Artificial Intelligence". Faculty have been encouraged to set aside time in their courses to discuss the implications of the new information technologies for their fields, and experiment with the new technologies in their own pedagogical approaches (e.g., CD-ROMS, assignments utilizing the World Wide Web, creation of course WWW pages, chat groups). The Academic Senate will sponsor a number of events, including Web Week, to help faculty begin using the World Wide Web in courses. New Models of Higher Education We expect that the heightened campus awareness resulting from the CyberSemester will create and foster new models for communicating within and across scholarly cohorts, between professors and students, and between the university and the public. The discussions that arise over the course of the semester will help the University to lay the groundwork for addressing and responding to the significant changes that will shape the way institutions of higher education fulfill their missions of teaching, research and service. In essence, new media forces all of us on campus to rethink how the University does business. For example, the recently held, and well attended, Berkeley Multimedia Research Center Retreat, co-sponsored with the Academic Senate and University Extension, provided Faculty, Deans, Vice Chancellors, graduate students and educational publishers an opportunity to discuss the potential of new pedagogical models, as well as some of inherent problems that the incorporation of new media presents to the traditional, yet frequently successful, modes of learning. The Public CyberSemester won't just be for the campus' benefit. Anyone with an interest in how technology is shaping the world around them will be able to expand their knowledge through several public lectures and colloquia. We especially encourage the public and the campus community to join us for "The CyberSemester Speaker Series". It is being held each Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in 2050 Valley Life Sciences Building, and includes speakers such as John Gage, one of the founders of Sun Microsystems. Topics range from an analysis of computing cultures and communities, to intellectual property rights, to the history of multimedia. Students will earn a unit of credit for the course. Members of the public, who are invited to attend the lectures for free, will get world-class insight into the new technologies. There will also be a speaker series on Art, Technology, and Culture and various conferences, including one on Intellectual Property. In addition to lectures, colloquia, and seminars, the public can access the Universityís vast collection of World Wide Web sites, which provide a virtual portal to our libraries, museums and other scholarly resources. As a part of the Interactive University Project, there are also many sites designed specifically for K-12 outreach . Returning to the question: "What is CyberSemester"? I think the campus community ultimately holds the answer. As the semester unfolds, we will see how students, faculty, and staff wrestle with the questions: How will these new technologies change the way we do business? How can they enhance our mission as educators? How can they improve our experiences as students? What "can't" these technologies do for us? When should we exercise caution in their adoption? Please join us for the adventure. You can find updated information about CyberSemester events and courses at this website. Dr. Diane Harley Cybersemester Coordinator and Academic Coordinator Center for Studies in Higher Education UC Berkeley. If you have any questions about CyberSemester please contact her via e-mail at harley@ishi.lib.berkeley.edu

Copyright 1997, The Regents of the University of California. Questions, comments and e-mail for this web-site.
Last Modified 1/21/97. DJM