The Structure of Scholarship in Cyberspace
Michael J. O'Donnell
The University of Chicago
Visiting the University of Iowa

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Last modified: Wed Sep 18 12:27:33 1996

Presented at Professors and Publishing in the Electronic Academy, a conference sponsored by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Library, 17-19 September 1996.

Attitude toward Cyberspace

What question should we ask in order to promote scholarship?

Not, "Is there a cyberspace?"
Not, "Do we like cyberspace?"
Rather, "How shall we make the best of cyberspace?"

Lasting Structure vs. Ephemeral Appearance

What qualities of communication methods need our closest attention?

Not the beauty of the appearance.
Not the similarity to older methods.
Rather, the operations that are feasible on our messages.
The most important operations on messages will be invented after the messages are received.
Give maximum power to the reader.

Scholarly Publishing in Cyberspace

What should we publish?
- Content: conventional peer review to economise readers' attention
- Format: choose most useful and flexible level of abstraction (DVI, PostScript)
Example: The Chicago Journal of Theoretical Computer Science

Teaching in Cyberspace

What can cyberspace contribute to the structure of learning?

Not just a more compact way of storing textbooks.
More communication among students and instructors.
More flexible interaction in our communication.
More collaboration among instructors.
Examples from U. Chicago: