This month's edition of ultiBASE presents a range of interesting new material as well as our recent 'call for papers' (see below for details) regarding the summer edition. We are delighted with the response so far, and will be working hard to bring you a substantial thematic edition by early December.

The first two articles were added on November 20.

Erik Eklund and Kaye Cleary from the University of Newcastle have submitted a paper titled 'Enhancing History Essay Writing Skills: Learning and teaching with new technologies at the University of Newcastle'. This paper discusses a project in which a computer-based environment was used to reinforce the skill of essay writing.

Mary Oliver and Som Naidu from the University of Southern Queensland have submitted a paper titled 'Computer Supported Collaborative Reflection in and on Action in Nursing Education'. This paper reports on a project in which nursing students shared reflective practices with other students in a cohort using computer mediated communications technology.

This month we are pleased to reprint and article by Thomas A. Angelo, Director, Higher Education Program, University of Miami, titled The Campus as Learning Community: Seven Promising Shifts and Seven Powerful Levers. Professor Angelo discusses the paradigm shifts required 'to improve both instructional productivity and learning quality to create productive learning communities'. We republish this article with the permission of the American Association for Higher Learning [AAHE Bulletin vol. 49, no. 9, pp 3-6]

Dr Darryl Dymock and Mr. Peter Hobson from the Department of Administration, Department of Education and Training, University of New England have submitted a STAR Report. This report, 'National Teaching Development Project 1996: Collaborative Learning Groups in Distance Education' discusses a UNE project to use audioconferencing to establish Collaborative Learning Groups for distance education students enrolled in education units.

Glenda Crosling from Language and Learning Services, Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University has submitted a STAR Report titled 'Legal Language for Commercial Law Adjunct Program (Language and Academic Skills)'. This report discusses a program for students in which the students' are positioned to identify the discipline's embedded assumptions and values which underpin their analysis of the subject'.

During 1997, the Acting Dean of the Faculty of Education, Languages and Community Services, Professor John Power conducted a series of Dean's Papers in which senior faculty staff were invited to present material which identified the changing roles of the faculty. This was done in order to provide a profile for the incoming Dean, Professor Mary Kalantzis. We have chosen to link the paper by Helen Smith, Deputy Dean of the Faculty because of the many issues it raises for the practice of teaching and learning in the VET sector. The complete set of papers can be accessed from here.

The Resources section has been updated:

• The Australian academic and professional groups and associations page features new links for various associations. We are grateful to the representatives of various Australian academic and professional groups who have contacted us with details of their Web sites.
• A list of CAUT Grant recipients for 1997 has been added to the Online University Teaching and Learning page. The list includes National Teaching Development Projects from the Humanities, Social Sciences, Business and Education.

Call for Papers

For our summer edition we are producing a thematic collection devoted to research, readings, reflections and so on, regarding issues relating to† first year tertiary students. We wish to take a broad approach to the topic so as to encourage contributions which canvass a wide range of issues. Submissions are invited from anyone who has an interest in this topic. We would like to hear from transition teachers in secondary settings, academics teaching or researching in the area, as well as from students who may wish to pass on some personal anecdotal material. Unfortunately we are unable to provide peer reviewing for this edition, however all contributions will be moderated and feedback, where considered necessary will occur. To those who have already contacted us, thank you; for new contributors, we hope you can contact us in the near future.
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In preparing this edition I would like to particularly thank our research officer and HTML mark-up person, Marita Mueller. Without her efforts, the transition of personnel and process would not have gone as smoothly as it has.

Regards from Mark Laidler

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