The 9th Annual EDUCAUSE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference will be held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel from January 12 -14, 2011. This year's conference is titled "Setting a New Course for the Future" and will focus on meeting the changing needs of learners, faculty, researchers, and administrators through innovation - while continuing to support the critical IT infrastructure. The programming on Thursday is particularly geared towards faculty and educational technologists, and includes presentations and hands-on opportunities that focus on classroom activities. This year EDUCAUSE is offering special one-day registration options. Early registration is open until December 15 and can be found at http://net.educause.edu/Registration/1025803.

Bb course shells for both WT and SP 2011 were created on Dec. 1, and will continue to be updated daily. Bb shells were created for all courses (designated as lecture, lab, or discussion) listed in the UMBC Schedule of Classes (SOC), provided that there was an instructor of record listed. The addition of new course sections and instructors will result in new Bb shells being automatically generated each morning. Student enrollment in Bb will continue to mirror the official registration in SA, and will update multiple times daily.

If you are an instructor, and your name is not associated with the course you are teaching in the SOC, please see your departmental scheduling coordinator to get that issue resolved.

Additionally in situations where one instructor is teaching multiple sections of the same course, by default all sections will be combined into one Bb course shell. If you want to have separate shells for different sections, or if you need a shell for for a research or independent study course, please submit a new course request.

As a reminder, all Bb course shells are initially unavailable to students until the instructor makes it available.

The Tech Council of Maryland is the state’s largest technology trade association and has more than 500 members. It is sponsoring a series of meetings on cyber security:

“Understanding that the conversation about cyber security needs to continue among all stakeholders, the Tech Council of Maryland is moving its CyberMaryland Forum throughout the state. The Forum is open to anyone with an interest in the cyber security industry.”

The next CyberMaryland Form meeting will be held this coming Wednesday morning at UMBC:

“The next meeting of the CyberMaryland Forum will be held on Wednesday December 8, 2010 from 8:30 to 11:30 am at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Our content will cover the latest developments in the state’s initiative to be the “Epicenter for Information Security and Innovation”, the development of the UMBC/Northrop Grumman Cyber Incubator program to help grow fledgling cyber security companies and other hot topics in the cyber security industry. To learn more about the CyberMaryland Forum, contact Mark Glazer at 240-243-4045 or mglazer@techcouncilmd.com.

The Tech council encourages UMBC faculty, staff and students to participate and is waiving the registration fee for the UMBC community. The meeting will be held in the main conference room at UMBC’s South Campus Technology Center at 1450 South Rolling Road.

Can art go too far? Obviously the definition of art can be a little strained.

Finger-painting is to art as Curling is to the Olympics. Some might remember Muslims declaring a fatwa against a Dutch cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Mohammed, and the controversy surrounding the creators of South Park who did the same.

The newest controversy  in the art world  is now at the venerable Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

The eye  of the artistic storm is a video on display at an exhibition about the suffering caused by AIDS.

The video, made by the late David Wojnarowicz, featured a clip of a crucifix covered with ants. The video has since been pulled by the Smithsonian.

Many prominent Republicans including Minority Wip Eric Cantor and Minority leader John Boehner have condemned the artwork as offensive to Christians and an attack on Christmas. Many on the right are now suggesting defunding the Smithsonian.

It is obvious to see the video “Fire In My Belly”, which harms no one, can be unsettling. It is definitely very creepy, so we won’t post it here but if you want to see it to make up your own mind click here.

The image of a crucifix swarmed with ants makes up about 25 seconds of a four minute video. To be honest whether or not this video is legitimately offensive to Christians is seriously up for debate.

Ultimately the debate will come down to federal funding for the Smithsonian. While Mr. Wojnarowicz was certainly within his rights to create the film, the question is whether or not a federally funded entity can display something that may or may not be offensive.

Is this big government censoring free speech? Or do federally funded agencies have an obligation to uphold “common decency”?

Can art go too far? Obviously the definition of art can be a little strained.

Finger-painting is to art as Curling is to the Olympics. Some might remember Muslims declaring a fatwa against a Dutch cartoonist who depicted the Prophet Mohammed, and the controversy surrounding the creators of South Park who did the same.

The newest controversy  in the art world  is now at the venerable Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC.

The eye  of the artistic storm is a video on display at an exhibition about the suffering caused by AIDS.

The video, made by the late David Wojnarowicz, featured a clip of a crucifix covered with ants. The video has since been pulled by the Smithsonian.

Many prominent Republicans including Minority Wip Eric Cantor and Minority leader John Boehner have condemned the artwork as offensive to Christians and an attack on Christmas. Many on the right are now suggesting defunding the Smithsonian.

It is obvious to see the video “Fire In My Belly”, which harms no one, can be unsettling. It is definitely very creepy, so we won’t post it here but if you want to see it to make up your own mind click here.

The image of a crucifix swarmed with ants makes up about 25 seconds of a four minute video. To be honest whether or not this video is legitimately offensive to Christians is seriously up for debate.

Ultimately the debate will come down to federal funding for the Smithsonian. While Mr. Wojnarowicz was certainly within his rights to create the film, the question is whether or not a federally funded entity can display something that may or may not be offensive.

Is this big government censoring free speech? Or do federally funded agencies have an obligation to uphold “common decency”?