Wise institutions, it is supposed, plan ahead and delegate adequate space to store and pore over such vast collections of documents otherwise faculty members are scrambling to create and manage documents as deadlines approach and tempers flare. It s the first option, and occasionally the only option, that occurs to many of us. However, we should not let the term document constrain our thinking to paper-based references. Digital documentation, in all its forms, should be a viable alternative for all South Carolina institutions, regardless of how strapped they are for time, for money, or for space. In a word, yes.
Digital documentation is the term for storing information electronically.
Just as dancing with a partner involves more than not stepping on someone s toes, using the computer s memory as filing cabinets begins the digital documentation process, but it involves more than this. One key advantage of storing the information digitally is that it can be easily transformed into a variety of formats. For example, once syllabi are stored on a terminal, it s not too difficult to move them into an HTML format, which allows them to be posted to a web page. Students can be required to visit the web site for the syllabus, for assignments, for readings, and for links to other resources. Initially, the notion of creating web-based resources may be intimidating for some.