CHANGELOG 8/8/2017

Posted on August 8, 2017 by Elmer Masters

Note: CHANGELOG is an occasional feature letting you know about changes to various CALI websites. It is mostly technical in nature but may include initial listing of new features.

Updates to www.cali.org

  • Drupal updated to 7.56
  • References module updated to 7.x-2.2
  • Services module updated to 7.x-3.20
  • Numerous changes to AutoPublish
    • added alert for anonymous users directing them to login or register to use assigned lesson or quiz
    • added CSV download of student results for each AutoPublish resource to allow teachers to have better access to student work
    • lessons and quizzes sent to AutoPublish are now marked as published by default in Drupal making them immediately available to students
    • updated AutoPublish FAQs to reflect change in publishing default
  • Changes to QuizWright

 

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CHANGELOG 7/19/2017

Posted on July 19, 2017 by Elmer Masters

Note: This is something new. CHANGELOG will be an occasional feature letting you know about changes to various CALI websites. It will be mostly technical in nature but will include initial listings of new features.

Updates to www.cali.org

In preparation for the release of QuizWright the following updates were made to the CALI website:

  • The salutation in the AutoPublish email was fixed to include the teacher’s first name.
  • The format of the URL listed in the AutoPublish email was changed to match the listing on the AutoPublish dashboard.
  • The AutoPublish dashboard was refreshed to list published AutoPublish resources on the first AutoPublish page.
  • LessonLink was updated to add AutoPublish resources to the topic pick list. This lets teachers add AutoPublish resources to LessonLink sets displayed on Courses pages.
  • The email sent when LessonLinks are created was updated to include AutoPublish resources that are part of the LessonLink set.

Updates to www.classcaster.net

The Classcaster network was updated to WordPress 4.8. All available plugin and theme updates were applied.

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2017 CALI Summer Intern – Law Student Opportunity

Posted on May 18, 2017 by John Mayer

a2j author

CALI Seeking Summer Intern(s)

tl;dr

  • Pay is $15/hour
  • 1L, 2L, 3L
  • Ends 9/1/17 or when your summer ends
  • Work from home or from the CALI Chicago offices in West Loop
  • 10-30 hours per week
  • Legal research, technology, access to justice,
  • No special tech experience required – we will train you

CALI is seeking a (just finished) 1L or 2L or heck, even a 3L who wants to do some awesome summer work on various CALI projects.  We have work lined up that is related to our A2J Author project that involves researching the laws behind court forms and testing software for legal process automation.  We will train you in the use of A2J Author.  

CALI is a fun and challenging group to work with.  We work at the cutting edge of using technology in legal education and access to justice at scale.  You will be exposed to all kinds of new ideas and you will be an important member of the team.

Send cover letter and resume/CV to Jessica Frank (jessica@cali.org) to apply.  We will be hiring at least one intern right away, so the sooner you apply the better.  

 

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5 Reasons Why You Should Attend CALIcon17

Posted on May 17, 2017 by scottlee

CALIcon17 June 15-16 Phoenix AZ

We hope you’ve received an invite to attend CALIcon17, the 27th Annual CALI Conference for Law School Computing and you might be wondering, “is this worth my time?” Yes! Here’s why…

  1. Education & Learning: The education program will be a robust lineup of 30+ session.  You will leave with an understanding of how forward-thinking professionals are implementing best practices to transform and improve the legal education community.

  2. Value-added:  Budgets are tight. Meals, snacks and Reception are included with your registration fee and we are keeping the same low fee of $295 to make it affordable. Click here to see what else is included.

  3. Keynote – Michael Caulfield: Collaboration and Control: Building the New Collaborative Web –  “In the grand battle between collaborative and expressive web technologies in education, expressive technologies won. We engage our students in forums, talk to them in Slack, have them write personal blogs. Wiki, once considered a contender in the blogs vs. wikis Battle Royale, has fallen by the wayside. This keynote will examine some of the reasons behind the decline, talk about the risks such a decline poses, and sketch out a possible future for the web which envisions a better balance of collaboration, expression, and personal control.”

  4. We are starting off the conference with a Drum Circle Experience which will inject energy into the community that is at the heart of CALI Conferences.

    Facilitator: John Fitzgerald – “This playful and creative approach to experiencing the present moment is a wonderful way to address the stresses of life, requires no musical experience, and is accessible to absolutely everyone. Drum circles and other facilitated rhythm experiences create connections both to our own unique value and with those around us, creating a sense of bonding and community.”

  5. Networking:  With 300+ legal educators, law librarians, and tech professionals, you can build and strengthen connections with others in the community, swap stories, and find colleagues with whom you can share experiences.

 

Thank you to our SPONSORS!
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CALI Civil Procedure Fellowship Opportunity

Posted on May 9, 2017 by scottlee

I am attaching announcement for the CALI Civil Procedure Fellowship beginning in June 2017.  Previously, we have conducted Fellowship projects in a number of subjects, including

– Criminal Law,
– Property,
– Torts,
– Business Organizations,
– Remedies,
– Copyright Law,
– Trademarks,
– Administrative Law,
– Family Law and
– Criminal Procedure.

Please share these announcements with faculty who may be interested in participating.

The CALI Fellowship is a unique program that will allow faculty to examine familiar concepts in a new light for teaching in a web-based and interactive environment.

Previous Fellowships have resulted in the addition of over 400 new lessons over the past few years due to the excellent work of the CALI Fellows. With the addition of a Civil Procedure Fellowship, CALI strives to make more educational materials available to students and faculty.

Faculty do NOT need computer knowledge or programming experience. Basic familiarity with word processing, email and web browsing is assumed. The Fellows will use CALI Author to create the Civil Procedure materials. Visit http://go.cali.org/e/146571/content-cali-fellowships/jk1r8/36513409 for more details.

CALI staff will work closely with the Fellows to insure a positive and productive experience. If you have any questions, contact Deb Quentel, CALI’s Director of Curriculum Development / Associate Counsel at dquentel@cali.org or by telephone, 312-906-5353.

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Vote for the sessions you’d like to see at CALIcon17

Posted on April 11, 2017 by Elmer Masters

First, thanks to everyone from the legal education community who submitted sessions for CALIcon17, the 27th Annual CALI Conference for Law School Computing. After a flurry of submissions late last week we have 58 proposed sessions featuring 79 speakers. It’s going to be a great conference. We’re going to be reviewing the proposals over the next few weeks and speakers will be notified by May 3rd if their session(s) are accepted.

As part of the review process we’re asking the community to vote on the sessions they would like to see on the agenda at CALIcon17. Your votes let us know which sessions you would like to see on the conference agenda. Voting is live now and will remain open until
Friday April 21, 2017. The number of votes for a session will be taken into consideration as part of the session acceptance process and to help with scheduling.

To vote you just need to visit the complete session list at http://cca.li/161, click on the session you want to vote for, and give it a thumbs up. You can vote for as many sessions as you’d like.  You do not need to be registered for the conference to vote. All sessions
will be recorded and available online after the conference, so feel free to vote even if you’re not planning on attending in person.

Speakers are free to campaign for votes including using social media to let folks know about the conference. We do ask that you use the hashtag #CALIcon17 in any posts about the conference.

CALIcon17 is Thursday and Friday, June 15 & 16, 2017 at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law Arizona State University, Phoenix AZ.

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A2J Author: Experiential Learning, Access to Justice & Technology Enabled Law Practice

Posted on March 14, 2017 by John Mayer

I gave a short (35 minutes) presentation as part of the AALS Clinical Law Section – Technology Committee Webinar Series today.  The video is embedded above.

The slides are here…  The first slide is a link back to the video.

 

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The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction Announces Two New Board Members

Posted on January 17, 2017 by scottlee

(Chicago, IL – January 5, 2017) At its Annual Members Meeting on January 5, 2017, Jill Smith, Instructional Technology Librarian at Georgetown Law and Michael Robak, Associate Law Library Director and Chief Technology Officer at The University of Missouri-Kansas City were appointed to the Center for Computer- Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) Board of Directors to fill the vacancies by outgoing Board Members Professor William Henderson from Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law and Professor Renee Knake from the University of Houston Law Center, whose term ended on January 1, 2017. All CALI Board members are unpaid volunteers and we greatly appreciate the efforts by Professor Henderson and Professor Knake in their support of CALI.

“I am delighted to welcome Jill and Michael to CALI’s Board of Directors,” said John Mayer, Executive Director, The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction. “They bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to help shape our strategic plans to advance global legal education through technology.”

“Having Jill and Michael agree to join the board of directors of CALI is a tremendous honor. I look forward to their participation at Board meetings and I am confident that their insights will help CALI achieve its mission,” stated Professor Jennifer Martin, President, Board of Directors, The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction.

Jill Smith is the Instructional Technology Librarian. Prior to joining Georgetown, Jill was Research and Instructional Technology Librarian at The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, where she also taught Introduction to Legal Research and Advanced Legal Research. Prior to beginning her library career, Jill spent two years as a legal index editor at BNA and 12 years working in executive relationship management with the NASDAQ Stock Market and in corporate communications for NASDAQ-listed companies.

Jill is a frequent speaker on a variety of topics including: using Camtasia to create independent learning modules and flipped classroom materials, the application of transliteracy to modern legal curricula, and technological enhancements to collaborative projects.

Jill is a graduate of the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maryland’s iSchool. She is a current member of the Reviews Committee for Library Quarterly. In the 2011-12 editorial year, she was editor of the Law Librarians’ Society of Washington, D.C. publication Law Library Lights, which won AALL’s “Best Newsletter” award in 2013 for issue 55.3. She is a member of the New Hampshire State Bar.

Michael Robak received his J.D. from Robert H. McKinney School of Law and a Masters in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois. Michael began his career as a deputy prosecutor in Indianapolis and subsequently held a number of administrative positions including Marion County Court Administrator.

After that he worked as a private practitioner in large and small firm settings as well as his own solo practice. In 2000 he completed his MSLIS at Illinois and became Director of Information Services for InteCap, a litigation, economic and business consulting firm with a focus on IP litigation and strategies. Charles River Associates subsequently acquired InteCap and Michael became Director of Legal Research for CRA. In 2008 he began his academic career and joined the University Of Illinois College Of Law as an assistant Professor of Library Administration and Reference Librarian. In 2011 he joined the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law as Associate Law Library Director and Chief Technology Officer.

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As your students prepare for exams, we’d like to remind you about CALI Lessons.

Posted on November 15, 2016 by scottlee

cali_lesson_freestudymaterials_2_

Help your law students succeed with CALI Lessons!

Time tested with proven results.  

Did you know that your school is a CALI member?  Meaning, with your CALI membership, you have full access to CALI Lessons which are interactive tutorials written by law professors and librarians. They are great for mastering course materials during the semester and for studying for exams.  The material is rigorous, but short, taking 20-40 minutes to complete each lesson.

  • Over 1,000 CALI lessons and more added every year
  • Coverage includes 40 different legal subject areas
  • Used over half a million times each year by tens of thousands of law students

calilessonimages

Screen shots of CALI Lessons

Best of all? It’s totally free for you to use!

When registering a new account at www.cali.org, you must use your school’s authorization code to create your account.  Click here to see your school’s contact.  You’ll only need to use the school’s authorization code once.  After that, you may use the email/password you used to sign up in order to login at www.cali.org.

Added Bonus!  

Try our CALI LessonLink! LessonLink is a service that law faculty can use to create a unique URL for a CALI Lesson that allows the instructor to track the students’ scores and usage down to the individual question. Faculty can edit CALI lessons to suit their specific needs.

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CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR CALI BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Posted on October 25, 2016 by John Mayer

CALI Logo with tagline

 

 

Deadline: Friday, November 11, 2016 (7pm CST). Email John Mayer (jmayer@cali.org) to submit nominations.

Click here for the current CALI Board of Directors.

The Center for Computer-Assisted Legal Instruction (CALI) is seeking nominations of qualified and enthusiastic individuals to fill vacant positions on its Board of Directors. If you know of someone who would like to contribute to the research and development, strategic planning and governance of CALI, then consider nominating them for the CALI Board of Directors.

Please clear it with the person first to make sure they WANT to be nominated. Self-nominations are acceptable.  It helps our process if the nominee provides some background on their interest in CALI’s mission and activities.

REQUIRED INFORMATION

  • Name of the nominee
  • Phone number of the nominee
  • Email address of the nominee
  • Institutional affiliation of the nominee
  • CV and/or link to home page/bio for the nominee.

Directors are required to attend TWO meetings a year (June during the CALI Conference and January during AALS).

Directors serve on committees at the behest of the President of the Board and work on other projects and issues relating to the governance, strategy-setting and promotion of CALI’s mission and activities.

Directors terms are for three years at which time their service is evaluated by the Nominating Committee along with other nominees. Service on the CALI Board is voluntary and gratis. Travel expenses for the Board meetings can be covered by CALI if institutional support is unavailable.

The list of all nominees will be submitted to the Nomination Committee who will determine a slate of candidates to be presented to the CALI Membership at the Annual Breakfast to be held on Thursday, January 5, 2017, 7:15-8:30 am in San Francisco, CA during AALS.

All nominees will be contacted soon after nominations are closed. Nominees who are chosen by the nominating committee and elected by the membership are required to attend the CALI Board meeting tentatively scheduled for Thursday, January 5, 2017 in San Francisco, CA right after the Membership Breakfast.

CALI is a dynamic and forward-thinking 501(c)(3) non-profit with big plans and big ideas. CALI is supported primarily by membership dues from over 200 US law schools. Qualified Directors should have knowledge and experience that they can contribute to the ongoing dissemination, development and strategic planning towards CALI’s mission.

Some of our projects include:

* CALI LESSONS: CALI publishes over 1,000 web-based tutorials that are used by law students and law faculty at over 200 US law schools.  We are constantly adding new lessons and updating the existing collection.  More information is at www.cali.org/lessons.

* ELECTRONIC CASEBOOKS/EBOOKS: CALI publishes e-casebooks and other legal texts in multiple ebook formats under the eLangdell imprint.  These are distributed under Creative Commons licenses to allow for maximum flexibility for faculty and students to use in their educational endeavors.  More information is at elangdell.cali.org.

* ACCESS TO JUSTICE/EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: CALI created the A2J Author software platform that is used by legal aid attorneys and law schools to teach their students law process automation.  More information about using A2J Author in law schools is at a2jclinic.classcaster.net.

A reasonably complete list of CALI projects can be found here.

If you have any questions or wish to submit a nominations, contact John Mayer, Executive Director at 312-906-5307 or jmayer@cali.org.

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