Managing the Digital Enterprise was created in 1998, and is provided as a free, online educational resource to colleges and universities, corporations and independent users. The site contains more than 100 pages and 1,000 links to external resources. It is used by 220 educational institutions worldwide, and by a number of major corporations in traditional and technology-related industries.

The Open Courseware Lab, also launched in 1998 by Rappa, is run by a team of undergraduate and graduate students in the computer science, computer networking and management fields. The lab is focused on supporting open knowledge sharing on the Internet, including the provision of research and course materials that are made freely available on the World Wide Web for non-commercial use.

The lab provides development and hosting support for a number open courseware and research projects across campus. The latest project is “OpenSeminar”, an open courseware platform that enables professors from different universities to work collaboratively to create an online seminar and then customize it to their own specific needs.

Rappa calls OpenSeminar a team effort. “OpenSeminar is a beautiful illustration of what is uniquely possible when faculty and students work together in a research environment. It has been a gratifying experience,” he says. “The students who work with me are among the most talented I have known in twenty years of teaching. They rank among the very best anywhere.” This close interaction is a signature feature of the Open Courseware Lab and, in Rappa’s view, the key to its success.

The IBM Faculty Awards are competitive, cash-only awards that are intended to foster collaboration between researchers at leading universities worldwide and those in IBM research, development and services organizations and to promote courseware and curriculum development to stimulate growth in disciplines and geographies that are strategic to IBM. Faculty Awards are granted annually on a global basis. Candidates must have an outstanding reputation for contributions in their field.

MERLOT, the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching, is a consortium of higher education institutions, including the UNC system, that promotes online learning materials. Award winners are selected from among peer-reviewed sites in 12 disciplines. The award citation called Rappa’s Digital Enterprise site “amazing in terms its professionalism and its content …The materials are robust and comprehensive and the site also provides a good structure for the course as well as excellent supporting learning materials."