Jun 15, 2001

Emergent Development and the Virtual University The main point of this paper is a bit elusive, but quite important. As the abstract says, "an organisation that must cope with continual change, such as a virtual university, requires a development methodology based on completely different assumptions. One such methodology, emergent development, is described." The "assumptions" here are centered around the "creation" model of development - you build it (or buy it, or contract it), and it's 'done'. On the emergent development model, it's never done - whatever you are working with, be it a course or learning management system, exists in a constant state of evaluation and redevelopment. By David Jones, December 1, 2000. Submitted on Jun 15, 2001 [Refer]

WAP LRM From WAP.net (Wireless Access Protocol), the developer's guide to WAP. Comprehensive. Submitted on Jun 15, 2001 [Refer]

The Role of the Instructor in Web-based Instruction: Are We Practicing What We Preach The answer to the question posed in the title is: yes, mostly. The paper, based on student and instructor surveys, also shows - interestingly - that instructors are using best practices no matter what their level of expertise. It also suggests that there is a connection between the use of these best practices and student satisfaction. By Laura MaMonica, May, 2001 (Posted to the web June, 2001). Submitted on Jun 15, 2001 [Refer]

News Sites Get Copyright Fever Online newspapers have started using instant copyright clearance services - push a button, pay your fee, and you have the right to reprint the article. But the new services are demanding payment for a much wider range of reproduction than was ever demanded for print publications. No doubt many educational content providers will want to look at these services - this article provides dozens of links. But there is a warning, too: "Look for more publications to adopt online permissions systems in the coming year. And look for those systems to be widely ignored in an ever-widening cultural rift." By J.D. Lasica, Online Journalism Review, June 14, 2001. Submitted on Jun 15, 2001 [Refer]

Keypal Dos and Don'ts Interesting on two levels. The 'sensei paper' by Mark Y. Cowan is a pretty good guide to creating online pen-pals (or keypals) to promote intercultural communication. The paper is a lead-in to an online Benkyoukai (Study Forum) using a service called 'Tapped In'- http://www.tappedin.org/ - an online conference center. The session is June 21, 2001 at 4:00 p.m. PDT. Submitted on Jun 15, 2001 [Refer]

Online Educational Delivery Applications: A Web Tool for Comparative Analysis This site is designed to help educators evaluate and select online delivery software. By, Bruce Landon, Douglas College, Randy Bruce, Kwantlen University College and Amanda Harby, Centre for Curriculum, Transfer and Technology. Submitted on Jun 15, 2001 [Refer]

Useful Tool or Sinister Plot? This article suggests that smart tags will not have a major impact on the internet because nobody will use them. I have my doubts. By Hiawatha Bray, The Boston Globe, June 14, 2001. Submitted on Jun 14, 2001 [Refer]

Charter Schools Prompting Improvement in School Districts According to two U.S. Department of Education Reports Press release from the U.S. Department of Education suggesting, as the headline implies, that some studies suggest that charter schools are promiting improvements in schools. Is it just my bad memory, or did I not just a few days ago list a study stating exactly the opposite. Oh yes, there it is, from May 29 (try a search on 'charter' to find it). Funny coincidence. June 14, 2001. Submitted on Jun 14, 2001 [Refer]

Junk Science Canada's National Post newspaper starts a series it calls "Junk Science." Today's start is essentially a defense of industry funded science and an attack on those who oppose industry funded science as promoters of "junk science". My longish reply was 'eaten' by the O'Reilly WebBoard software (which is very slow) - my best guess is that my 1-hour old cookie expired and it required that I log on again, thereby toasting my submission in the process. Anyhow, prepare to be steamed, either by poor reasoning or poor software. Submitted on Jun 14, 2001 [Refer]

The State of E-Learning in the States Report on developments in E-Learning in the United States. Provides an assessment of the size of the e-learning market ($7.1 billion in 2000), efforts to build infrastructure and offer incentives, the use of competency based credentials, best practice initiatives, standards initiatives, governance and coordination. Thorough assessment, many examples. Ugly graphics. 750 Kb PDF file, very slow download. By Chris Thompson, National Governors Association, 2001. Submitted on Jun 14, 2001 [Refer]

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