Jun 18, 2001

Caliber Files for Bankruptcy Caliber Learning Network, a Baltimore e-learning infrastructure company, today announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection (this is the beginning of a trend - see the related item in today's newsletter). By Kyle Balluck, Washtech, June 15, 2001. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

Pirate Software 'Rife' in Victoria Interesting - Victorian (Australia) schools are facing bills running into thousands of dollars to legalise unlicensed computer software they have been using. One wonders whether school systems around the world could actually afford to pay full royalties for the software they use, much less copyright fees for content. By Garry Barker, The Age, June 18, 2001. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

A Study of CharterSchool Accountability Result of a nationwide study of charter school accountability. The report contains recommendations about how parties involved in public education can improve charter school accountability. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

Berkeley and Novartis The Chronicle of Higher Education launches a discussion on this arrangement with a corporate sponsor.The primer article - "A Vilified Corporate Partnership Produces Little Change (Except Better Facilities)", by Goldie Blumenstyk, argues that the arrangement is essentially harmless. Expect academics to differ. June 18, 2001. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

Schools' Difficult Search For 'Just Right' Standards An interesting take on the testing debate - is it possible to set testing standards that are neither to rigorous nor too lax? By Kate Zernike, New York Times, June 17, 2001. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

Corporate E-learning ROI Scoreboard: Early Leaders Emerge The average reader can view only the introductory page and PDF executive summary, but that's still enough to make an interesting (if quick) read. Major trends: the adoption of payment-based e-learning systems, the growth of e-learning providers into significant businesses, and the entry of established companies, such as IBM, McGraw-Hill, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Raytheon and Oracle, into the field. A word of caution: if you look at the venture capital figures at the bottom, you'll see that investments in even traditional corporate learning have tripled. I take this as a sign that the market is becoming saturated. This is the same pattern we saw in e-commerce a year and a half ago. Not all of these companies are going to make money, certainly not enough to justify the billion dollar investments being made today. Expect to see some business failures, layoffs, acquisitions and the usual upheaval. By Yegin Chen, Eduventures, June 18, 2001. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

Distance Learning Tools Nice list, well organized, of major distance learning tools. Categories include: environments for knowledge and learning communities, assignment assessment engines, learning portals, learning management systems (LMSs), synchronous virtual classrooms, and content authoring tools. By Tim Voght. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

Future E-access to the Primary Literature As heady as it gets, this forum on the future of scientific publishing, hosted by Nature, features a number of the heavy hitters in the field. It has been running for a while now, so there's already a lot of good content; watch for future opinions on copyright, e-publishing and the nature of scientific enquiry. The forum was started April 5, 2001. Submitted on Jun 18, 2001 [Refer]

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