Greetings from beautiful Sydney, Australia. We now resume our usual publication schedule, more or less, thanks to the numerous cybercafes spread throughout the nation. Today's newsletter is a little large as we catch up on articles from the last few days. I should be publishing almost daily through my three weeks Down Under.

LCMS Overview This collection of emails and replies from the RLO list on Yahoo Groups is a fairly comprehensive listing of LMS and LCMS vendors. You'll need to register in the group in order to read the message. By various authors, RLO, October 1, 2001.[Refer]

hand-Held Computers Help Motivate Learning Here is another example of how online learning is taking students out of the classroom and into the community. In this article, students use wireless handhelds to go outside and draw wildflowers in their art class. By Janet Sugameli, Detroit news, October 1, 2001.[Refer]

DoCoMo Unveils 3G, With Caution 3G (third generation) wireless launches commercially in Japan, which means it will be kicking around your neighborhood in a year or two. 3G wireless is essentially broadband wireless, a technology that makes handheld online learning feasible. Practical, even. By Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, September 30, 2001.[Refer]

The Quilt Interesting. From the news release: fifteen leading regional research and education networking organizations today announced a new joint effort called "The Quilt" to promote and extend advanced networking services. Think of it as a highspeed internet buying club for educational institutions By Press release, The Quilt, October 1, 2001.[Refer]

E-Learning in Portugal If you speak Portugese, the web site companion to the new book, E-Learning in Portugal, will be a valuable reference. If you don't speak Portugese... well, there's always Babelfish By , , .[Refer]

Certified Festival Manager One of the things to watch for in the world of online learning: niche courses. As competition heats up, watch for more and more highly specialized courses, like this certificate program in festival management at the University of Minnesota. By Sonja Hed Brown, mnVu, October 1, 2001.[Refer]

University: Is it a Good Deal? Good article the raises the question of whether a university degree is a good investment for a young person. The article concludes - and I agree - that it is, since one's employment prospects are gretaly increased. I would also add an immeasurable improvement in enjoyment of life (one day I'll write about that). But the article also points out that universities remain the preserve of middle and upper classes - people from lower income families are still denied access. By Mike Baker, BBC News, September 28, 2001.[Refer]

The Road Ahead This year's winner of the 'most unimaginative title award' goes to an article titled 'The Road Ahead' in OnlineLearning Magazine. The article is a review of trends in online learning. The results? Not surprising: online learning is increasing, and methods for assessing learning are improving. By Kim Kiser, OnlineLearning Magazine, October 1, 2001.[Refer]

An Offer they Can't Refuse Useful article looking at how online learning can help improve retention rates for employees in highly volitile industries. Worth noting: the employees manage their own learning. “We make sure people can take control of their own career development,” Malanson says. “If you have the incentive and the desire to switch from hardware to software or learn a new technology, we’ll provide the tools.” By David Raths, OnlineLearning Magazine, October 1, 2001.[Refer]

The ABCs of Education Stocks That very useful newsletter elearningpost snags an article from Business Week touting the value of e-learning stocks. So expect a bump in the shares of some online learning ventures. But fair warning: by the time a niche market hits the mainstream, as it does here, most of the gains have already been realized. Indeed, with increased competition and consolidation now coming up, these stocks may not be the gold plated investments they were, say, a year ago. Some - publishers in particular, may also experience drops because they've picked the wrong model for online learning. Disclaimer: I know nothing about the stock market and my own portfolio is a disaster. Do not - I repeat - do not take anything I say as stock market advice. By unknown, Business Week, September 24, 2001.[Refer]

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