Infosys launches consulting unit in U.S. In a move that may ease concerns about offshoring, India-based Infosys Technologies has created a U.S.-based business consulting unit. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 10:45 p.m..

Millions more for Sun from Microsoft patent pact? The software powerhouse is paying Sun Microsystems $1.95 billion as part of a deal signed Friday--but Sun could gain as much as $450 million more over the next 10 years through a patent provision. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 10:45 p.m..

xml:id Working Draft Published 2004-04-08: The XML Core Working Group has released the First Public Working Draft of xml:id Version 1.0. The specification introduces a predefined attribute name that can always be treated as an ID and hence can always be recognized. Comments are welcome. Visit the XML home page. (News archive) From World Wide Web Consortium on April 8, 2004 at 9:47 p.m..

UThink: Blogs at the university libraries University of Minnesota offers blogs to everyone on campus. These folks have a great understanding of how to use weblogs throughout campus. Faculty and students all have access to MoveableType blog software. The library at UM is hosting the weblogs: Libraries believe passionately in intellectual and academic freedom, and our role as advocates for those freedoms. Blogs are an excellent tool whereby students, faculty and staff at the University can let their opinions be heard. Blogs From carvingCode on April 8, 2004 at 9:47 p.m..

Accenture names new CEO William D. Green will become chief executive officer of the technology services company, replacing Joe Forehand. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 9:45 p.m..

Audible serves up Rice testimony for free The streaming audio company is providing free downloads of national security adviser Condoleeza Rice's testimony on the background to the Sept. 11 attacks. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 9:45 p.m..

Plug-in flaw leaves RealPlayer users open to attack RealNetworks issues a patch for a security flaw in one of its plug-ins that could let an attacker gain control of computers running any of several versions of the company's popular media player software. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 8:45 p.m..

Security tool more harmful than helpful? With its update to a network attack tool, the Metasploit Project may be aiding online vandals more than helping system administrators identify potential weak points, say some security experts. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 8:45 p.m..

They Weren't Going to Disney World White House wasn't too concerned about al-Qaeda cells in U.S. From The Gadflyer | All Feeds on April 8, 2004 at 7:50 p.m..

OFAC embargoes: a postscript Stephen H. Miles, U.S. Blockade of a Conference in Cuba, Science 304(5668), 207 (9 April 2004). (Access restricted to subscribers.) About a month ago, the U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control allegedly discouraged U.S. scientists from attending a conference in Cuba (see earlier postings.) Miles attended the conference anyhow, and comments: The interdiction of U.S. academic participation in this confer From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 7:49 p.m..

Biomedical Digital Libraries, new OA journal Biomedical Digital Libraries announces its launch on BioMedCentral and issues a call for papers. The journal will deal with "all aspects of digital library content and usage in biomedical settings, including academic medical centers, research and development institutes, and health care institutions." (Source: Peter Scott's Library Blog) From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 7:49 p.m..

Gator, now Claria, files for IPO Internet stock offerings may be heating up, but Claria may be hindered by its controversial adware. From CNET News.com on April 8, 2004 at 7:45 p.m..

Updates and new site Somewhat similarly to Raymond,  my reasons for intermittent silence in the past couple of weeks have  very little to do with my numerous failings, but more to do with the  small successes and provocative challenges that have been coming my way.     I have set up a new site for the Instructional Technology and Distance Education unit within the VCCS, which includes a wiki - although the main site uses -- From Serious Instructional Technology on April 8, 2004 at 6:47 p.m..

The Times on frozen sushi Interesting article in today's NY Times about the common practice of freezing sushi fish, Sushi Fresh From the Deep...the Deep Freeze. But because of health concerns and growing demand, 50 to 60 percent of sushi in the United States is frozen at some point in its journey from the ocean, according to wholesalers. And rare is the sushi restaurant that tells customers upfront that they may be eating fish that has been in deep freeze for up to two ye From megnut on April 8, 2004 at 6:46 p.m..

NetSuite's 99.5 Percent Solution The provider of a Web-based all-in-one e-commerce, accounting, CRM and ERP application announces a money-back uptime guarantee ... and hints at future plans for e-tailers. From E-Commerce Guide on April 8, 2004 at 6:45 p.m..

Congressional Research Service Use Google's latest technology to search the contents of these research documents. From Minneapolis Public Library - the LIST on April 8, 2004 at 6:02 p.m..

Air America Radio Talk radio with a liberal bent. From Minneapolis Public Library - the LIST on April 8, 2004 at 6:02 p.m..

Library Board Actions Taken, 4-7-04 From What's New at the Minneapolis Public Library on April 8, 2004 at 6:01 p.m..

Moore's Law 2 Turbo Just an another brainwave regarding my last post: Since the IC market is suffering from performance oversupply at this point, chipmakers will fortunately embrace this 4th axis. Why? Because the market now demands it. For a long time, consumers just wanted faster chips, efficiency be damned. This is why Intel was such a big backer of multimedia with their WebOutfitter program and digital cameras back in the mid-'90s; multimedia require computers with beefy microprocessors. Now, the desktop computer market is experiencing a lull. My mom has a Duron 800, and she's perfectly happy with i From silentblue | Quantified on April 8, 2004 at 6:01 p.m..

I'm having a problem with FL studio and Midi.... From AudioCourses Distance Learning Online Sound Engineering School- Forums on April 8, 2004 at 6:01 p.m..

Pluck: Good Feed Reader That's an IE Plugin Awhile back, I noted that I thought RSS feeds would really start to appeal to a general audience once the major Web browsers started including built-in feed readers. Well, that wasn't happening because Microsoft really isn't doing much with Internet Explorer these days, and AOL and the other major browsers appear likewise to be dragging their feet on this issue. ...Then along comes Pluck, a new feed reader that's a plugin for Internet Explorer. I've just tried it out, and it's pretty good. The interface in some From Contentious Weblog on April 8, 2004 at 6:01 p.m..

Changing Minds I just listened to a fascinating edition of NPR's Talk of the Nation. Host Ira Glass interviewed Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner, author of the new book Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People's Minds. (Audio from this show should be available after 6pm eastern time.) Gardner discussed how people form deep-seated assumptions and From Contentious Weblog on April 8, 2004 at 6:01 p.m..

Yahoo Alludes to Social Networking Service In Orlando during the Publisher's Conference, Tim Mayer of Yahoo stated several times that Yahoo was headed towards personalized search. Unfortunately, it seemed that they had no intent of elaborating on that. A few weeks later, I came across an article on Eurekster. Eurekster is a search engine that provides personalized results based on your "social network" within the system. I found two parts of that early article especially interesting: "Indeed, Eurekster has no listings of its own. Instead, it... From Cause I Like to Hear Myself Talk on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

Tracking the Spanish Weblog World More than 4,500 weblogs written in Spanish from 19 different countries. These are the current statistics from Bitacoras.com after just six months of work. The portal organizes existing weblogs in a useful directory of categories and offers information and resources to build your own. The contributors of the site make a great effort of filtering and reviewing all the entries. "The reference portal we would like to enjoy as webloggers," says Jos Luis Palomo, one of the founders, was the idea they had in mind. From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

'We'll Tell You at 11!' -- But They Already Know Via Terry Heaton's blog comes this brilliant observation attributed to John Corcoran: TV-news promos are an anachronism. You'll still hear such teases as "Marines killed in Iraq! How many? We'll tell you at 11." But when your audience can take that tease and go online to find the answer instantly, what's the point? Heaton, a TV-industry consultant who frequently criticizes his industry's slow pace at adapting to the digital age, calls this "another illustration of why broadcasting simply MUST move t From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

'Best Online Columnist' on Hiatus Mark Morford, columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle's SFGate.com website, hasn't published in a month, and the company confirmed today that he is "on hiatus." Morford won the 2003 award for "Best Online Columnist" in the competition of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. (Disclaimer: I was the judge for that section of the NSNC contest. I wrote up an interview From Poynter E-Media Tidbits on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

100,000 Domain Names in Chile Chile has reached 100,000 ".cl" domain names registered at the local top-level domain registrar, which is managed by NIC.cl. This number stands Chile as the third country in Latin America in number of domain names registered, after Argentina and Brazil. Also with this number, Chile shows 6.5 domain names for every 100,000 inhabitants; that's almost double Brazil, which has just 3.3. An important issue with this number is that, increasingly, Chilean companies (including media) have registered both ".cl" From Monkeymagic on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

My mom works over there Citation analysis and burst algorithms are being used to create maps of scientific knowledge. Might be nice to have similar maps of blog content. From Monkeymagic on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

Happy Easter Off to sunny Cornwall for the weekend so won't be posting. Have a good Easter, and I hope you enjoy being able again to do all the things you gave up for Lent.... From Monkeymagic on April 8, 2004 at 6:00 p.m..

Articles on Teaching and Learning Here's a nice resource of free online articles on teaching and learning from Indiana University. via Tim Denny at KansaiLCT From apcampbell News on April 8, 2004 at 5:59 p.m..

Wikibooks Project for EFL Writers John just pointed me to Wikibooks, which gave me an idea for a semester-long project in the fall: putting the EFL students in groups of 4 to 8 and having them work collaboratively on writing short stories for possible publication on the internet, such as in a magazine like Topics, or on their own website.  I'll see how they take to From Auricle on April 8, 2004 at 5:59 p.m..

Ideal intellectual communities Something that I overlooked in my own links (thanks, Seb) - Amanda on Ideal intellectual communitiesThe IIC would consist of people who aren't competing with each other for funds, status, recognition, or employment. Intellectual work would not be a zero-sum game to determine who can publish the most From Mathemagenic on April 8, 2004 at 5:59 p.m..

LionShare The LionShare P2P project is an innovative effort to facilitate legitimate file-sharing among individuals and educational institutions around the world. By using Peer to Peer (P2P) technology and incorporating features such as authentication, directory servers, and owner controlled sharing of files, LionShare promises secure file-sharing capabilities for the easy exchange of image collections, video archives, large data collections, and other types of academic information. From Elearnopedia on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Metadata Resources Guide Metadata has become a topic of interest to records and information management and technology professionals alike. Many governments are tackling the development of metadata standards to foster the effective management of electronic records and other resources and, as such, interest in metadata is increasing. This resource guide was created MEWS) to assist with the development of metadata standards for the Government of Alberta. It is intended for records, information management and technology professionals, consultants, library staff, and anyone who may be seeking to develop in-depth knowledge From Elearnopedia on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Sebastian Fiedler contributes to an interesting di ... Sebastian Fiedler contributes to an interesting discussion: Are Students Really Blogging?. Many of the edubloggers seem to be wondering how we're going to get teachers and kids to embrace blogging for its own sake, mostly because it's been good for us and we think it's so very important. These ideas all have value and I share many of the concerns, but I think we've lost sight of the reality in the trenches. Last week I experienced my first open mockery of the fact that I had "jumped o From Jeremy Hiebert's headspaceJ -- Instructional Design and Technology on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

David Wessel on Outsourcing takes the education/em ... David Wessel on Outsourcing takes the education/employment discussion from my last post out into the future, including the difficulty in trying to project employment trends for individual occupations. I liked this simple distinction between jobs that will be easy or difficult to outsource:"In trying to discern persistent trends, Mr. Levy distinguishes between jobs that require workers to follow rules and those that require them to recognize patterns. The first -- whether in manufacturing or servic From Jeremy Hiebert's headspaceJ -- Instructional Design and Technology on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Weblog: Lehrerlinks Die Lehrerlinks sind ein Weblog mit interessanten Links für LehrerInnen von der Staudinger-Gesamtschule in Freiburg, momentan noch im Versuchstadium. Welcome on the blog! From BildungsBlog on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

zFacts Die zFacts ist eine Google-basierte Suchmaschine,- allerdings "beschränkt" sie sich auf ihrer Startseite auf vier Kategorien sowie in sieben Schwerpunkten... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Musikindustrie vor Marktstabilisierung? Trotz abermals niederschmetternder Verkaufszahlen im vergangenen Jahr sieht die internationale Musikindustrie erste Anzeichen für eine Marktstabilisierung. "Es gibt ein paar... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Internationales Internetrecht Beruhigend: Deutschland zählt zu den fünf (von 45) bedeutensten Staaten im Internetrecht (S. 6 der Studie "Global Internet Jurisdiction", 28... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Geldwäsche V 123recht-Interview mit dem stellvertretenden Vorsitzenden der Vereinigung Berliner Strafverteidiger, Peter Zuriel, zur Bestrafung von Strafverteidigern wegen Geldwäsche. -> Geldwäsche I... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Sorgerechtsverfahren "Dominik" beendet Durch Beschluss vom 02.04.2004 hat das OLG Koblenz der Beschwerde der Eltern gegen den Beschluss des AmtsG Betzdorf, mit welchem... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Hochwasserschutz - aber wie? Die verheerende Flutkatastrophe, die Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt und Bayern im August 2002 getroffen hat, zeigt deutlich, dass die Konzeption und Praxis... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Apple vs. Apple II Der Rechtsstreit rund um den Markennamen Apple scheint kein Ende zu nehmen. Vergangene Woche noch wurde berichtet, dass das Verfahren... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

JurisPDA Die Universität New York bietet eine Seite an, auf der alle Fragen rund um PDAs beantwortet werden. Sie richtet sich... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Anhörung von C. Rice Die heutige Anhörung (10 S. PDF) von Condoleezza Rice durch die "National Commission On Terrorist Attacks Upon The United States".... From Handakte WebLAWg on April 8, 2004 at 5:57 p.m..

Informationsfreiheitsgesetz... http://log.netbib.de/archives/2004/04/08/ngos-legen-bundestag-den-entwurf-informationsfreiheitsgesetzes-vor/ Des langen Wartens müde, haben Verbände einen eigenen Entwurf vorgelegt. Ausführlich dazu Telepolis http://www.heise.de/tp/deutsch/special/frei/17110/1.html Entwurfstext: --> From Archivalia on April 8, 2004 at 5:56 p.m..

NRW: IFG für Hochschulverwaltungen? Gelten die Einsichtsrechte des Informationsfreiheitsgesetzes NRW auch für Hochschulverwaltungen? Ja, aber mit grossen Einschränkungen. § 1 Zweck des Gesetzes Zweck dieses Gesetzes ist es, den freien Zugang zu den bei den öffentlichen Stellen vorhandenen Informationen zu gewährleisten und die grundlegenden Voraussetzungen festzulegen, unter denen derartige Informationen zugänglich gemacht werden sollen. § 2 Anwendungsbereich (1) Dieses Gesetz gilt für die Verwaltungstätig From Archivalia on April 8, 2004 at 5:56 p.m..

Paging, SMS and Wireless Blog New NotePage integration relationships including TrapSnap, HP Openview, and related integration information nad news related to SMS messaging, paging and wireless communication. From NotePage SMS, Paging and Messaging Blog on April 8, 2004 at 5:56 p.m..

My Guru For Grassroots Ethical Marketing If you want to learn and find out more about ethical marketing success stories, instances where ignoring the ethically questionable "easy money" paid big dividends for a company, product or individual, head off to Shel Horowitz' site and sign-up for... From Robin Good's Latest News on April 8, 2004 at 5:55 p.m..

News for Today, Apr 9 News items of interest in shared spaces today: IHMC released Version 3 of CmapTools, its online concept mapping software. New features include the ability for multiple authors to edit maps in 'collaborative real-time'. IHMC TRADOS, a provider of software globalization... From Kolabora.com on April 8, 2004 at 5:55 p.m..

Free webinar this Tuesday Join me online this coming Tuesday, April 13th, at 3:00 pm Eastern, noon Pacific. We'll spend about an hour together. The title of my chat is Emergent Learning. The sign-up page says I'll talk about about adaptive systems, social networking, contextual collaboration, content aggregation,... From Internet Time Blog on April 8, 2004 at 5:55 p.m..

Questionmark Releases Connector for WebCT Campus Edition From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

KnowledgeNet Offers Desktop Training From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

Pathlore Gives Training a Lift at Maryland Transit Administration From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

Sylvan Learning Systems, Inc. Buys KIT eLearning B.V. From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

Financial services leads the way in e-learning From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

Echelon survey shows e-learning is gaining ground From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

The University of Michigan Releases Specs For eLearning Software Project From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

eLearning: Strategy, Development and Standards From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

UMUC/PBS Live broadcast on Accessibility in Online Learning, From Distance-Educator.com's Daily News on April 8, 2004 at 5:54 p.m..

Quote of the Day Mellow out, says Rummy From The Gadflyer | All Feeds on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Regretting Hart-Rudman At least one part of the report Condi wishes they had heeded From The Gadflyer | All Feeds on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

233 days...or 2,443? If you're not on "war footing" you must be sitting on your ass From The Gadflyer | All Feeds on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Book Review The Costs of Open Learning: a handbook Book Review The Costs of Open Learning: a handbook From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Challenges for Study Centers in an Electronic Age: A case study of the Center for Distance Education at the University of Oldenburg, Germany This paper reports on developments in study centers in Germany and in particular the experience of the Center for Distance Education at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg. Emphasis in this paper has been placed on the challenges faced by German universities in the electronic age, which in its early stages began in 1995. The purpose of this paper is to ground the establishment of open and distance study centres vis-a-vis the unique cultural and institutional circumstances characteristic of Germany and its institutions of higher education. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Technical Note 30 - Vendor-Assisted Evaluation of a Learning Management System A product evaluation was conducted of Desire2Learn, an online learning management system gaining popularity in educational institutions. Since an online trial version of the software was not available for evaluation, an inspection meeting with the vendor was arranged. This provided the evaluation team with an opportunity to examine the precautions necessary for ensuring the objectivity of a product evaluation based on vendor-supplied information. The report outlines the team's use of evaluator-driven enquiry and a triangulated approach to information checking. The Desire2Learn product is From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Technical Note 28 - Speak2Me: Using Synchronous Audio for ESL Teaching in Taiwan The use of a synchronous audio tool is discussed for teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) in Taiwan. Over several months, a community of practice has formed among teachers and teaching assistants, transcending cultural differences. Exploring the relationship that has developed between teachers and teaching assistants forms the basis of this report. We will also consider the technology underlying Speak2Me's program and its relationship to providing students with quality pedagogy and learning flexibility. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Technical Note 27 - Educational Wikis: features and selection criteria This report discusses the educational uses of the 'wiki,' an increasingly popular approach to online community development. Wikis are defined and compared with 'blogging' methods; characteristics of major wiki engines are described; and wiki features and selection criteria are examined. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Technical Note 26 - Best Practices in Online Conference Moderation Facilitation by a moderator is crucial to a purposeful and productive conference. The moderator keeps the session focused, and ensures that all participants receive feedback regarding their contributions to the discussion. These functions are particularly important in the otherwise impersonal context of online discussion. The current report reviews recent literature regarding the moderator's roles regarding participant access and motivation, online socialization, information exchange and knowledge construction. A synchronous audio conference situation is assumed. Principles of online teac From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Book Review The future of learning: From eLearning to mLearning This e-book is a report of a study, which is supported by the European Union Leonardo da Vinci programme, about the potential of wireless technologies for teachinglearning at a distance. Despite its focus on the wireless e-learning scenario in Europe, this report does bring to the fore the pedagogic feasibility of using wireless technologies in distance teachinglearning contexts beyond Europe. Of the 10 chapters that form this report, the first three attempt to provide theoretical scaffolding to the discussion of mobile learning in Chapter 4. Chapters 5 to 8 contain a compendious account and a From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Book Review: Reusing Online Resources: A sustainable approach to e-learning "Reuse" and "recycle" of existing teaching-learning resources have always been a common practice in the world of education. However, it had never been in the centre-stage of educational debate as it is in the recent past. The reasons for educational material reuse are: the need to provide greater access to quality education, shrinking financial resources, pressure to provide education in cost-effective ways, and the overall impact of the information and communication technology (ICT) in educational practices. In fact, with the advent of ICT it has become easier to store, retrieve, share, and r From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Tutoring Large Numbers: An Unmet Challenge Open and distance learning (ODL) is increasingly being regarded as a viable policy option for developing countries with limited educational resources for buildings, books and trained teachers, seeking to increase accessibility for large numbers of learners in education and training opportunities. Advocates of ODL as an appropriate solution to development issues tend to emphasise the hardware and software (curricula, materials and media of instruction and delivery, and especially ICTs) rather than the learning support needed (See, for example, World Bank, 2002). In one sense this should not be From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Distance Learning for Teacher Training in Brazil Proformacao is a distance teacher certification course aimed at providing training to 27,000 uncertified teachers in 15 Brazilian states. This innovative program organizes human and technical resources for delivering distance education in a cost-effective manner. Different from other institutional systems which typically employ their own dedicated content, design, and instructional resource personnel, and accompanied by a large pool of administrative staff Proformacao leverages pre-existing learning resources such as content experts, technology specialists, instruction, and student support From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Broadband: A Solution for Rural e-Learning? Rural and remote learners are disadvantaged even with online provision due to poor connections. Broadband offers a potential solution. This paper looks at the initial results of a project to install broadband services in the Western Isles of Scotland. It focuses on the educational potential of broadband and the design implications for online courses. It also considers more informal kinds of learning that broadband facilitates in rural areas. Keywords: broadband, rural development, e-learning, online communication, e-learning course design From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Open-Distance Education as a Mechanism for Sustainable Development: Reflections on the Nigerian Experience This article examines open-distance learning in Nigeria and the role it plays in personal, community, and national development. Following consultation with existing literature, a qualitative survey was conducted using questionnaires, interviews, and participatory experience. Although particular emphasis was paid to the Nigerian context, the findings in this article may be regarded as reflective distance education experiences elsewhere in Africa. Clearly, education is the key to human development and progress. It is essential to bring about changes in attitudes, values, and behaviour. Used ethi From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Guest Editorial: Low Cost Distance Education Strategies: the use of appropriate information and communication technologies The argument for distance education (including e-learning) in developing countries could be imagined as a "triple jump." Each leap of the triple jump consists of a theorem and a corollary applying it to developing countries. Theorem 1: Education is good for development. Corollary: The demand for education is especially high in the developing world. Traditional education cannot cope with its size and is, in many cases, not the most cost-effective allocation of resources. Theorem 2: Distance education can help. Corollary: Distance education is able to deal with large numbers From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:53 p.m..

Technical Reports: Classification of DE Delivery Systems For their optimal use in distance education (DE), online educational applications need to be integrated within a comprehensive course management system (CMS). Such systems are server-based software that supports the development, delivery, administration, and evaluation of online learning environments. The selection of an appropriate CMS should be considered from the multiple perspectives of the student, the course developer, the course instructor tutor, the technical support staff, and the DE institution's administration. The current evaluation of CMS packages was conducted by a team of i From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Technical Reports: Online Learners' Interest in Collaborative Tools An online survey was conducted (June 2001) of attitudes of distance education (DE) learnersteachers to online collaborative tools. The respondents in the study were 135 graduate students and faculty members of Athabasca University's Centre for Distance Education (CDE). They demonstrated particular interest in tools that offer the following features: file sharing, automatic synchronisation of documentation for the group, audio conferencing, text chat, and privacy. They also expressed useful opinions on topics including their willingness to upgrade their computer systems, and to pay to avoi From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Book Review - Cohort Programming and Learning Book Review - Cohort Programming and Learning From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Book Review - The "E" is for Everything: E-commerce, E-Business, and E-Learning in the Future of Higher Education Book Review - The "E" is for Everything: E-commerce, E-Business, and E-Learning in the Future of Higher Education From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Book Review - Distance and Campus Universities: Tensions and Interactions Book Review - Distance and Campus Universities: Tensions and Interactions From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Bringing Online Learning to Campus: The Hybridization of Teaching and Learning at Brigham Young University The primary purpose of Brigham Young University (BYU) is to provide students with a combination of sacred and secular education often described as the "BYU experience." Achieving this purpose is challenged by the rapid growth in Church membership and an enrollment cap of 30,000 students. To address these challenges, BYU sponsors the use of technology to bridge the gap between the increased Church membership and the number of students allowed under the enrollment caps. This institutional case study shows how these challenges have influenced the hybridization of teaching and learning for on camp From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

The University of Texas System TeleCampus: A Statewide Model for Collaboration The University of Texas (UT) System has been meeting educational needs of students for over 150 years. In 1997, the UT System initiated the development of the UT TeleCampus, a centralized facilitation point for distance learning. The TeleCampus opened its virtual doors in May 1998, focused entirely on support services for students. By late 1998, the TeleCampus had begun developing what would become collaborative benchmark online programs for the UT System. As a result of having developed over 12 complete online degree programs since that time, many lessons have been learned about (1) barriers From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Ukraine Open University: Its Prospects in Distance Education Development The genesis, initiation, and expansion of distance education at the Ukraine Open International University for Human Development, located in Kyiv, will be examined in this case study, starting with a brief look at the positive changes taking place in Ukraine's traditional educational system, as well as recent developments in the country's distance education (DE) system. To help readers understand the University's development from an insider's perspective, societal factors that currently influence its inter- and extra-institutional environment will also be examined. Next, From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

A New Learning Model for the Information and Knowledge Society: The Case of the UOC When it was created in 1995, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) served only 200 students and offered two degrees. Today, it has expanded its activities to serve over 20,000 students and 16 official degrees. UOC also offers more than 250 continuing education courses for those wishing to pursue learning opportunities outside of UOC's official degree programs. As an innovative university, UOC offers a new way of experiencing education, one that is capable of providing answers to an emerging global and universal knowledge society. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Open University Center of the Pontifical Javeriana University, Colombia According to Garcia Canclini, there is the assumption that Colombia is a hybrid society. Upon this standpoint, and within a traditional higher education structure characterized by being fundamentally conventional or campus based, the Open University Center of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana was created as an education program that breaks with every traditional scheme, which in turn, encourages a new learning pattern. The Open University Center emerges as a "social response" focused on the "here and now" of today's society in Colombia. The Javeriana University (a hybrid universi From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Global Perspectives: The University of South Australia (UniSA) Case Study This case study describes current developments in the change processes that are underway at the University of South Australia (UniSA) as it develops from a dual mode institution to one that embraces flexibility in delivery of all of its courses and programs. Forces operating in the context of higher education are causing traditional institutions to become dual mode. Institutions that were already operating as dual mode are developing a proliferation of program delivery arrangements that move beyond hybridisation. A number of Australian institutions claim to provide flexibly delivered courses w From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

The Hybridisation of Conventional Higher Education: UK perspective Before the creation of the United Kingdom Open University (UKOU) - its Charter was given in 1969 and the first students were admitted in 1971 - the full-time residential model of higher education was pervasive, with part-time and distance modes of study seen as separate and inferior. The UKOU demonstrated the effectiveness of distance learning but also, because of its success, in some ways inhibited change in the mainstream tertiary sector. As social and political pressures on the sector grew, higher education providers were forced to innovate and models of "open learning" offered ways forward From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

The Development of CyberLearning in Dual-Mode Higher Education Institutions in Taiwan Open and distance education in Taiwan has evolved into the third phase cyberlearning conceptualized as teaching and learning interactions mediated entirely through the application of state-of-the-art information and communications technologies (ICT), such as the Internet and World Wide Web (WWW). Socio-economic influences, the development of new technologies and a marked shift in learning paradigms have increased the utilization of ICT at all levels of the Taiwanese education system. Since the advent and provision of cyberlearning programs, well over half (56 percent) of the conventional u From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Out of the Shadow and Into the Spotlight - The Development of Distance Teaching in Norwegian Higher Education On October 4, 1914, The Norwegian Correspondence School (NKS) accepted its first student, a woman, who, for a fee of NOK 10, registered for two courses (Amdam and Bjarnar, 1989). Seventy-five years later, distance education has become an important part of Norwegian higher education. However, there are several reasons why distance teaching did not gain acceptance in Norwegian higher education earlier. One of is the well-known skepticism of distance teaching as a strategy, the other was the adoption of other modes of making higher education accessible to more people, such as offering part-time s From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Top Down Strategy to Enhance Information Technologies into Israeli Higher Education This article examines the integration of the new information technologies (IT) into Israeli higher education, and most particularly its research universities through a top-down strategy, initiated by the Israeli Council for Higher Education since the end of 1999. This top-down strategy has created a systemic change that will affect the many layers of university activities rather than in a random, sporadic manner undertaken by enthusiastic individuals. This article discusses the built-in contradictions and dilemmas in the process of adapting distance teaching methods by conventional universitie From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Distance Education at Conventional Universities in Germany Germany's educational system has undergone a series of transformations during the last 40 years. In recent years, marked increases in enrolment have occurred. In response, admission requirements have been relaxed and new universities have been established. Academic distance education in the former Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was ushered in by the educational radio broadcasts around the end of the 1960s. Aside from the formation of the FernUniversitat (Open University) in West Germany in 1975, there were significant developments in distance education occurring at the major From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

The Hybridization of Distance Learning in Brazil -- An Approach Imposed by Culture Institutions of higher education in Brazil are seriously behind in their development of approaches which make use of distance education techniques, in part due to widespread lack of credibility of these approaches both inside and outside academic communities, but even more so because of the highly centralized control over all aspects of higher education on the part of the country's Ministry of Education. Despite the country's capacity and need to do so, the rigid and pedagogically conservative attitude of this Ministry over the last three decades, combined with the equally intransige From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Editorial - The Hybridization of Higher Education: Cross National Perspectives The worldwide landscape of higher distance education is undergoing a major transformation. As open and distance learning is moving from the margins to the mainstream, single mode distance education provider institutions designed from the start to offer distance education programs are attaining new levels of legitimacy. At the same time, conventional campus-based higher education institutions are adopting information and communication technologies (ICT) both to enhance their on-campus instruction and to create new distance education courses and programs. Driven by such factors as declining trad From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Evaluating Vendor Supplied Information Distance educators are not normally equipped by their training or experience for the complex task of evaluating technologies. One of the areas of potential disadvantage is in interpreting information provided by vendors themselves, and in relating effectively with sales, marketing and technical representatives. An objective and thorough product evaluation requires that information be selected, and sometimes generated, to aid the process. Vendors may agree to provide additional information, including direct experience with their products, if evaluators know what to ask for and what to expect fr From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Technical Notes: Dual-Platform Products (PC and Mac) Most of the other reports in this series have featured collaborative tools that were designed for use on PC-compatible platforms, and tested by our evaluation team on these platforms exclusively. This report reviews four integrated software products ensuring "interoperability" between the two major computing systems, PC-compatible and Macintosh. The products are compared in terms of their different levels of interoperability and complexity, as defined by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Technical Notes: Fully Featured vs. Lean-and-Mean? With students in an "Educational Conferencing" graduate course, a comparison was conducted between the merits of an online collaborative package containing a wide range of features and alternative conferencing software containing only a threaded discussion and search feature only. The responses of fourteen students taking part in the study revealed a clear preference for the simpler approach. The study has implications for the selection of software tools in the design of online course environments and for the re-design of the product ratings system used in the current series of evaluation stud From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Technical Notes: Software Evaluation Criteria and Terminology This report discusses issues of software selection and terminology, highlighting terms that are useful in evaluation studies. A framework for the evaluation of educational software is presented. Links are cited at the end of this article to the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), and CNET Network's glossaries of terminology relating to online collaborative methods. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Technical Notes: Chat and Instant Messaging Systems Text-based conferencing can be both asynchronous (i.e., participants log into the conference at separate times), and synchronous (i.e., interaction takes place in real time). It is thus subject to the same wide variation as the online audio- and video-conferencing methods (see the earlier Reports in this series). Synchronous text-based approaches (e.g., online chat groups and instant messaging systems) are highly popular among online users generally owing to their ability to bring together special-interest groups from around the world without cost. In distance education (DE), however, synchron From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Online Learning Activities: Beginning An International Collaboration Early Sunday morning, April 1, 2001, a U.S. Navy EP-3E Aries II surveillance plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet, causing the death of the Chinese pilot and forcing an emergency landing by the U.S. aircraft on Hainan Island, in the People's Republic of China. Political relations between the United States and China had been deteriorating for months during the Spring of 2001 - it was the stated intention of newly-elected President George W. Bush to move American policy toward China from "strategic partnership" to "strategic competition." From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Electronic Tutorials: Indonesian Experience As in other developing nations, important concerns surrounding education in Indonesia involve two issues: quantity versus quality. Quality concerns have now been somewhat addressed by the establishment of the Indonesian Open Learning University (Universitas Terbuka) in 1984. The concern for quality, however, has not yet been completely resolved. Learning support, believed to be key for achieving good quality distance education, has been limited. This paper presents the results of two pilot projects that examined tutorials provided via Internet and Fax-Internet technologies. It is a report that From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Towards a Strategy for Improved Student Retention in Programmes of Open, Distance Education: A Case Study From the Open University UK Teaching at a distance has enjoyed a long history and is now established as a reputable method of education as evidenced by the establishment of numerous distance learning systems worldwide. One such system is the Open University UK, Britain's largest teaching institution, with 125,000 undergraduate students enrolled in the year 2000. Since first opening its doors in 1971, more than two million students have participated in studies at the Open University UK. The Open University UK has a unique mission statement open as to people, open as to places, open as to methods, and open to ideas From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Book Review - Supporting Students in Open and Distance Learning Book Review - Supporting Students in Open and Distance Learning From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Book Review - African Youth on the Information Highway: Participation and Leadership in Community Development Book Review - African Youth on the Information Highway: Participation and Leadership in Community Development From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Building Sense of Community at a Distance This article challenges the belief that strong sense of community is limited to the traditional classroom and proposes that the virtual classroom has the potential of building and sustaining sense of community at levels that are comparable to the traditional classroom. Drawing on research literature, the concept of learning community is applied to the virtual classroom by taking on the issue of how best to design and conduct an online course that fosters community among learners who are physically separated from each other. Course design principles are described that facilitate dialogue and de From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

The Development of Social Climate in Virtual Learning Discussion Groups As the educational use of computer mediated communication (CMC) increases there is growing interest among researchers as to social processes evolving within the varied models of group work using Internet, e.g., special interest groups, topical discussion groups, discussion forums attached to virtual courses, and learning communities. In this paper we present a synthetic summary of five studies that explored social climate issues in synchronous and asynchronous online activities in academic courses, focusing on the following questions: Does a social atmosphere develop in online learning discuss From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:52 p.m..

Distance Learning for Food Security and Rural Development: A Perspective from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization This article introduces the work of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and describes its interest in the application of distance learning strategies pertinent to the challenges of food security and rural development around the world. The article briefly reviews pertinent examples of distance learning, both from the experience of FAO and elsewhere, and summarises a complex debate about the potential of distance learning in developing countries. The paper elaborates five practical suggestions for applying distance learning strategies to the challenges of food security an From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Cooperation vs. Deliberation: Computer Mediated Conferencing and the Problem of Argument in International Distance Education The idea that Internet-based distance education offers the potential to globalize higher education has not been matched by significant interest in the pedagogical and methodological issues at stake. This essay discusses a two-year experimental course conducted between two college classes in Karlskrona, Sweden and Ohio, in the United States. The goal of this course was to use online debate to augment intercultural understanding. This experiment involved both synchronous and asynchronous computer mediated conferencing (CMC) as well as various types of assignments intended to emphasize the discur From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

An Assessment of the Effectiveness of e-learning in Corporate Training Programs Corporate managers are constantly looking for more cost-effective ways to deliver training to their employees. E-learning is less expensive than traditional classroom instruction. In addition, many expenses - booking training facilities, travel costs for employees or trainers, plus employee time away from the job - are greatly reduced. However, some firms that have spent large amounts of money on new e-learning efforts have not received the desired economic advantages. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Editorial As part of the globalization process, pressures are being put to bear on higher education institutions worldwide to increase the relevance of their curricula for their respective societies. While it is difficult to find fault with the need for curricular reform, the rush to rationalize higher education curricula to satisfy the demands of business and industry for more and better skilled employees may also lead to a paring down of higher education curricula. Within this new global agenda for higher education reform, all too often readiness of higher education graduates to contribute to the prod From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Note: Integrated Collaborative Tools Previous reports in this series have featured examples of integrated products that combine into a single software package, techniques offered individually by other products. Increasing acceptance of online collaboration is generating interest in such tools on the part of product developers and users. The distance education (DE) market is now awash with integrated products involving methods ranging from the relatively standard text-based conferencing to synchronous and asynchronous audio and video conferencing techniques. Integrated products typically add a range of ancillary tools to these mai From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Report: Chat and Instant Messaging Systems (synchronous): Report 3 3. [Previous reviews of chat and IM systems are presented in Reports 6 and 14 in this series.] A further set of four text-based instant messaging (IM) products was evaluated: ATandT Anywhere, Parachat, Sonork, and Yahoo Messenger, all available at no cost. Yahoo Messenger was judged to be the most effective of the three products for use by distance education (DE) teachers and students, being compatible with most common operating systems and accommodating up to 50 chat room participants. Yahoo Messenger also possesses integrated audio and video capabilities. ATandT Anywhere is an efficient produc From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Notes: Chat and Instant Messaging Systems (synchronous): Report 2 3 This study extends the earlier review of online chat systems (Report 6), by reviewing a further seven products that provide text-based instant messaging (IM). The functionality of these products in distance education contexts is stressed in relation to their comparative costs, complexity, control, clarity, technical framework, and other functional options. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Notes: Online Video Conferencing Products This is the first in Athabasca University's series of evaluation reports to feature online Webcam and video conferencing products. While Webcam software generates a simple visual presentation from a live online camera, video conferencing products contain a wider range of interactive features serving multi-point interactions between participants. In many online situations, the addition of video images to a live presentation can add substantially to its educational effectiveness. Ten products online services are reviewed, supporting a wide range of video-based activities. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Notes: Online Polling Services Real-time collection of student opinions and their instant feedback can be useful in guiding the design and implementation of online educational sessions. Students can gain insights into each others' attitudes and opinions, often anonymously and confidentially; and teachers can adapt to the feedback in directing the progress of a session based on, in effect, a series of "if then" contingency measures. Online tabular and diagrammatic features can provide useful visual summaries of polling results, indicating whether or not the session's learning outcomes are being achieved. Online pol From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Notes: International E-learning Specifications A previous report in this series discussed the classification of online course delivery systems according to the Advanced Distributed Learning Partnerships (ADL), and the international standards accepted by the ADL. The standardisation of courseware in this manner is necessary for the development of inter-institutional course sharing and quality control. The present report gives further definitions of the criteria applied by international standards organisations, and lists the principal specifications standards bodies now in operation. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Leadership and Distance Education in Higher Education: A US Perspective The premise of this article is that while in the US understanding is growing about the technologies and strategies needed for effective distance education in an online environment, leadership efforts remain weak. The article describes leadership for distance education, historical perspectives of leading distance education, and how the Internet has directly changed distance education efforts in US higher education institutions. The article concludes with an appraisal of how the approach of higher education leaders must change in order for distance education efforts to be successful. Key terms: From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Role of Delivery, Course Design and Teacher-Student Interaction: Observations of Adult Distance Education and Traditional On-Campus Education This paper provides readers with an observation of an adult distance education programme, which took place in Malaysia. These observations are presented in terms of: study mode, course design, and interaction between three distinct student groups, and their teachers. Other factors that influence adult distance learning melded with traditional classroom settings were also observed. These factors included the demographics of distance learning students, type and nature of student-to-student and teacher-to-student interaction, students' employment, prior employment, and the subject studied. O From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Book Review - Delivering Digitally: Managing the Transition to the Knowledge Media Book Review - Delivering Digitally: Managing the Transition to the Knowledge Media From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Book Review - Socio-Economics of Virtual Universities: Experiences from Open and Distance Higher Education in Europe Book Review - Socio-Economics of Virtual Universities: Experiences from Open and Distance Higher Education in Europe From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Book Review - Preparing your Campus for a Networked Future: Educuase- Leadership Strategy No. 1 Book Review - Preparing your Campus for a Networked Future: Educuase- Leadership Strategy No 1 From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Book Review - The Third Shift: Women Learning Online Book Review - The Third Shift: Women Learning Online From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Book Review - Sustaining Distance Education: Integrating learning technologies into the fabric of the enterprise Book Review - Sustaining Distance Education: Integrating learning technologies into the fabric of the enterprise From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Book Review - Educacion a Distancia: de la teoria a la practica. Book Review - Educacion a Distancia: de la teoria a la practica. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Student Dropout at the Hellenic Open University: Evaluation of the Graduate Program, "Studies in Education" This study traces the root causes of dropout rates in one post-graduate course "Studies in Education," offered by the Hellenic Open University (HOU). From our research findings, it was found that the main cause of dropping out stem from a combination of adult learners' obligations, specifically balancing their academic workload with their employment commitments and family obligations (mainly for female students). The second reason for dropout rates among adult distance education learners include students' miscalculation of the available time for studying and their underestimation of From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Redefining the cost and complexity of library services for open and distance learning Although most universities profess a belief that libraries are a key element in learner support, the full cost and complexity of providing quality library services to support open and distance education tend to be underestimated. It is argued in this article that this underestimation, in part, may reflect a lack of appreciation by faculty and university administrators of the role libraries play in the (distance) learning process. Within libraries and the education sector at large, there is also tends to be a lack of recognition of what portion of the costs of access to libraries and informatio From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

The Effectiveness of Web-Based Instruction: An Initial Inquiry As the use of Web-based instruction increases in the educational and training domains, many people have recognized the importance of evaluating its effects on student outcomes such as learning, performance, and satisfaction. Often, these results are compared to those of conventional classroom instruction in order to determine which method is "better." However, major differences in technology and presentation rather than instructional content can obscure the true relationship between Web-based instruction and these outcomes. Computer-based instruction (CBI), with more features similar to Web-ba From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Online Education Systems in Scandinavian and Australian Universities: A Comparative Study This article presents a comparative study of online education systems in Norwegian, Swedish, and Australian universities. The online education systems discussed comprise content creation tools and systems for learning management, student management, and accounting. The author of this article arrives at the conclusion that there seems to be a general lack of integration between theses systems in all three countries. Further, there seems to be little focus on standards specifications such as IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS) and Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) in higher educat From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Gagne's and Laurillard's Models of Instruction Applied to Distance Education: A Theoretically Driven Evaluation of an Online Curriculum in Public Health This article presents an overview of the instructional models of Gagne, Briggs, and Wager (1992) and Laurillard (1993, 2002), followed by student evaluations from the first year of an online public health core curriculum. Both online courses and their evaluations were developed in accordance with the two models of instruction. The evaluations by students indicated that they perceived they had achieved the course objectives and were generally satisfied with the experience of taking the courses online. However, some students were dissatisfied with the feedback and learning guidance they received From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Using Web-Based, Group Communication Systems to Support Case Study Learning at a Distance This study explored the capacity of Web-based, group communication systems to support case-based teaching and learning. Eleven graduate students studying at a distance were divided into three groups to collaborate on a case study using either a synchronous voice, an asynchronous voice, or a synchronous text communication system. Participants kept a detailed log of the time they spent on various activities, wrote a 1,500-word reflection on their experience, and participated in a group interview. Analysis of these data reveals that each group supplemented the system that had been assigned to the From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Measuring MBA Student Learning: Does Distance Make a Difference? This article reports on an exploratory research effort in which the extent of MBA student learning on twelve specific competencies relevant to effective business performance was assessed. The article focuses on the extent to which differences in student learning outcomes may be influenced by one of three different types of instructional delivery: on-campus, distance, and executive MBA. It affirms the high quality of learning that can occur via distance education and proposes a strategy to conduct summative, program-level assessment. Specific findings include participants in all three groups se From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Quality Standards in eLearning: A Matrix of Analysis Most institutions of postsecondary and higher education are creating or adopting quality statements, standards, and criteria regarding their niche of the "eLearning enterprise." In doing so, they have a tendency to reinvent the wheel. This article summarizes current published quality standards in the US, and analyzes and organizes them into a nine-cell matrix. It concludes with discussion of emerging issues with respect to the nine standards-areas. Key Terms: ELearning, online learning, Web-based learning, quality standards; development, delivery and support of online learning From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

A Study of the Relationship Between Tutor's Personality and Teaching Effectiveness: Does Culture Make A Difference? Good tutoring requires appropriate interpersonal and pedagogical skills. Tutor personality is a major factor affecting how tutors communicate and deals with students, and yet it is a largely unexplored context of distance education. Using the Chinese Personality Assessment Inventory (CPAI)* this paper examines how the personality of tutors' affects their teaching effectiveness at a distance learning institution in Hong Kong. The results are compared to those reported by Chan (2001) in a similar study using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The results indicate that certain scales on From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Notes: Integrated Course Delivery Packages This report contains updates of three products: Elluminate, LearnLinc, and Wimba. Each features audio communication, both asynchronous and synchronous, and has been selected for this report to complement the preceding review of Internet audio products. The three packages also contain integrated applications for online, classroom-like, educational activities and discussions. A fourth service, Ed2Go, offers online tutorial facilities similar to those provided by the Elluminate vendor. The four reviews are offered as examples of the many products now offering integrated applications of this type. From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:51 p.m..

Technical Notes: Internet Audio Products (Update) The benefits in distance education of collaborative interaction via online, synchronous audio methods have been discussed in previous reports in this series. As the months go by, new software products are continually introduced to the market and existing products updated. In addition, the effect of increased traffic on the software servers is noted. The current report updates some of the series' previous reviews of online audio-conferencing products (i.e., iVisit, NetMeeting, PalTalk, and Yahoo Messenger), selected because they permit conferencing (i.e., interaction between three or more From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Research Notes Article: Bridges to Effective Learning Through Radio Indira Gandhi National Open University has been allotted 40 FM radio stations from which to broadcast educational programmes for the benefit of students and general public in India. These FM radio stations, delivered through the Gyan Vani network, cater to learners seeking to gain knowledge in the areas of basic, primary, higher, and extension education. Radio programming covers various subject areas. It is anticipated that the opening of India's airwaves will prove beneficial to the nation's general population, thus fostering the democratising principals of empowerment, advocacy, From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Research Note Article: Is Enough Too Much? The dilemma for online distant learner supporters We are a gregarious species, so it is not surprising that distance learners can be prone to feelings of isolation. In the days of traditional print-dominant distance education, attrition rates were often higher among distance learners than for their on-campus counterparts; but now, with the wider choice of communication options afforded by the online revolution, institutions have opportunity to look afresh at ways of compensating for the loneliness of long distance learners. However, teachers in higher education have their own problems. By viewing an online program as a human activity system, From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Book Review - E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning Book Review - E-tivities: The Key to Active Online Learning From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Book Review - Libraries Without Walls 4: the delivery of library services to distant users Book Review - Libraries Without Walls 4: the delivery of library services to distant users From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Book Review - Telecentres: Case Studies and Key Issues Book Review - Telecentres: Case Studies and Key Issues From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Book Review - Distance Learning Technologies: Issues, Trends and Opportunities Book Review - Distance Learning Technologies: Issues, Trends and Opportunities From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Book Review - African Virtual University: The case of Kenyatta University, Kenya Book Review - African Virtual University: The case of Kenyatta University, Kenya From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Book Review - The Strategic Use of Learning Technologies Book Review - The Strategic Use of Learning Technologies From International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

The Ontario Library Association is sponsoring an online 8-week program, Beyond Google: Searching Fas ... The Ontario Library Association is sponsoring an online 8-week program, Beyond Google: Searching Faster and Smarter on the Web, led by library web search expert Rita Vine. Starts April 26, 2004 From Peter Scott's Library Blog on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

Introduction to The European Library Britta Woldering, The European Library: Integrated access to the national libraries of Europe, Access, March 2004. Excerpt: "The European Library (TEL) Project [was] completed at the end of January 2004. The key aim of TEL was to investigate the feasibility of establishing a new Pan-European service which would ultimately give access to the combined resources of the national libraries of Europe....The European Library service will be a portal which offers integr From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

More on Scopus Anon., Scopus to challenge Web of Science? Access, March 2004. Excerpt: "Elsevier is developing a bibliographic database called Scopus, which several industry observers believe will compete with ISI's Web of Science for library dollars. At the heart of Scopus is the world's largest abstracts database of over 12,900 journal titles from 4,000 publishers providing access to over 25 million abstracts going back to 1966 and 5 years of reference back years, building up to 10 years by 2005....Throughout From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

More on the end of the trade embargo on scientific editing Sophie Rovner, Government ends editing embargo, Chemical & Engineering News, April 7, 2004. A brief overview of the controversy and recent decision. From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:50 p.m..

CHE letters on high journal prices The Chronicle of Higher Education has finally (April 9) published three letters to the editor in response to Christopher Reed's February 20 article, Just Say No to Exploitative Publishers of Science Journals (accessible only to subscribers). One is from Bill Schwert, an editor of Elsevier' Journal of Financial Economics, observing that the literature is costly to produce and, inconsistently, criticizing Reed for publishing in a toll-access publication. O From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

Launch of Research Blogs Today marks the launch of Research Blogs, a communal blog for M.A. and Ph.D. students writing theses and dissertations, sponsored by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

ALPSP/Charlesworth awards 2004 ALPSP is has announced the ALPSP/Charlesworth Awards for 2004 and welcomes nominations, including self-nominations. The deadline for ALPSP awards is June 1. The deadline for ALPSP/Charlesworth awards is June 11. From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

Review of Free Culture and the Anarchist in the Library Farhad Manjoo, The mouse who would be king, Salon, April 8, 2004. (Free after watching a commercial.) Manjoo reviews Lawrence Lessig's Free Culture and Siva Vaidhyanatha's The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control Is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System, two books that argue against current copyright laws. "It is difficult to read either of these books without worrying that the authors have already lost the fight," the reviewer writes despairingly. Muc From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

Scirus the one for scientists Kristen Philipkoski, Turning Search into a Science, Wired News, April 8, 2004. The news article points out for scientists the benefits of searching Elsevier's Scirus, a scientific search engine, as opposed to Google. "Scirus is a search engine for scientists that allows them to dig through not just scientific journals, but also unpublished research, university websites, corporate Internet sites, conference agendas and minutes, discussion groups and mailing-list archives." The author goes further to mention that Sc From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

Cultural scholars look at OA in context Naomi S. Baron, Rethinking written culture, Language Sciences 26(1), 57-96 (January 2004). In an extensive essay on the computer's impact on how we perceive and make written culture, Baron includes a section "5.2. Challenging attributes of written culture," which mentions rethinking notions of copyright and gives a passing reference to open access: how do you motivate authors to create new works (from which they can benefit financially) while at the same time making those works readily available to promote the common good? The issue of open access is particularly salient in the US, where From FOS News on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

Copyright Lesson Activity Last week, we gave our online students an activity on Copyright and Fair Use: Do the Right Thing, which I have also recently posted in the Maricopa Learning eXchange: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=1264 The subject merits almost an entire course in itself, but we boiled it down to sending them to to excellent web tutorials: (1) Intellectual Property Law: Why Should I Care?- Carlos And Eddie From cogdogblog on April 8, 2004 at 5:49 p.m..

Wiki Wanderings, Con't First of all, the periodic Manila quirk of not allowing comments reared its ugly head on my last post, so I want to make sure Tom's response doesn't go unnoted. My experience (and I do have some actual experience with wikis at our school) has been that teachers like wikis simply because it allows them to easily make new pages and add content. Like everything else, it would take a constant push to get peo From weblogged News on April 8, 2004 at 5:48 p.m..

Link to Jew Das ist mir ein Anliegen. Google-Bombing Blogger ändern Nazi-Suchergebnis bei Google . »Eine antisemitische Website, landete in Google auf Platz eins, wenn man den englischen Suchbegriff «Jew» einga... From thomas n. burg | randgänge on April 8, 2004 at 5:48 p.m..

State-Sponsored Death The world's top three executioners, according to Amnesty International, are (in order): China, Iran and the United States. Aren't you proud to be in such company? From Dan Gillmor's eJournal on April 8, 2004 at 5:47 p.m..

Making the News: Draft of Chapter 7 This is a draft of Chapter 7 of my upcoming book, "Making the News." From Dan Gillmor's eJournal on April 8, 2004 at 5:47 p.m..

Why Google's E-Mail Service Could be Evil John Gilmore deconstructs the terms of service of GMail, Google's upcoming e-mail operation. The problems are worse than I'd imagined. Anyone who cares one iota for privacy should not sign up unless these terms of service (which are, to be fair, only in draft form now) are changed in overwhelmingly more pro-privacy ways. Cory Doctorow suggests people send a friendly e-mail to gmail-feedback@google.com. Maybe that will help. But the fact that Google could come up with even a dra From Dan Gillmor's eJournal on April 8, 2004 at 5:47 p.m..

BloggerCon: Presidential Bloggers Four years ago, almost no one would have connected the words "presidential" and "weblog" -- the very notion would have seemed bizarre. No longer. At next week's BloggerCon, I propose to look at presidential weblogs from four perspectives: