FYI - 3rd Virtual Seminar in Distance Education
ETC - New Policy Paper is Good News
Clinton Defends Internet Subsidies for Schools and Libraries

FYI
3rd Virtual Seminar in Distance Education

From Eugene D. Rubin, Associate Vice President, Office of Instructional Development, University of Maryland University College:

There are still several places available in the 3rd Virtual Seminar in Distance Education: Professional Development for Distance Educators and Administrators. This seminar features online dialogues with world renown distance education experts Borje Holmberg, Otto Peters, Gary Miller and Tony Bates, as well as participants from all over the world. The Seminar includes discussion modules on the Foundations, Theories, Institutional Models and Technologies of distance education, and runs from Sept. 7 to Nov. 13. Please go to:

http:/www.umuc.edu/ide/seminar/apply. html

Eugene Rubin - University of Maryland University College
Ulrich Bernath - Oldenburg University, Germany

ETC
New Policy Paper is Good News
Clinton Defends Internet Subsidies for Schools and Libraries

New Policy Paper is Good News - A new Clinton Administration policy paper says that the U.S. will turn the administration of Internet domain-name addresses to a yet-to-be-established international nonprofit group whose membership will be decided by the private sector worldwide. Internet Society president Don Heath was pleased with the decision: "This clearly shows the U.S. government heard the international community and listened to them. They showed they understood the dynamics of the Internet, the need for bottom-up, grassroots consensus building. This is a victory for the Internet and a victory of self-governance." (New York Times 6 Jun 98)

Clinton Defends Internet Subsidies for Schools and Libraries - Responding to strong bipartisan criticism of the new "e-rate" program established by the 1996 Telecommunications Act to subsidize Internet access in schools and libraries through fees imposed on long- distance companies, President Clinton told an MIT commencement audience: "I say we cannot afford not to have an e-rate. Thousands of poor schools and libraries and rural health centers are in desperate need of discounts. If we really believe that we all belong in the Information Age, then, at this sunlit moment of prosperity, we can't leave anyone behind in the dark." AT&T and MCI have said they plan to pass the new charges on to consumers by increasing their monthly phone bills by as much as 5 to 6%. Clinton also urged states to impose technological literacy standards to insure that entering high school students are proficient at such tasks as word processing and Web navigation. (Washington Post 6 Jun 98)