THEME - Last in a Series on Authorware: Using Blackboard's CourseInfo

UPFRONT - Blackboard's CourseInfo-Something New to Try
FOCUS - Developing a Certificate Program with Blackboard Using CourseInfo
AND - Selecting and Implementing A Course Management System
MORE - Using CourseInfo, A Class Management Web site for Instructional Support
UW and WI NEWS - UWEX, ICS and WADEN
DID YOU KNOW? - FBI Investigating Melissa Virus, Mobil Email is Ready for Takeoff, Most Y2K Fixes Will Only Last a Generation, U.S. Now Has an Information Age Economy
BIZ FORCE - The Organization Wide Task Force, Horizon Live Distance Learning Link
TECH READS - UCEA/Peterson's Guide to Distance Learning Programs, The New Age of the Book, Funding Sources for K-12 Education, The Videoconferencing Cookbook, Engines of Inquiry: A Practical Guide for Using Technology in Teaching American Culture
TECH AWARD - Adaptive Computer Technology-Norm Coombs
ETC! - Dissenting Voices on Computers in the Classroom, NODE Invites You to "Choosing Chat," Need Fast Answers? Try Fast Facts, Jones IU First Online University Accredited to Grant Degrees, Accreditation of JIU Criticized, Technology Coaching Anyone?
NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to New Subscribers
FYI - News, Conferences, Institutes, Events
ENDNOTE - Technology-See How it Grows
APRIL DESIEN ISSUE - Digital TV: Where is it Now and Where is it Going?

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UPFRONT

The relatively new and easy to use tool suite for building and managing online programs and courses, Blackboard's CourseInfo, is attracting attention with a great set of tools that can be used to create content, design assessments and manage all learner activity. Blackboard also allows you to try your hand at authoring and teaching with 120 days of free authoring and hosting of a class.

That's the way we started at UW-Madison and UW-Extension. Now UW-Extension has licensed CourseInfo, installed it at our institution and are in the early stages of developing programs and courses. The first FOCUS article in this issue looks at these beginning stages. The second two articles are from universities that are farther along - the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and California State University, Long Beach. They're each using it in quite different ways, as you'll see below.

(NOTE: If you'd like to try out the 120 day free offer, go to: http://classroom.blackboard.net)

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FOCUS

Developing A Certificate Program With Blackboard Using
CourseInfo: An Interview with Dolores Niles,
Assistant Professor, UW-Madison
Dept. of Professional Development and Applied Studies
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Assistant Professor, Dolores (Dee) Niles is in the process of developing a Certificate Program with Blackboard's CourseInfo. DESIEN interviewed Dolores on her choice of CourseInfo and on the process she's using.

DESIEN - What attracted you to CourseInfo, Dolores?

DOLORES - I looked at different kinds of authorware and Blackboard's CourseInfo seemed to be the friendliest. For example, I didn't have to learn HTML. I talked to several faculty members from other universities who had used it and received good comments. They said that it was easy to use and that it embodied a good faculty/student communication concept.

DESIEN - Describe your Certificate Program and how you'll be using Blackboard's CourseInfo.

DOLORES - Our department chair, Roger Williams, received a grant to develop an Administrative Skills Certificate Program and asked me to lead a group in developing the program. I began with a survey of 1400 to determine desired content to be included and decided that we would kick the program off with a face-to-face Institute that would offer some of the topics and follow this up with 5 online core courses. The institute will be held in May and I'm working, with three other faculty members on the online courses.

DESIEN - Can you describe the process that you're going through?

DOLORES - The content for the first course, which is a Leadership course is new, so it's taken me more time than the others will. I first had to immerse myself in the content and at the same time in the instructional design. I selected the concepts I wanted to convey, prepared a bibliography, set up document files and am developing scenarios for students to use in an interactive way. The secret is getting students involved. They'll be able to email within the course and use asynchronous chat, but I'm not using synchronous chat or streaming audio or video - although Blackboard's CourseInfo has these capabilities.

The Evaluation portion of the course and overall program will be very important, and we're planning to incorporate specific questions that relate to the online environment, as well as content and we're using email for student feedback.

DESIEN - Are you finding CourseInfo as easy to use as you thought?

DOLORES - Yes, I'm very pleased. It really is "instructor friendly," has a very nice look and is capable of doing all of the things I need to do - and more.

DESIEN - Support is critical in distance education. How have you incorporated that?

DOLORES - UW-Extension is providing server Administrative support and Instructional Communications Systems (ICS) will provide the technical support. We've already held several meetings to pinpoint the specific support that we'll need. I'm working with the technical personnel to put together a list of FAQ's for the students that will describe possible scenarios of what can happen and how to do initial troubleshooting and then we'll have an 800 number for them to call if more help is needed. I'm also including an extensive piece in the course materials on what this different environment is like and what students need be aware of for this kind of learning.

A book that has been very helpful to me is: Building Communities in Cyberspace: Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom by Rena M. Palloff and Keith Prat. I highly recommend it. It's been an excellent resource!

DESIEN - Would you agree to doing an article for DESIEN when the first couple of courses have been completed and you've pulled together some evaluation information?

DOLORES - Certainly. I'd like to share what we've learned

DESIEN - Thanks so much, Dolores. We'll look forward to your results and to that article.

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AND

Selecting and Implementing A Course Management System
Rhonda J. Spearman
Web Instructional Technologist
Innovative Technologies Collaborative
University of Tennessee, Knoxville

In fall 1997, Academic Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville formed a Web Task Force to address teaching and learning online. The Task Force comprised faculty members, administrators, and support staff from across campus. Its mission was to identify issues concerning online delivery of courses and discuss solutions regarding policy, implementation, cost, and support solutions. The Innovative Technologies Collaborative (ITC) was charged with reviewing popular course management systems (CMS) and selecting one for the University. The goal was to choose a package that did not require users to learn HTML and offered features and options to accommodate the needs of faculty just beginning to publish materials on the Web as well as experienced Web publishers and end users.

During phase one, Web Instructional Technologists Gina P. Roberts and Rhonda J. Spearman looked at several CMS packages including WebCT, TopClass, and Lotus Learning Space. The process included loading demo software onto a server and creating mock courses to test the tools and features. The evaluation centered on course design, administration, testing, student use, communication tools, interface design, customer support, hardware and software requirements, cost and general usability of the packages.

The second phase involved forming a faculty focus group comprising faculty members from across the University with skill levels from beginner to "bleeding edge" expert to review the two CMS packages selected by the ITC. For two four-hour days, faculty evaluated WebCT and Blackboard's CourseInfo by building courses using files and materials provided by the ITC. These materials consisted of URLs, word processing documents, spreadsheets, animations, movies, audio files, PDF documents, HTML files, and print-based tests to transfer into the test generators. At the end of the evaluation process the faculty members chose Blackboard's CourseInfo unanimously.

Twenty-five faculty members were chosen to pilot the use of CourseInfo to deliver course curriculum online. They received little instruction after initializing their course accounts but were provided with phone, email, and one-on-one support upon request. The ITC also developed a Web site with support materials and information.

Faculty and students have been very pleased with CourseInfo and the powerful features it provides. As with any pilot, the test group has suggested improvements, and Blackboard has responded enthusiastically to suggestions. Most troubleshooting centers on typical user issues such as forgotten passwords and user error. The most interesting discovery of the pilot run has been the number of students unaccustomed to browsing the Web or working in a multiple window environment, whether Mac or WinTel, Netscape or Internet Explorer. The most popular features of CourseInfo are the built-in online gradebook, digital dropbox, and chat facilities with virtual field trip capabilities. In four courses students have never met face-to-face with the instructor and other class members. The groups communicate through email, their discussion board, and chat. Collaborative group projects in these courses have also been successful.

Courses at UTK using CourseInfo include journalism, education, engineering, agricultural sciences, information sciences, and business administration. If you wish to visit UTK's CourseInfo courses as a guest, please send email to online@utk.edu to request the information

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MORE

Using CourseInfo, A Class Management Web site for Instructional Support
Eric Hansen, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Management
Department of Management/HRM
California State University, Long Beach

During the spring semester of 1998, I used a class management website, called CourseInfo, as a teaching/learning tool. My experience with it was very positive. The course was an MBA capstone course. I teach this course on campus in a traditional classroom. The class meets once a week, on Tuesday evening, for three hours. There is no distance learning component. It is a traditional seminar, with about twenty students in the class. Students typically organize themselves into about five teams. CourseInfo is a class management set of webpages. The site consists of a number of different online modules, and I used it in a number of different ways to support the student learning experience.

The announcement feature on the homepage was a good place for general information and for an information backup to general email. Of course there's the standard page to set up the syllabus and course description. I noticed practical advantages in being able to communicate with individual students, a group of students, or all of my students at any time, without having to wait for the next class meeting. I had students upload all of the papers that they submit, and I graded them and sent them back.

A related benefit was my ability to manage the students' workload. For example, this class met once a week, on Tuesday nights. But because students were submitting papers by uploading them rather than turning in hardcopy, I wasn't limited to having Tuesday night due dates. Students had the ability to submit papers at any time. In practice, they frequently opted to have papers due on Sunday evenings or first thing Monday morning.

CourseInfo's communication module was probably the most used feature. Each team had a homepage, and they used its chatroom feature to hold online team meetings to work on their case preparations. This was pretty important, since students were all commuting, and arranging off-campus meeting sites was generally inconvenient.

The discussion board was the most active single feature. Because there were twenty students in the class, classroom discussions generally excluded several people... the shy ones. Initially, I decided to remedy this by using the discussion board as an extension of the classroom discussion. Thus students who were not as extroverted as others were able to participate actively in 'classroom' discussions. To energize the discussion board, I would usually seed it with a few cryptic comments of my own about the next class's reading assignment and what that might have to do with the assigned case. This made the discussion very relevant for the upcoming case presentations.

The discussion board became the 'hot' spot on the CourseInfo site. In addition to accomplishing its intended purpose of including shy students in the discussion, it emerged as an ongoing daily dialogue centered around course topics. By the third week of the semester, the quality of the written and oral case presentations shot up, and it stayed higher than I've ever seen it for the next twelve weeks. This, in turn, energized the in-class discussions.

Putting this all together, the total impact of using CourseInfo was greater than the sum of its parts. At least for this class, CourseInfo radically changed the nature of the learning experience. Students were used to having a one-night a week class 'meeting,' with perhaps one outside team meeting every two weeks to prepare assignments. The addition of CourseInfo metamorphosed the more traditional experience into an ongoing, interactive community of learners... literally active on a daily basis.

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UW and WI NEWS

UW-EXTENSION - An Interview in the first edition of "Solutions: Practical Information for Training Professionals" focused on 'Training for the Next Millennium' and featured comments by several University of Wisconsin Extension staff: Rosemary Lehman and Bruce Dewey, Distance Education Specialists with Instructional Communications Systems, The Pyle Center and Martha Mealy, Coordinator of UW Learning Innovations development team. The article highlighted the trends of: 1) videoconferencing and Internet use, 2) the introduction of digital TV and wireless technology, 3) the growing emphasis on identifying individual learning styles, 4) delivering personalized training and 5) blending technologies. (Solutions, vol. 1 no. 1 Feb 99)

INSTRUCTIONAL COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS (ICS) - In addition to its regular videoconferencing workshops for Wisconsin universities, colleges, government and the private sector, the ICS Instructional Design Team has just completed a national workshop for Lucent Technologies with sites in Seattle, WA; Englewood, CO and Warren, NJ and Pershing Securities in Jersey City, NJ.

The Team is now preparing four, two-hour intensive Orientations with 24 sites and 360 participants for the Louisiana Board of Regents (BOR). Participants represent all of the Louisiana two and four-year state educational institutions under the BOR. ICS is also working with the BOR to develop two sets of Advanced Videoconferencing sessions at a later date. In addition, Louisiana is enrolling a number of its campus faculty in the Distance Education Professional Development (DEPD) Program. According to the Louisiana BOR CIO, Louisiana wanted the very best for teaching them about Distance Learning - and that was the University of Wisconsin.

WADEN - The Wisconsin Association of Distance Education Networks (WASEN) has just launched a new web resource featuring information about courses and programs offered by members of more than 30 distance education networks throughout the state.

WADEN members, representing Wisconsin K-12 districts, CESA districts, University of Wisconsin institutions, the Wisconsin Technical College System, private and tribal colleges, and health care organizations, have joined together to develop, build and maintain the searchable database.

"Our WADEN members include a broad cross-section of Wisconsin educational organizations who are using distance education networks to make programs and courses more accessible to students, staff and community members," according to Robert Hannu, WADEN chair. "We are building the foundation for this database, but even in its early stages it addresses the growing need to incorporate distance education program information from various networks into a single, searchable database environment," said Hannu.

Working on the premise that information and resource sharing is a key issue, WADEN designed the online database to help educators easily access distance education program information from multiple sources, build network usage profiles, plan educational programs, and potentially share programs and teaching resources across two or more networks. But as it develops, this database will be an informational resource for anyone, added Hannu. It is accessible from the WADEN website at: www.uwex.edu/disted/waden.

The WADEN program database currently lists information about nearly 400 courses and sessions offered during this semester, as well as information about nearly 300 fall 1998 events. Courses from accounting to fourth-year languages are offered via the various networks, reaching such audiences as high school students, UW and technical college students, teachers and community members. The networks are also used for staff training, professional development and meetings.

In collaboration with the WADEN membership, Instructional Communications Systems of University of Wisconsin-Extension provides the design, structure and continued support of the database.

Formed in 1997, WADEN seeks to provide cooperative and collaborative distance education courses, programs, meetings, and community events to Wisconsin students, educators and other residents. More information about WADEN is available at: www.uwex.edu/disted/waden.

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DID YOU KNOW?

FBI INVESTIGATING MELISSA VIRUS - The cybercrime unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the "Melissa" computer virus that has spread more quickly than any previous virus in computer history (Edupage, 28 Mar 99). The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Centers said it received reports of "significant network degradation and e-mail outages" at major Internet service providers and corporations, including Intel and Microsoft. However, Microsoft chief executive Bill Gates said that the response to the virus has generally shown that the industry's anti-virus capability works well. (Reuters/San Jose Mercury News 29 Mar 99)

MOBILE EMAIL IS READY FOR TAKEOFF - A new class of devices that combine the features of mobile phones and laptops is set to launch, enabling users to dial into corporate networks and the Internet regardless of where they are. By 2002, nearly 12.6 million U.S. consumers will be spending more than $5 billion to connect to wireless networks. According to market research firm Telecompetition there will be a four-fold increase over the number of wireless data network users last year. Industry experts predict that combination devices that do everything - fax, email, scheduling - will not fare as well in the market as lighter-weight application-specific devices. (Los Angeles Times 15 Mar 99)

MOST Y2K FIXES WILL ONLY LAST A GENERATION - The fix used to patch 80% of the worlds' computers to avert a Y2K crisis is actually only a short-term remedy called "windowing." Rather than using a permanent fix called "expansion," which requires transforming all two-digit year-dates found in software into four-digit year-dates, the "windowing" patch is a trick that forces software to "guess" whether dates fall in the 1900s or the 2000s; typically, lower numbers (perhaps up to 30) will belong to the new century, whereas higher numbers (such as 87) will belong to the old century. Although many experts say this is the only practical way to solve the problem, others are warning that the "windowing" approach is just pushing the problem under the rug for awhile. Keith Rhodes of the General Accounting Office says, "It's like the oil filter guy: You can pay me now or you can pay me later. It's not solving your problem. It's delaying the inevitable." (San Jose Mercury News 15 Mar 99)

U.S. NOW HAS AN INFORMATION-AGE ECONOMY - Replacing an industry classification that has existed for 60 years, the U.S. Commerce Department has introduced a new system that recognizes this leap into the information age. Using the new system, the government reports in 1997, 1.7 million microcomputer and electronic positions at 17,000 locations. The Commerce Department also says that more e-mail than snail mail was sent in 1997, and that U.S. Consumers bought more computers than automobiles. (The report is silent on the question of whether there were more computer crashes than automobile crashes, but if there weren't the highways would be impassable.) The government developed the new classification system because "in an information-based economy, the quality of information determines the quality of policy." (USA Today 17 Mar 99)

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BIZ FORCE

THE ORGANIZATION WIDE LEARNING TASK FORCE - is one of the key strategies for handling the maze of technology for learning options. The Task Force is a powerful tool for building collaboration across varied business units exploring learning technology. One great example is Chase Manhattan Bank. Over the past year, they have drawn together dozens of lines of business to share information and strategies for approaching learning technology. The task force model recognizes that business units may decide to implement learning technology on their own to meet immediate needs, yet there are ways to share and coordinate knowledge and experiments across the entire organization. The task force at Chase has created a decision support database and has been a great point of contact for the organization to review new products and approaches. (DEOS, Mar 99)

HORIZON LIVE DISTANCE LEARNING LINK - a leader in interactive group learning, today announced that Snelling Personnel, one of the worlds largest providers of temporary and full time job placement services, will use Horizon's live distance learning technology to remotely train and educate more than 3,000 employees of its Franchise and company-owned offices across the US. The company is considering the possibility of extending this initiative for use by its 100,000+ temporary employees.

Snelling-affiliated employees will have access to live audio and video Horizon-powered classes through the new "virtual campus" of Snelling University (SU), the company's premiere educational program. SU students will now be able to take classes with other SU students, regardless of location, and have access to the firm's most knowledgeable trainers, as well as interactive discussion groups and workshops. Horizon's engine creates greater access to communication for Snelling, saving money on corporate travel and increasing productivity. (Horizon Live 29 MAR 99)

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TECH READS

UCEA/PETERSON'S GUIDE TO DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS - is a 700 page wealth of information that is updated annually. The 1999 edition is now available. A survey is being mailed this spring for information for the year 2000 edition. The year 2000 Guide goes to press late summer and hits libraries and bookstores in late fall. See: www.lifelonglearning.com (UCEA Mar 99)

THE NEW AGE OF THE BOOK - "If the future brings newspapers without news, journals without pages and libraries without walls, what will become of the traditional book? Will electronic publishing wipe it out?" Robert Darnton, professor of history at Princeton University and the president of the American Historical Association, asks these questions in his article "The New Age of the Book" (THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, March 18, 1999). Darnton believes that the traditional scholarly book could survive by being transformed into or supplemented by the electronic monograph. His article is available online at: http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/WWWfeatdisplay.cgi?19990318005F

Other articles from The New York Review of Books are available online at http://www.nybooks.com/nyrev/index.html (INFOBITS No. 9, Mar 99)

FUNDING SOURCES FOR K-12 EDUCATION - is an excellent source now in its second edition. It includes information on over 1,500 funding opportunities for K-12 education programs with 200 new entries. Among programs funded are those for curriculum development, teacher training and development, arts-in-education and other discipline-enrichment programs, conferences and seminars, materials and equipment, building construction and renovation and general operating costs. It also includes a Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing by Jeremy and Lynn Miner. It can be ordered through The Oryx Press, 800-279-6799.

THE VIDEOCONFERENCING COOKBOOK - is a new manual published by the Southeastern Universities Research Association and available over the Internet. It is designed for university and college administrators and faculty members with responsibility for selecting hardware and software for video. To access it, go to: http://sunsite.utk.edu/video_cookbook/

ENGINES OF INQUIRY: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR USING TECHNOLOGY IN TEACHING AMERICAN CULTURE - is a new resource created as part of the American Studies Crossroads Project with major funding by FIPSE and the Annenberg/CPB Project and Georgetown University. It provides practical information and a framework for integrating technology into teaching and learning. A companion video is also available. To preview, visit: www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/guide/index.html

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TECH AWARD

ADAPTIVE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY - Norm Coombs, Chair of EASI, received the Strache Leadership Award for his contributions to the use of adaptive computer technology by people with disabilities. Coombs is an inspiring human being, effective leader and an outstanding speaker. Enabling people with disabilities to participate fully in teaching and learning is the most obviously "cost-effective" and significant way of using information technology. Coombs and his EASI colleagues are eager and able to provide information and guidance to those ready to use technology to support people with disabilities. A link to an audio recording of the evening meeting during which Coombs' award was presented will soon be available from EASI's Web page: http://www.rit.edu/~easi

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ETC!

DISSENTING VOICES ON COMPUTERS IN THE CLASSROOM - In defiance of the conventional wisdom that it would be desirable (in the words of President Clinton) to connect "every classroom in America to the Internet by the year 2000," there are increasingly vocal critics of the use of computers in K-12 instruction. One of the leaders of this defiance is William L. Rukeyser of the nonprofit Learning in the Real World organization, who says: "So many programs were being slaughtered by the perception that if it didn't involve computers, it wasn't worth anything. I quickly realized that there was this tremendous faith that computers were in fact some plaster saint that would save the day." He adds, "We're not pushing our brand of solution, and we're not saying that the emperor has no clothes. We're just asking, is his tie on straight and do his socks match?" (New York Times 17 Mar 99)

NODE INVITES YOU TO "CHOOSING CHAT" - the latest discussion thread in "Technology and Transformation: Teaching and Training Online", is an open, ongoing forum for educators, researchers, administrators and instructional designers to come together and share their work, ideas, experiences, questions and concerns about the use of technologies in education and training. The second guest moderators of this forum are Tom Green and Tom Auger, who teach at the Digital Imaging Centre of Humber College in Toronto, Canada. They will discuss the use of chat as a learning tool, the challenges of teaching "multimedia" online and the similarities (and differences) between online and face-to- ace teaching. To participate, go to: http://node.on.ca/techtrans/ and click on the "JOIN THE FORUM" link to read their introductory postings and contribute your thoughts! (Leslie Fournier)

NEED FAST ANSWERS? TRY FAST FACTS - The National Center for Education Statistics recently unveiled a new Web site section called "Fast Facts". "Fast Facts" provides answers to the most-asked higher education questions, including all relevant tables and data sources. It is to be updated as suggestions from users are received. To visit "Fast Facts," click on: http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/index.asp

JONES IU - FIRST ONLINE UNIVERSITY ACCREDITED TO GRANT DEGREES - Jones International University, a four-year-old, for-profit institution, has become the first exclusively online school accredited to grant baccalaureate and postbaccalaureate degrees. It received accreditation last week from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Owned by cable television magnate Glenn R. Jones, JIU currently offers bachelor's and master's degrees in business communications, using courses developed by professors at such reputed business schools as Columbia and Stanford Universities, and taught by part-time, adjunct faculty. Certificate programs have formed the bulk of the institution's offerings since its founding in 1995. Accreditation will now enable eligible JIU students to participate in federal financial aid programs. Read more in The Wall Street Journal, March 9, 1999 and online at: www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/03/cyber/articles/13learning.html

ACCREDITATION OF JONES IU CRITICIZED - James Perley, head of the American Association of University Professors' committee on accrediting, has written a letter to Steven Crow, executive director of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, expressing "shock and dismay" over the association's decision to grant accreditation to Jones International University. "By all public accounts, this virtual institution presents a very weak case for accreditation. Indeed it embodies most of our major worries about the denigration of quality that could follow this apparently inexorable march toward online education." Perley noted that there were only two full-time professors among the 56 faculty members, with the rest adjuncts who also held full-time jobs elsewhere. He also cited the brevity of Jones International's courses and the lack of learning resources, such as a library or laboratories. Crow has responded that AAUP was misinformed, and that Jones International met the intent of the requirements for accreditation. (Chronicle of Higher Education 2 Apr 99)

TECHNOLOGY COACHING ANYONE? - Instructional technology coaching for faculty is all the rage these days at well- heeled universities. But what if your institution doesn't see the need, or can't afford a "campus innovation center?" Enter Anne Keating, Curriculum Coordinator for Instructional Technology at UCEA member New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. With colleague Joseph Hargetai of the NYU Innovation Center, Keating has brought out a new book and Web site that offer personal technology coaching for the rest of us. Published by NYU Press, The Wired Professor "tells faculty members everything they ever wanted to know about creating Web sites" according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, which adds that its "...well-organized Web site...contains both on-line instruction and links to the Web sites of NYU faculty members - sites engaging enough to make almost anybody learn whatever it takes to create one." (UCEA, Mar 99)

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NEW ON THE LIST

Charles Bazerman, Phillip Robinson, Eddy Correlj, Roberta Zulawski, Mimi Lynch, M. Kip, J. Heckman, Alison Neilson, Anita Gaunt, Roxanne Wilson, Rosemary McCarthy, Mark Pennington, Marty Turnage, Jane Henderson, Wolfgang Amann, Kirk deFord, Nina Morberg, Chuck Edwards, Kimberley Yablonski, Shirley Lao, Trace Gunsch, Ken Candelaria, Gould Merrick and Sharifah Rodziah.

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FYI
News, Conferences, Institutes, Events

* "The Third Element: Student Services for Distance and Distributed Learning" is scheduled for Thursday, April 15, 1999 noon-1:30 PM (PT) sponsored by the California State University's Commission on the Extended University. Most institutions involved in distance and distributed education are concerned about two key elements: academic issues (curriculum and faculty) and technology. While it is essential to get these pieces right, the third element, student services and support, is often the most crucial to success or failure in technology-based education.

"The Third Element" brings together: Warren Ashley (California State University, Dominguez Hills), Pam MacBrayne (University of Maine System) and Janet Ross-Kendall (Washington State University). Register by calling: 209-278-2058.

* May 26-27, 1999 is the date for Creating Effective Online Instruction: A Hands-on Conference for Faculty and Developers," presented by the Online Academy and featuring national award-winning teams and their courses. The event is sponsored by the University of Kansas in Lawrence. For a detailed brochure go to: www.kumc.edu/kuce/app/online

* The Summer Institute for Intercultural Communications is scheduled to hold 3 Sessions of concurrent Workshops: July 14-16, July 19-23 and July 26-30, 1999. This wide range of workshops and seminars is designed to meet the needs of professionals in the areas of intercultural and multicultural communication in both domestic and international arenas. For further information see: www.intercultural.org (Name: SIIC, Password: brochure)

* The 15th Annual Conference on Distance Teaching and Learning Conference will be held August 4-6, 1999 in Madison, WI at the Marriott West. The Annual Conference is recognized internationally for its quality and integrity. Each year it provides a forum for the exchange of information on distance education and training. It addresses the needs of educators, trainers, managers and designers throughout the world. The conference will feature 90 sessions and workshops with an emphasis on "how to" guidelines and techniques, best practices, successful solutions and new development and trends - in addition to Exhibits. For more information see: www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/

* August 12 and 13, 1999 - 8:30 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. Eastern Michigan University (Ypsilanti, Michigan), Halle Library will sponsor a workshop that will provide hands-on experience and practical applications in how to blend interactive television (two-way video and two-way audio) and online technologies to actively engage learners, stimulate higher-level thinking and capture scheduling efficiencies. Topics will include ITV best practices (tips and techniques), how to create web sites and integrate multimedia applications, learner support systems, and accreditation data (what to collect and what to do with it). To obtain more information or a registration form, go to: www.dldynamics.com

* PictureTel Users Group conference is scheduled for September 12-15, 1999 in Sacramento, CA at the Sacramento Convention Center. Participate in educational experiences, explore new Videoconferencing innovations and demonstrations, exchange perspectives and experiences and hear about PictureTel's directions. For more information see: www.pug.com/apug/hot.htm

* Evaluating Web-based Courses will be held at the Rochester Institute of Technology, on October 1-2, 1999. The workshop will cover various aspects of quality assurance and improvement, with a focus on teaching and learning but also covering cost analysis. People with other interests in the study of technology in distance learning should also find this useful. Put the dates on your calendar and sign up for the free evaluation newsletter, F-LIGHT; it comes out once a month and, in addition to information on recent studies, includes information on upcoming workshops, Flashlight Online, new tool kits, etc. You can sign up by sending email to listproc@listproc.wsu.edu with the message SUBSCRIBE F-LIGHT (your name).

* The Governor's Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference (GWETC) - 1999 is scheduled for October 12-14 at the Midwest Express Center in Milwaukee, WI, with hands-on Workshops and Labs on the 11th and 12th. Now in its seventh year, GWETC is geared to K-12, Higher education and the private sector. For this year's conference, there will be three Keynote Speakers, over 200 Presentations, more than 200 Exhibits, and 20 plus hands-on Workshops and Labs. Special Events are also being added to this year's expanded Conference: Poster Sessions, Exhibitor Showcases, Hands-on Classrooms and Learning and Cultural Tours. For further information go to: www.gwetc.org

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ENDNOTE

Online Web Surfing Averages 6 Hours a Week - A recent poll conducted by Louis Harris and Associates indicates that the average online computer user in the U.S. spends six hours a week surfing the Web (not including sending and receiving e-mail - the most popular online activity. Sixty-three percent of online users say they use email "often," a 10% increase since September 1998. The next most popular activity (39%) was conducting research for work or school. Thirty-one percent of users shop online, with books the most frequently purchased item and software second. US Consumers will spend $56 billion on Internet access services over the next five years, and the market will grow 21 percent a year..." (Reuters 24 and 27 Mar 99)

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APRIL DESIEN ISSUE - Digital TV: Where is it Now and Where is it Going

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DESIEN ARCHIVE: An Archive has been created for past issues and interaction comments. Locate at: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/desien/

DESIEN has been created to encourage information exchange and discussion of distance education issues concerned with: 1) UW Systemwide distance education progress and institution course/program development, 2) faculty/team development, 3) technology, 4) policy, 5) funding and 6) research. List recipients outside of the UW System are also welcome to join in with information contributions and discussion.