COLLABORATION ON WEB-BASED LEARNING - In an agreement signed, Monday, January 10, 2000, the UW System, the Technical College System and the Department of Defense established the Wisconsin Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Laboratory to serve as a focal point for World Wide Web-based learning. This first such collaboration by academe and the Defense Dept, is meant to be a proving ground for tools and technologies used in teaching and learning over the Internet. A chief goal is the creation of standards that would allow the easy transfer of information from one computer system to another, making courseware equally available, regardless of the type of hardware chosen and cheaper to use. Katherine Lyall, UW System president, said the partnership allows Wisconsin to have a global role in shaping online learning. The Wisconsin Lab will be housed in the Pyle Center, UW-Extension, a state-of-the-art conference center located on the UW-Madison campus, operated by a variety of technology specialists. One of the reasons UW-Extension was chosen is because it is the oldest distanced learning institution in the nation. For more information see: http://www.adlnet.org (WI State Journal 11 Jan 00)

DNA COMPUTER IS CREATED AND DOES COMPLEX CALCULATIONS - A research team at the University of Wisconsin has successfully used synthetic DNA attached to a solid surface to perform calculations, moving DNA computing closer to real-world use. Traditional computers run on chips, but chip technology might be reaching the limits of its potential. A number of research teams in the United States are now working to build computers that leverage the tremendous storage capacity of DNA and RNA. Most DNA computers that have been created in the past confine the DNA to test tubes filled with liquid, but the University of Wisconsin team was able to attach the DNA strands to a piece of glass. The Wisconsin team, led by Dr. Lloyd Smith, coded the synthetic DNA strands to hold all possible answers to a problem with 16 possible solutions. The team built several computers, which were able to solve different calculations over a period of several days. Researchers have been working on DNA computing only since 1994, and less than a dozen research groups in the United States are working in this field. (New York Times, 13 Jan 2000 - Edupage 14 Jan 00) NEW TTT ISSUE - The new issue of Teaching with Technology Today, the online UW System publication on educational technology, is now up on the Web at http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/. Articles include:

• "Faculty Ownership and Control of Digital Course Materials" by Glenda Morgan. Morgan argues that the use of high-tech teaching materials has profoundly altered traditional practices in higher education, raising complex questions about faculty ownership and copyright. This article includes an excellent resource/reference guide to the debate about faculty ownership, including further reading and specific policies.
• "The Wisconsin Web-Based Learning System: What's New and How to Get Involved" Hal Schlais provides a "state of the union" report on WWBLS and offers tips for instructors wishing to get involved.
• "Reinventing the Basics: Madison Chemistry Department Receives Pew Grant for Course Redesign" Read about the $200,000 grant received by Madison's chemistry department and its plans for restructuring a high-enrollment general chemistry sequence to improve learning and reduce costs.
• "Expanding the Graduate Seminar through Compressed Video: Linking Students and Scholars." Read about educational technology in the humanities and social science classroom in this profile of two UW-Madison professors using compressed video. They've broadened the research circles of their graduate students by linking them to their colleagues on other campuses like Minnesota and Stanford.
• "Forging Online, International Partnerships: UW-Stout's New Global Hospitality Management Concentration" by Joseph Holland, Christine Clements and James Buergermeister. Read about a new, on-line MS program at UW-Stout and how its founders managed the task of creating a new curriculum with international partners.