FOCUS - Perspective ­ the Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC) by Rosemary Lehman
SUBSCRIBER REQUEST - Information on Student Suggested Course Offerings
WISCONSIN - GWETC 2000 Request for Proposals, TEACH Wisconsin Grants
LINES - Compiled from News Releases and Listservs
ED - Poorer Schools Have Trouble Getting Online, Fully Wired, Four- Part Prediction Series, Maine's King Seeks to Give All 7th-Graders Computers
BIZ/ED - Challenging Landscape, Learning Portals, Click2Learn
READS - Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything, Strategies for Effective Online Education
GLOBAL - Universities Told to Catch the E-Wave, Swapping Distance Learning for Peace?
HI TECH - Immersive Multimedia Theater, A New Digital Video Camera
ISSUES - The Digital Divide (Cont'd), Controversy: IT Guru Murray Turoff Sounds off on Integrating Distance Learning

NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to New Subscribers
FYI - News, Institutes, Conferences
POSITIONS - Executive Director of Stout Solutions, Distance Learning
Leader for The Institute for Academic Excellence
END NOTES - Quotes for Our Times
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(NOTE: The Florida Educational Technology Conference is one of the oldest in the country and by far the largest. Those of us involved in conference planning can learn much from the expertise that has been gained over the years, from the organizational skills that have been mastered and from the sincere commitment the state has to successfully integrate technology into all levels of education.)

FOCUS

Perspective ­ The Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC)

Rosemary Lehman
Senior Outreach/Distance Education Specialist
Instructional Communications Systems
University of Wisconsin-Extension

The first thing you notice about the FETC conference is its size. FETC is the largest technology conference in the country - and possibly the world. It's held annually in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida - a massive facility - attracts more than 17,000 participants, including 5,000 vendor attendees with 900 vendor booth areas. The vendor
area alone occupies more than 200,000 square feet. The conference provides more than 200 hour-long concurrent sessions, along with numerous half- and full-day workshops, a major keynote speaker and 20 plus featured speakers.

The second thing you notice is the organization of the conference. Now in its 20th year, the conference flows with few noticeable flaws. I was able to pre-register six weeks prior to the conference, use the electronic planner to plan and register for my workshops, the Orientation Session and selected daily sessions and then print out my entire schedule. When I arrived at the conference, there was no waiting at the preregistration desk and there was a handy map for finding my way. In spite of the size of the convention center and the number of attendees, it never felt the least bit crowded and everything was easy to find. Ironically, at my first workshop I sat next to an educator from Kenosha, Wisconsin and teamed with her for our "hands-on" PowerPoint learning session that was filled with very practical and useful information.

The central thing I noticed at the conference was the quality of the presentations and the emphasis on teaching and learning. David Thornburg's discussion on Teaching and Learning with Multiple Interactive Media was filled with information and fun. I'd heard David (The Thornburg Institute for Professional Development) several years ago, but was much more impressed this time. Two ideas that he offered that particularly resonated with me were that: 1) generations born during the past ten years have been "born wired" and 2) two keys on our keyboards, used in sequence, point to
the direction of the future ­ "shift control." We need to understand, he said, the minds that have been "born wired" (our children and grandchildren) and we need to realize that the control of information is shifting rapidly, that we are in an era that is "beyond information" (the title of his forthcoming book) moving into an era of exploration and creativity. David
closed his presentation by coining a name for the "born wired" generation ­ Generation Why.

In a session on the importance of applying brain research to our uses of technology, Susan Jones of the Lighthouse Professional Alliance in St. Augustine, FL worked through a very interesting sequence on the compatibility of technology with brain development, stating that technology can expand connections for the human brain and enhance its ability to learn. The brain craves novelty, ritual and challenge, she said, and the appropriate use of technology can create this type of
brain-compatible environment.

Determining the Quality in Distance Education courses and programs is beginning to emerge as a critical area in the field. John Opper from the Postsecondary Education Planning Commission in Tallahassee, FL has begun to put together criteria for determining quality. After surveying the policies that have been developed by postsecondary associations across the country, he has developed several typologies that should be avoided: 1) the Bolton Course or Program - in which the course has had little or no modification, where it is primarily a mode of delivery change; 2) the Student Castaway ­ where the students are left to their own devices with no resources, no advising, low interaction and little idea of how to access the services of the institution; 3) the Dangling Modifier ­ where course modifications have been made with a lack of student understanding, support or training and 4) the Well-Intentioned Designer ­ who has redesigned a course or program on his/her own with no institutional support and incomplete tools/expertise. Opper's recommendations for quality distance
education were: 1) the appropriate selection of technologies, 2) faculty training and support, 3) appropriate design based on experience and examples of excellence, 4) student support and 5) the evaluation of the mode of delivery. A highly recommended resource he gave is the new site: http://www.wiche.edu/telecom/about/studentservdocs.htm

Since I will be traveling to Pennsylvania in May to present to several groups of physicists who are interested in training in the workplace, one of the last sessions I attended was one on Targeting Busy Workforce Training. The experts who presented this session were from the Pinellas County Schools in Largo, FL and have the responsibility to train over 7,000 teachers in their district in the spectrum of technologies. They've developed a most creative and thorough training program with an in-depth needs assessment, train the trainer programs, mentorships, internships and community training as well. They train via and for the use of multiple technologies and have had phenomenal success. Those who sign up for the
training sessions must commit to 60 hours of time, the development of a project that they will take back to their schools/organizations and the training and mentoring of others. When the session ended, they provided us with a video of their work and a disc that included their needs assessment and other information, all available for us to use and/or adapt.

My final session was on assessment, an area that is becoming increasingly important in distance education. Vicky Talley of AASU/ETTC, Savannah, GA discussed the importance of matching assessment to goals, being aware of assessment obstacles (lack of professional development, lack of teacher and learner involvement, etc.) and quality assessment alternatives: fairness, transferability, cognitive complexity, content quality, content coverage and meaningfulness. Three types of assessment she had found most meaningful were: performance-based assessment, portfolio assessment and
student designed projects. Her critical assessment check list included: assessing the process and the product, breaking assessment down into component areas, involving learners in the assessment plan, sharing the plan, discussing goals and discussing results.

An unusual general session brought the FETC conference to a close. It was called Random Acts of Progress and was a tribute to all of the educators across the state of Florida. It celebrated and shared the success of technology in education with glimpses of programs, projects, sites, sounds and images - and earned a standing ovation.
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SUBSCRIBER REQUEST

Tom Lyons, Distance Education Support Services, North Idaho College says:

I would appreciate any pointers to research or systems in place at any higher education institutions that formally process student-suggested course offerings, particularly those systems that allow student input in determining what courses or programs will be offered at a distance. You can email Tom at: talyons@nic.edu Please copy me at: lehman@ics.uwex.edu
so I can share the information with subscribers.
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WISCONSIN

GWETC 2000 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS - Applications to Present for the Governor's Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference (GWETC) 2000 are in the mail. The deadline for submission is March 17. Applications
may be made for 1-Hour sessions, Workshops, Labs and Poster Sessions. GWETC 2000 will be held at the Dane County Expo Center and Sheraton Hotel, October 10-12.

GWETC brings together faculty, staff and administrators from PK-12 schools, technical colleges, public and private higher education, state agencies and libraries, as well as training directors from business and industry and highlights the effective use of technology in education at all levels. Last year more than 2,600 attendees participated in the conference which included: more than 200 sessions, 24 workshops and labs, 25 poster sessions and 187 vendor booth areas, as well as 3 Keynote speakers. GWETC is cosponsored by the following Wisconsin organizations: the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, the Department of Public Instruction, the Educational Communications Board, TEACH
Wisconsin, the Technical College System and the University of Wisconsin-Extension. For more information and an Application to Present see: http://www.gwetc.org or call the Conference Manager at: 264-9724

TEACH WISCONSIN GRANTS have been announced for schools in Dane County. These schools will receive $1.7 million in TEACH grants to provide students with the technological tools they need to be successful in the 21st century. The program, which provides $35 million in grants for the state, allows schools to tailor programs to fit the district's
individual technology needs. The money can be used for: hardware, software, Internet access charges, install networks and staff development costs. Districts receiving funds are: Belleville, Cambridge, De Forest, Deerfield, Madison, Marshall, McFarland, Middleton-Cross Plains, Monona Grove, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, Waunakee and Wisconsin Heights.
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LINES

- Vice President Al Gore has introduced a plan to bridge the digital divide, by introducing high-speed access to rural areas and developing lower-cost satellite and wireless technologies. He also intends to have the AmeriCorps program of volunteers provide knowledge of technology to residents of poorer neighborhoods; have high-tech companies support this
effort and urge an extension of the moratorium on per-minute Internet-access fees. (USA Today, 15 Feb 00)

- Distributed learning has emerged as a useful method of corporate training because it is flexible - employees can take a lesson anytime, anywhere, using the Internet, a corporate intranet, or a CD-ROM. This type of training is also a huge and key retention factor. (Industry Standard, 28 Feb 00)

- Some of the most potent learning technology implementations are long duration offerings. Learners have a chance to become part of ongoing explorations or communities, with a wide range of experiences. Let's make sure that e-learning is not just defined as a series of quick hits. (TechLearn Trends #161 17 Feb 00)

- The recently passed House bill that will provide $6.9 billion to retain the United States dominant role in technology will go to a number of agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. In addition, $95 million is earmarked for internships for college students in math and science fields. (Washington Times, 16 Feb 00)

- Time spent on a computer accounts for 35 percent of the U.S. workday, according to a recent study by Rutgers University and the University of Connecticut. Workers spend 23 percent of working hours on the Internet, and 87 percent of the employees who use computers say they do not abuse their access to computers and the Internet. Forty one percent of workers believe they could work effectively as telecommuters, although only 9 percent do telecommute. (Washington Post, 17 Feb 00)

- Americans are spending more time online and less time interacting with family and friends, concludes a recent survey of 4,113 adults conducted by Stanford University's Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society. This supports the notion that electronic relationships are no substitute for face-to-face interaction among people and the assertion that Americans are abandoning traditional forms of mass media, such as newspapers and television, in favor of the Internet. (New York Times, 16 Feb 00)
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ED

POORER SCHOOLS HAVE TROUBLE GETTING ONLINE - America's poorer schools do not have the Internet access capabilities of the wealthier ones, according to the results of a study conducted last fall by the Department of Education and published last week. The survey of 1,000 public schools discovered that in the poorer schools only 38 percent of classrooms have Internet access as compared to 74 percent in wealthier schools and to the national average of 63 percent. The study also found the ratio of students to computers with Internet access differs as well - seven to one in wealthy schools, 16 to one in poor schools and nine to one nationwide. Director Linda Roberts of the Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, though uncertain of the exact reason such disparities exist, speculates the gaps stem from the increased difficulty of modernizing the older school buildings that are typically found in the poorer communities. Workers attempting to outfit more antiquated structures encounter such problems as asbestos dust in the walls, leaky ceilings and outdated electrical wiring that cannot support the activities of modern computers. (New York Times Online, 23 Feb 00 ­ Edupage 25 Feb 00)

FULLY WIRED - Hancock High School in Kiln, Miss, has used $2.1 million in state technology funds and funding from the local school budget that includes a special bond issue to equip all of its students with laptop computers. Mississippi ranks last among all 50 states when it comes to the amount of money spent on each student, and one out of every three children in the state lives in poverty, making Hancock High School an unlikely trend setter. By providing 1,150 laptops to students and teachers, the school has given geographically isolated areas 24-hour access to the Internet. The region's economy is expected to benefit from providing laptops to its high school students and by beginning technology classes in junior high schools, thereby educating the students to enter into technological jobs rather than being economically dependent on the timber industry and nearby casinos. (Kiplinger's, Feb 00 ­ Edupage 17 Feb 00)

MAINE'S KING SEEKS TO GIVE ALL 7TH-GRADERS COMPUTERS - All seventh graders in Maine could receive laptop computers in the fall of next year if a proposal from Governor Angus King succeeds. Under the initiative, the first such plan in the United States, every student in seventh grade and up would have a laptop within six years. Maine's
classrooms lag in technology, and the proposal aims to give the state a high-tech edge and close the digital divide. The plan also would fund half the cost of computers for seventh-grade teachers and above, while individual districts would pay the other half. Furthermore, King proposes spending $1 million on training to show teachers how to use technology in the classroom. The proposal would make technology a more integral part of learning, enabling teachers to post assignments on the Web and include online research as part of classroom projects, King's aides say. The proposal calls for every student to have access to e-mail, word processing, and spreadsheets. (Boston Globe Online, 2 March 00)

FOUR-PART PREDICTION SERIES - 16 Predictions for Higher Education

1 - The number of degree-granting institutions will continue to grow, while the number of traditional campuses will decline. By 2025, half of today's existing independent colleges will be closed, merged or significantly altered in mission.

2 ­ University degrees and programs at all levels will be available by information technologies from all quality levels of educational institutions.

3 ­ Courseware producers will sell courses and award credits directly to the end user and thus, through intermediation, bypass the institutional middleman.

4 - There will be two principal types of degree and certificate-granting institutions: value-added and certification institutions.

TO BE CONTINUED...
(Samuel L. Dunn, VP for Academic Affairs and a professor business and mathematics at Northwest NaZarene University, Nampa, ID)
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BIZ/ED

CHANGING LANDSCAPE - There are 3,700 institutions and 15 million students in the United States today facing the challenge of integrating the past with the present, questioning how to mold the traditional model of higher education into a form that will not become obsolete in a world awash in an information explosion driven by electronic technology. There now exist four different types of educational institutions instead of the single, virtually unaltered model followed for the past 250 years of formal education in America.

The first type comprises the traditional notion of a college. The second includes "corporate universities," on-site training programs developed by individual companies to improve the skills and knowledge of employees. The third category contains mega-universities that recognize no national boundaries, combine the high-tech with the historical, and bridge the
gap between the educational experience and the job market. The fourth types are virtual educators that operate nearly entirely online and offer the opportunity for practically anybody to become a teacher or a student. The Internet is restructuring society, shifting our educational market away from one in which producers define the nature of the educational product and the nature of its delivery, toward one in which the consumer is in charge and is no longer simply being fed information but is instead responding to and interacting with that information. Educators cannot be afraid of this new Internet era and instead must embrace it with creativity and understand that education is not an entity separate from the rest of life, but one that depends upon the successful combination of digital innovation and intellectual resources. (EDUCAUSE Review, Feb 00)

LEARNING PORTALS - The recent Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter survey provides insight into the concept of learning portals. The Masie Institute surveyed 1,902 learning professionals on their plans to implement a learning portal. (Portals are public or internal sites that serve as single points of access for learning.) The data indicates that 22% of organizations are in the process of building a learning portal and 32% are investigating the concept.

One part of the study asked people to indicate the importance of eight learning portal capabilities, they following ranked Top 3:

#1 Pointing workers to a single site for all learning and training resources.
#2 Creating an on-line community with access to subject matter experts and peers to assist in the learning process.
#3 Increasing the quantity and range of learning offerings by consolidating offers from a wide range of vendors.

The complete results and analysis of the data, is being distributed to all Learning Decisions Interactive Newsletter subscribers. If you would like to subscribe, just go to www.learningdecisions.com (TechLearn Trends 3 Mar 00)

CLICK2LEARN - Bill Gates' former business partner Paul Allen made his move in online workforce education this week, with a three-pronged strategy that puts his eLearning company, click2learn, in a dominant position as the the nation's largest professional development Application Service Provider (ASP). Thousands of courses linked to tracking software will be available through click2learn on a pay-per-use basis, along with a free browser-based course design and publishing program, click2learn.publisher. The goal: remove upfront investment in hardware, software and IT staff as a barrier to course creation and use. (E-News from UCEA 24)
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READS

FASTER: THE ACCELERATION OF JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, James Gleick. Pantheon,
1999 - High-speed living has become a way of life and the toll it's taking is evident - we're becoming conditioned to expect results instantly. Television and radio sound bites pass for news. Fast-food restaurants now include express lanes and we no longer know how to play the waiting game. Fifteen seconds, yes ­ but beyond 40 seconds people become visibly irritated.

And, says Gleick, this faster pace is turning us into multi-taskers - composing email while we're on the phone, eating lunch while we're driving, etc. But, as this high-speed culture challenges our brains, we may well be able to adjust in ways we haven't had to in the past, except when we've been faced with war. The key is "good management." Use modern technology in an intentional way to maintain personal control and learn to decelerate by adjusting our perspective. Time after all, says Gleick, is not a thing that we've lost or ever had ­ it's what we live in. (The Futurist ­ March-April 00)

STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE ONLINE EDUCATION, by Gerald Baumgardner, Forbes Custom Publishing. A majority of U.S. colleges support some form of distance learning. Yet many struggle with how, why, and when to expand
into the online learning market. Gerald Baumgardner has created an intelligent primer that will go a long way toward helping university administrators and directors understand WHY they might develop Internet learning programs and HOW they can manage and market them once they have been launched. Chapter 1 clearly addresses WHY a university might move into the online learning market. Chapter 2 addresses how university officials can undertake a needs assessment to determine if they SHOULD center the market. Practical guidelines are given on how to carry out a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis in planning for the long-term appropriateness of launching an Internet
education project. Subsequent chapters provide concise, intelligent summaries of how to manage online learning programs, develop and execute program and faculty evaluations, and address real and imagined concerns about quality and credibility in online learning. This slim book is essential reading for any university official who wants to learn how they can use online methods to build and maintain a competitive advantage in a new global e-education environment. Required
reading as a part of any university's long-term planning process. (Virtual University Gazette, Vol. 3 No 3 3 Mar 00)
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GLOBAL

UNIVERSITIES TOLD TO CATCH THE E-WAVE - The increasing role of technology in today's educational environment recently prompted the United Kingdom to form a group consisting of members from the island's four higher
education funding bodies - the Higher Education Funding Council for England (Hefce), the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, the Higher Education Funding Council for Scotland, and the Department of Education Northern Ireland - to discuss proposals to create an e-university able to offer online courses of study leading to an entirely Internet-based degree. Although details of the institution have yet to be worked out, it is expected that the e-university will offer courses through several separate UK universities managed by a central body, a system that would eliminate the need to create an entirely new, self-contained establishment. The e-university will most likely attract overseas students and working adults seeking professional advancement, though some group members hope UK students unable to attend universities because of working hours will also attend. Hefce plans to ask the government for the estimated 50 million pounds necessary to start the online institution, which will subsequently be funded entirely by tuition costs. (BBC News Online, 15 Feb 00 ­ Edupage 17 Feb 00)

SWAPPING DISTANCE LEARNING FOR PEACE? - National governments may have been knocking heads at the recent global economic summit in Davos, Switzerland, but corporate diplomacy was humming right along. Bill Gates and Rajendra Pawar, chairman of Microsoft's training partner, NIIT, brokered a series of meetings between Indian state-level leaders and top officials of the US government and the World Bank. The Indian leaders asked for US help with distance learning and electronic governance. The next day it was announced that President Clinton will visit India in March. The visit could result in important training and technical assistance opportunities for US universities, but its course may not be
smooth. President Clinton hopes to mediate a peace agreement between India and Pakistan, a proposal which India's Hindu nationalist government has already rejected. However, it may not be coincidental that the state leaders entertained at Davos are all partners in the ruling coalition. Will the prospect of distance learning aid produce a change of heart towards Pakistan? We'll soon find out. (Distance Learning News ­ UCEA 17 Feb 00)
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HI-TECH

IMMERSIVE MULTIMEDIA THEATER ­ Spitz, Inc., a Chadds Ford engineering company that began as a manufacturer of planetarium systems 54 years ago and has worked with the defense industry for the past 25 years, has
expanded into visual simulation with what it calls "Electric Sky TM." Electric Sky TM is an advanced, three- dimensional dome theater system designed to "immerse" an audience in entertainment or information by surrounding it with multimedia images and sounds. It uses Spitz' panoramic Immersa-Vision TM video format and combines technologies from the visual entertainment and virtual reality industries.

Spitz President Charles H. Holmes, Jr. calls the result, "a totally different kind of visual experience." In addition to using it for entertainment, he sees it as enhancing sales meetings, training sessions, teleconferences, community events and tourist venues. "We are trying to do something affordable," he says. "This is a whole new opportunity to do large format." (Technology Times Vol. XX, No 1 Feb 00)

A NEW DIGITAL VIDEO CAMERA (DCR-PC100) was recently announced by SONY. It weighs less than 2 pounds, is hand held, creates high quality digital video and is Firewire compatible. It also doubles as a digital still camera and can interface with digital editing programs. Cost is below $2,000 and can be placed in workgroups for ongoing documentation and interviews. For more information see: http://www.sony.com/handycam
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ISSUES

THE DIGITAL DIVIDE (CONT'D ) - In many ways (Norm) Coombs is right about the Digital Divide mirroring other social divides, but there are a couple differences. First, the similarities. In a study done by the Bellcore Corporation in late 1995 when the internet was still new, results showed that the usual social groups were left behind. Of those who had never
heard of the internet, 21% were African-American, 10% Hispanic. And the usual education and gender influences were present. Of those who were already using the Internet "over half the users reported that they were introduced to the Internet either by learning at work or being taught by friends or family." Put another way, social and work connections led
to digital connections. Those without one set of connections struggled to gain the other.

But there are differences in the new technology too - mostly in potential. If we define the Internet as a new kind of information source - a digital library, or more recently, digital cable TV with ten thousand channels, we prepare students for this as librarians often do - working on information literacy as a kind of filtering skill - learning which sources to trust. These are important skills, but miss much of what makes the Internet new. If we see the Internet not just as a space to see and listen, but as a space to speak, then we address the potential of the medium to make invisible peoples and communities visible. With this view, the most important information "literacy" skill is the ability to build web pages and participate in chatroom and listserv discussions. This kind of literacy gives voice to most of the world that doesn't publish
books, own a radio station, or produce TV shows. They may publish alien abductions or UN conspiracy theories or celebrity sightings, but they may also give us views of their community or views of their country that are totally absent in other media.

It is that potential that makes this divide so maddening, since the opportunities are so powerful and so obvious. Fortunately, there are lots of good people around the planet Trying to make these opportunities real. (Bill Wresch: wresch@vaxa.cis.uwosh.edu (16 Feb 00 ­ AGHHESGIT)

CONTROVERSY: IT GURU MURRAY TUROFF SOUNDS OFF ON INTEGRATING DISTANCE LEARNING - NJIT computer science professor Murray Turoff likes to stir up controversy, and he's done it again in his new article, "An End to Student Segregation: No More Separation Between Distance Learning and Regular Courses." Turoff shares his vision of traditional universities that have adapted to offer students multiple modalities for course completion, and of new eUniversities that have lured away distinguished faculty with the freedom to live anywhere in the world and continue their teaching careers as "remote professors." Investigate Turoff's brave new world of higher education on the University of North Carolina website at: http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/online/html/8/1/ (Distance Learning News UCEA 17 Feb.00)
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POSITIONS

** EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF STOUT SOLUTIONS - The University of Wisconsin-Stout is accepting applications and nominations for executive director of a newly created division, Stout Solutions. By merging the existing units of Learning Technology Services, Continuing Education and Research Promotions, Stout Solutions becomes the University's main service branch establishing collaborative ties between UW-Stout faculty and staff and a wide variety of external audiences for the purpose of teaching, research and service. The Director will coordinate the new unit's efforts to develop instructional products with commercial market potential, support faculty and staff research, promote the integration
of multi-media technology with instructional delivery and create a self-sustaining revenue stream for the university. The Executive Director will report to a Board of Directors composed of the provost and three academic college deans. Responsibilities: provide transformative leadership for the unit, carry out the directives of the Board of Directors, develop and implement the strategic and/or business plan in collaboration with the Board and campus, promote innovation and development of the unit. Character attributes: understanding of and value for higher education, drive and energy to garner campus ideas, support and action, entrepreneurial in nature, a passion for developing and nurturing, visionary, optimistic, creative.

Minimum qualifications: Master's degree, 3 years of managerial experience, including responsibility for personnel, budget and organizational management, demonstrated ability in project management, demonstrated expertise in strategic planning and implementation. The University of Wisconsin-Stout is located in Menomonie, Wisconsin, 60 miles east of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota and 25 miles west of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Learn more about UW-Stout by visiting our web site at: www.uwstout.edu.

Candidates should submit a resume, a letter expressing their interest in and qualifications for the position, and the names, addresses and telephone numbers of three references. Screening of applications will begin on March 20. Starting date is July 1, 2000. Salary will be competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. UW-Stout is strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity and encourages applications and nominations of women, persons of color, applicants with disabilities, and members of other underrepresented groups. Questions may be directed to Dr. Jeffrey Dippmann (715) 232-2461 or dippmannj@uwstout.edu. Send applications to Dr. Jeffrey Dippmann, Chair, Stout Solutions Search Committee, Provost's Office, 303 Administration Building, University of Wisconsin-Stout,
Menomonie, WI 54751. Persons of disability requiring accommodation during the application and/or interview process should contact the Affirmative Action Office, Voice: (715) 232-2314 or weberd@uwstout.edu. The University of Wisconsin-Stout is an equal opportunity, affirmative action employer.

** THE INSTITUTE FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE, Madison, Wisconsin, is looking for a Distance Learning Leader. This is a fast-growing educational company seeking a leader for ambitious distance learning efforts. The person hired will take charge of re-purposing existing materials for K-12 teachers and developing new resources. We are
looking for someone with experience in developing web-based courses who also has the following qualifications:

- Knowledge of instructional design or K-12 education
- Superb writing and editorial skills (the ability to write clear, concise, friendly prose, as well as familiarity with the stages,
deadlines and team members involved in editorial work)
- Proven leadership skills (establishing priorities and making changes as necessary; maintaining focus; hiring and supervising in-house staff and contractors; continuously finding solutions)
- Some technological savvy

This is a senior position, offering a very competitive salary, stock options, excellent benefits, a great Madison, WI location and a chance to make a difference in our nation's schools. If you are interested, please send in your resume and three nonreturnable writing samples by March 17. We hope to fill the position by early summer - sooner, if possible. Resumes without writing samples will not be considered.

Position 156
Jobs@acadexcel.com
Institute for Academic Excellence, Inc.
PO Box 45016
Madison, WI 53744-5010

See www site: http://www.schoolrenaissance.com/about.htm
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NEW ON THE LIST

Thomas Henschel, Christian Demuth, Margaret Walden, Celso Hatori Mayra Santiago, Peter Olson, Henk Gauw, Admiral Lord, Kristalyn Warren, Jocelyn Wyatt, Sandy Kallunki, Cory Heins, Kevin Delorey, Margaret Sampson, Jim
Bischoff, Richard Flannigan, Birger Banzhaf, Luke Ryland, Mayan Avitable, Mustafa, Urvashi Rathod, Abd El Rahman Joel Berset, Tom Lyons, Gordon Scannell, Craig Plain, Christopher Sheppard, Linda Kick, Max Zuniga, Zhiping Li, David Strickland, Melody Bickerton, Bernie Monette and Paula Willits.
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FYI

* The Second Annual Conference Teaching and Technology Higher Education in an Electronic Age: Some Legal Guidelines, is scheduled for March 24, 2000 at The State University of New York College at Oneonta. The event is cosponsored by the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. The principal speaker will be attorney Thomas Kjellberg, who specializes in copyright and other intellectual property law. Topics covered will be: Copyright, Fair Use, Work for Hire, Trade Secrets, Sovereign Immunity, Online Courses, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, RIAA and MP3s, Library
Issues, Webpages, First Amendment and Privacy Issues. To register go to: http://www.oneonta.edu/tltc/conference/copyright or email: nepkiej@oneonta.edu

* Portland State University, with cosponsors The TLT Group and POD- Professional and Organizational Development Network, is offering an Institute for Faculty Developers on Teaching and Learning with Technology. This week-long institute is scheduled for June 12-June 16, 2000. Portland State has a very effective model for the collaboration of
academic support services to help faculty improve teaching and learning with technology. Registration is $500/person. For information about the institute and for registration, please see: http://www.oaa.pdx.edu/cae/smrinst00

* E D - M E D I A 2000 World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Educational Telecommunications will be held June 26-July 1, 2000 in Montreal, Canada. It is organized by AACE--Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education and hosted by Computer Research Institute of Montreal. ED-MEDIA 2000 is an international conference. This annual conference serves as a multi-disciplinary forum for the discussion and exchange of information on the research, development, and applications on all topics related to multimedia/hypermedia and distance education.
For further information see: http://www.aace.org/conf/edmedia/submit
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ENDNOTE

"In the coming era, jobs will be tasks you do, not something you "have." Activities will be organized around projects, in much the way the movie companies already operate. Lifetime employment will disappear as "jobs" increasingly become tasks or "piecework" rather than positions within an organization." (The Employee Handbook of New Work Habits for the Next Millennium, Price Pritchett)

NEXT DESIEN ISSUE MARCH 31, 2000
FOCUS ARTICLE by Karen Mantyla of QuietPower on Interactive Distance Learning Exercises