CONTENTS
UPFRONT - Are Learners Learning Effectively Via Technology?
FOCUS - Assessment Tools for Distance Education by Susan B. Millar
UW NEWS - Wireless Network Access at the Pyle Center, eWeek, TTT
LINES - March News Highlights
ED - U's And Intellectual Property Rights, Crash Course on Intellectual Property Rights, Wireless for LANs and WANs, Colleges Target Corporate Training, Internet2 Will Expand to K-12
BIZ/GOV/ED - Fathom Offers Cost Tiers, The Quest for Venture Capital Drives Consortia Formation, Making the Grade, eLearning in Brazil
TECH/TOOLS - Electronic Paper A Transitional Step, Classroom Instruction Becomes Knowledge on Demand, What's Next: WI-FI? CMS STATS - Course Management Survey: Initial Results FUNDS - Portal for Federal Grants, Grant Help for Undergrad Science Programs
READS/RESOURCE - Technology and the Biological Process of Learning, Learning Styles Online, Math Goodies, International DL Course Finder, Distance Education Guidelines for Good Practice, Resource: An Index to Continuing Education Resources Online ISSUES/CHALLENGES - Trend: The U.S. is Significantly More Diverse Than Previously Thought, A New Divide? Cheap PC for Use in Brazil? Fully Accessible Web Pages
POSITIONS - University of Nevada, Reno-Web Course Designer; Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario-Animator and Web/Graphic Designer
NEW SUBSCRIBERS - Welcome to New Subscribers
FYI - News, Events, Conferences
ENDNOTE - No Moore's Law for Learning - Steven W. Gilbert __________________________________________________________________________
APRIL DESIEN ISSUE FOCUS - Major Jim Bischoff, USAF, on organizational cultural bias against technology-based learning, with suggestions for dealing with cultural problems as part of a comprehensive learning program. __________________________________________________________________________
UPFRONT - Educational organizations, governmental agencies and businesses are increasingly asking whether learners are learning effectively via technology. In this month's FOCUS article, Susan Millar, Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Learning Through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination (LEAD) Center provides us with: insight into assessment, a "one-stop" Web site for assessment methods, and assessment resources that are effective but not time-consuming. In addition, she suggests a site that provides the opportunity to explore a case study in which assessment was used effectively. This article is a "must" for all organizations and individuals involved with distance education. (Rosemary Lehman) ___________________________________________________________________________
FOCUS
Assessment Tools for Distance Education by Susan B. Millar, Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison LEAD Center If you are a college instructor who is investing significant effort (and assuming risk) in using innovative technologies in your distance education courses, you surely want to determine whether, and if so why, students are learning better, more, and/or differently as a result of your efforts. You can obtain the answers you seek by using assessment techniques. Assessment refers to faculty efforts to obtain information about how and what students are learning in order to improve their teaching efforts and/or to demonstrate to others the degree to which students have accomplished the learning goals for a course. Whether you wish to assess a distance education or in-class course, assessment entails the following processes:
* articulation of goals;
* specification of the strategies intended to achieve these goals and the reasons that these strategies are expected to be effective;
* agreement on the evidence that will convince specified individuals that the strategies have achieved the goals; and
* the gathering, interpretation, and use of information.

Most faculty are interested in finding assessment methods that are effective but not too time-consuming. The National Institute for Science Education's College Level One (CL-1) team has produced a Web site that presents an integrated and tested set of assessment resources in order to meet this felt need. This site, the Field-tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG), is at: http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/cl1/ It is a "one-stop" resource for faculty who want to ascertain how well their strategies to improve student learning are working. Although the FLAG was designed for science, mathematics, engineering and technology faculty, almost all the assessment methods and tools it presents can easily be used by faculty in any discipline.

The FLAG provides a collection of classroom assessment strategies that rests on a strong foundation of empirical research and has been tested by extensive use in the classroom. The FLAG is designed around Angelo and Cross's concept of "Classroom Assessment Techniques" (CATs). These are self-instructional modules that introduce techniques for assessing progress toward conceptual, attitudinal, and performance-based course goals. Upon invitation by the CL-1 Team, a national group of leading assessment scholars accepted the challenge of developing Cats for their assessment specialties, resulting in a set of twelve CATs that are field-tested and evaluated. The FLAG also includes an introductory primer, an interactive engine that links faculty goals with the most appropriate assessment techniques, and a searchable database of assessment tools, which continues to be expanded.

An assessment instrument located on the FLAG that faculty offering distance education courses may find of particular interest is the one called the "Student Assessment of Learning Gains" (SALG). The SALG instrument uses the Web to offer faculty a quick and easy way to obtain both mid- and end-of-semester feedback from students. The SALG is accessible to anyone with a browser and is offered as a free service.

Faculty interested in exploring a case study that features a faculty member who makes remarkably effective use of assessment should click on the College Level One team's faculty development resource on effective use of learning technology. This resource, Learning Through Technology (LT2), also is at: http://www.wcer.wisc.edu/nise/cl1/ The case study in which assessment is especially effective is the one focused on Professor Curt Hieggelke's introductory physics courses at Joliet Junior College.

Susan B. Millar, a cultural anthropologist, is director of the Learning through Evaluation, Adaptation, and Dissemination (LEAD) Center at UW- Madison (smillar@engr.wisc.edu). The UW-Madison established the LEAD Center in fall 1994 to provide third-party evaluation research in support of educational improvement efforts at both undergraduate and graduate levels. The center has a client-driven and student-focused approach to evaluation research. LEAD clients are faculty or staff at UW-Madison or institutions that are collaborating with the UW. For more information about LEAD Center, visit: http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~lead/ _________________________________________________________________________
UW NEWS
WIRELESS NETWORK ACCESS AT THE PYLE CENTER - The Pyle Center now offers wireless network access. Faculty and staff who use The Pyle Center can connect their laptops to the Internet via the "wireless" service.

Program directors and coordinators like the efficiency of being able to easily check their email or access Web sites while they're in the building. Many people use their laptops in The Pyle Center already, so this service extends the abilities to offer time-saving and convenient technology tools for busy faculty and staff.

Most public areas of The Pyle Center can access the 11 MB wireless network, a network speed that is comparable to wired connections in most UW buildings and about 200 times faster than a 56-kilobit-per-second dial-up modem. To access The Pyle Center service, users need a laptop equipped with a wireless network card that meets the IEEE 802.11b wireless standard. Most cards range from $100-$200. A password, issued by ICS, is also required for accessing the wireless service. (ICS ONLINE NEWS and EVENTS)

eWEEK - In cooperation with eWEEK publication, an evaluation of authoring tools for use to create interactive multimedia learning objects will take place in Madison, Wisconsin, April 11-13. The goal is to identify tools to be used by faculty or other content experts to deliver interactive learning over the Internet or intranet. Vendors will be asked to produce a learning object (or objects) using identical curricular content. Final output must be accessible by the learner (student/employee/customer) using a Web browser. Tools will be evaluated based upon criteria including progress made during the 2-day development process. This process and the end results will be covered both in the pages of eWEEK and at CLICK: http://www.eweek.com

TTT - Articles in the new issue of "Teaching with Technology Today" include:
* BioLEARN: Wisconsin's Science Teachers Share Curriculum Ideas and Professional Development, CLICK: http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/biolearn.htm
* Using Ground Penetrating Radar in Archaeological Digs: A Faculty Profile of Dr. Harry Jol, CLICK: http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/jol.htm
* The Chaos Game: Stimulating Math Curiosity with Interactive Software by Professor Richard O'Malley, UW-Milwaukee, CLICK: http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/omalley.htm http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/article2.htm. For the TTT archives CLICK: http://www.uwsa.edu/olit/ttt/ (Jennifer Smith, UW System) ___________________________________________________________________________
LINES
- States are struggling to deal with unaccredited higher-education institutions on the Internet. While some of the institutions say that students or students who may not understand the definition of Ut accreditation. Often it is too late to provide help to students who spend thousands of dollars only to find out that their degree is worthless. The Distance Education and Training Council is recognized by the US Dept. of Education to provide such accreditation and has given approval to 60 distance education programs. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 Mar 01)

- 1to1 Magazine predicts that colleges and universities that offer alumni customized online Web portals will rise to nearly 20% by the end of this year. For alumni, theses sites offer the opportunity to maintain friendships and to network. For the institutions, they are a way to keep up with alumni addresses and keep fundraising solicitation lists current. (1to1 Magazine, March 2001)

- The cost of attending the University of Phoenix Online appears to be a bargain. According to columnist Christopher Byron, four years of tuition, room and board and other expenses at a top institution would cost more than $100,000, while four years at the University of Phoenix Online would be no more than $48,000. The University of Phoenix Online has 18,500 students and 11,500 faculty. It has managed to operate at a profit margin of 26% for the quarter ending last November, with a quarterly revenue of $34 million (a 64% increase over the previous year.) Overhead is considerably less than a regular institution of its size. (Bloomberg, 28 Feb 01)

- According to the Market Retrieval Service, of the more than 4,000 two- and four-year colleges in the United States, 70% provided online courses last year, a 22% increase from 1998. Criteria important for successful e-learning include: 1) training faculty and 2) 24-hour tech support for faculty and students. A recent survey by the American Federation of Teachers revealed that Web-based e-learning is the most common form of distance education. However, some classes combine classroom sessions with online learning. (Business First of Buffalo Online, 26 Feb 01)

- DE and Technology Director in Continuing Studies at the U of British Columbia, Professor A.W. Bates, discusses reallocating educational funds toward academic technology in his recent book, Managing Technology Change: Strategies for College and University Leaders. He contends that if universities can reserve from 1 to 2% of their budgets for technology, it will provide many indirect benefits, i.e. parking on campus could be partially eliminated and special niche courses could be marketed globally, thereby increasing cost effectiveness. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 27 Feb 01) ___________________________________________________________________________
ED
U's AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS - Who owns the online product? This is a top-priority question facing universities today. In the traditional scenario, faculty members owned their courses and when they moved, their courses moved with them. Now, online courses can be used and reused even after the professor leaves. In developing new rules, some schools have drawn a fuzzy line between courses entirely developed by the instructor and ones in which the university has heavily invested in the course. Others are spinning off their university's online operations into separate ventures to get around traditional policies and are developing contractual relationships with everyone sharing in the revenues. (Wall Street Journal, 12 Mar 01)

CRASH COURSE ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS - For a crash course on intellectual property rights, Georgia K. Harper, Manager, Intellectual Property Section, The University of Texas System, Office of General Counsel, has prepared a number of Web Tutorials that include: 1) Creating multimedia: Fair use and beyond, including courseware contracts; 2) Copyright in the digital library: Welcome to the center of the digital revolution; 3) Copyright management: Nobody knows what this is about. Find out; 4) Licensing resources: The next copyright frontier; 5) Online presentations: Talks tailored to the audience's copyright concerns - for faculty, students, staff, librarians, artists, administrators. To access the tutorials CLICK: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/gkhbio2.htm

WIRELESS FOR LANs AND WANs - A number of projects at the University of Carolina at Wilmington are testing use of portable handheld computers and wireless access for both local- (LAN) and wide-area network (WAN) environments. The local-area project, Project Numina, involves LAN wireless access for students with handheld PCs/software/wireless connection to the Internet to use the Web to learn abstract science and math concepts. For the WAN application, response pads allow students to submit answers to teacher questions through Web forms. The system stores student answers in a remote database and displays them in the classroom. (Computer, Mar 01)

COLLEGES TARGET CORPORATE TRAINING - Colleges are looking beyond their traditional learners and tapping the corporate sector to enhance their revenue stream to help in developing their e-learning programs. Many universities have provided executive education programs in the past. These e-learning ventures will allow schools to reach many more clients. NYUonline and Columbia University's Fathom Learning, Cardean University, Columbia Interactive Arts and Sciences, University of Maryland, Duke, Harvard and Stanford are a few of the universities that are moving ahead in this area. (New York Times Online, 21 Mar 01)

INTERNET2 WILL EXPAND TO K-12 - The Internet2 network, which provides high-speed access to nearly 200 research universities, may soon expand to include other colleges as well as K-12 schools. However, Greg Wood, spokesperson for the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, said the initiative is currently "just a series of discussions going on among a number of organizations in education and networking." He added, "A lot of other steps need to take place before teachers and students can use advanced applications." Those advanced applications could include digital video of teacher training practices, virtual tours of museums, and interactive musical exercises. Several states have also shown interest in connecting their networks to Internet2. Details of the new initiative will be available in the coming months, although the organizations involved have set no official date for its launch. Among the groups involved are EDUCAUSE, the Consortium for School Networking, and the International Society for Technology in Education. (Wired News, 5 Mar 01 - Edupage 7 Mar 01) ___________________________________________________________________________
BIZ/GOV/ED
FATHOM OFFERS COST-TIERS - Fathom has been offering free access to about 800 lectures and articles. A new idea is to migrate people from free to low cost, then to high cost courses. To initiate that, Fathom will roll out a series of short courses that cost $25 to $50. The site recently tested such courses among Columbia University alumni and the results were beyond anything experienced with longer courses. The company is also looking to tap into the corporate market, by allowing other companies and organizations to offer online courses to their clients and members as a premium, or for a fee. Last week, for instance, AARP, the nonprofit association for people over 50, agreed to work with Fathom to offer online courses to its 30 million members. (New York Times 12 Mar 01)

THE QUEST FOR VENTURE CAPITAL DRIVES CONSORTIA FORMATION - Whether statewide, interstate, or international, consortia seem to be springing up everywhere in higher education these days. Is it a simple case of follow-the-leader, or is there a more potent driver of inter- institutional collaboration? Ed Klonoski, Executive Director of the Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium (CDLC), believes that driver is the quest for venture capital. And, in the current issue of Horizon, he shows, dollar by dollar, how he and his colleagues successfully lobbied the state legislature to build CDLC into a $ 2.5 million organization serving 36 member universities and offering 13 online degree programs. But there's more going for consortia than just money, Klonoski argues. Freedom to experiment outside institutional constraints, and "plausible deniability" - institutional immunity from the mistakes of the consortium - are other potent drivers of the trend to higher education consortia formation. Read more on the Horizon website at CLICK: http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/default.asp?show=article&id=855 (E-News from UCEA, 21 Mar 01)

MAKING THE GRADE - Home Depot CEO Ron Griffin complains that too many college graduates who enter the corporate IT field have a good grasp of programming skills but do not understand how IT should fit in with a sound business strategy. The graduates lack customer-relation skills and do not comprehend the importance of the bottom line. However, Griffin is pleased with his latest batch of IT recruits from the University of Alabama. During the course of their studies, these students had to work with actual businesses as part of the university's new management information systems curriculum, which educators built with the advice of CEOs such as Griffin. Many other universities are also giving their IT programs a real-world flavor so that students learn not only how to make IT work, but also how it can improve business productivity and profit. Corporate donors gave $47 million to the University of Nebraska at Omaha for the founding of its Peter Kiewit Institute, an engineering and IT school. There, students work with corporations such as Boeing and IBM, while well-known CEOs visit and even teach courses. Pennsylvania State University launched a new program, the School of Information Science and Technology, in 1999. Students not only learn IT skills but also are exposed to important legal and social issues facing the IT sector today. (Computerworld, 19 Mar 01 - Edupage 21 Mar 01)

eLEARNING IN BRAZIL - At a recent eLearning briefing in San Paulo, Brazil, Elliott Masie fielded CEO comments and summarized observations: - They want to make sure that the eLearning approaches of higher education and corporation are compatible. - The CEOs want to be able to rapidly move towards eLearning, without starting with a huge capital investment right at the beginning. - They have a strong desire to make sure eLearning maps to the culture and language of Brazil, while opening the door to worldwide knowledge access. * The CEOs were intrigued by Time to Market and Time to Hire/Train ROI issues. (Masie TechLearn Trends #200 16 Mar 01 - The MASIE Center CLICK: http://www.masie.com) ________________________________________________________________________
TECH/TOOLS
ELECTRONIC PAPER A TRANSITIONAL STEP - Electronic paper retains the benefits of paper books, while letting readers enjoy the advantages of linking to new texts and downloading older texts. It is also easier to read than eBook screens and less expensive. Researchers are saying that it may be the transitional step needed between traditional books and the new digital age. Two years ago, E Ink, produced an electronic paper prototype. Some scientists, are speculating that implications of this new technology may be that libraries will become unnecessary. Meanwhile, work on electronic paper continues. (Technology Review, Mar 01)

CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION BECOMES KNOWLEDGE ON DEMAND - Virage, Inc., a provider of software and services that enable video for strategic online applications, recently announced that the University of Arizona is using the Virage Internet Video Application Platform to provide searchable streaming video of select courses at a university Web site. The initiative, which is part of the university's Virtual Adaptive Learning Architecture (VALA) research grant and the Faculty Center for Instructional Innovation (FCII), demonstrates an improved method of capturing, containing, and circulating information within academic institutions. Under the initiative, professors have the option of videotaping classroom lectures and streaming the video content in a searchable online format from a University of Arizona Web site, where students can then search for specific course material and review lectures at any time. The university is currently streaming 8 classes and plans to expand the technology into the new integrated learning center when it opens for the Spring 2002 semester. In addition to university classroom activities, the project is also archiving programs from the local PBS affiliate including a daily news program. For more information, visit http://www.virage.com/ (Syllabus e-News, Resources, and Trends 27 Mar 01)

WHAT'S NEXT: WI-FI? - The new New Wi-Fi wireless systems can transmit seven times faster than a regular T1 connection. Many universities now use Wi-Fi to provide Web access to students without having to install CAT5 wires. Some see WI-Fi next expanding to home use, allowing access to the Web from any room in the house, without running cables. In addition, many public places: airports, hotels, and restaurants are teaming with companies to deploy Wi-Fi technologies. While access points will need to be placed on rooftops, it is argued that Wi-Fi will likely push the limits of today's technology and may pose a threat to 3G services if installation becomes easier. (Fortune, 5 Mar 01)
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CMS STATS
COURSE MANAGEMENT SURVEY: INITIAL RESULTS - Results, as of Mar 21, of a University of Nebraska-Lincoln survey of Web-based Course Management Software (CMS) for preferred CMS, indicated the following:

Course Management Software	Number of Users	Percentage
Blackboard	92	52
WebCT	57	32
Other	22	13
eCollege	3	2
Learning Space	1	0
TopClass	0	0
JonesKnowledge	0	0

Respondents to the survey were from institutions of all sizes with most (78%) being from public institutions. Reliability of CMSs was quite good with over 90% being rated as reliable or very reliable. Perhaps the most interesting question on the survey was: Has, or might, the course management system significantly improve your approach to teaching? Nearly half (46%)of the faculty respondents reported that the CMS system installed on their campus was influencing their approach to teaching. That's an important finding from this survey. For the CMS pdf with raw data CLICK: http://tc.unl.edu/cansorge/cms.pdf (Charles J. Ansorge, University of Nebraska-Lincoln)
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FUNDS
PORTAL FOR FEDERAL GRANTS - Federal agencies offer more than $300 billion to the public in grants annually. A new Federal Commons portal will allow users to search and find information on more than 30,000 grants. The General Services Administration (GSA) Web site went online in December. In the near future, GSA officials plan to add online grant applications as well as the ability to track applications. It is hoped that President Bush and Congress will fund the site under the new e-government initiative. Until now there has been up and down funding, with much of the development left to volunteer funding from agency budgets.(GovExec.com, 9 Mar 01)

GRANT HELP FOR UNDERGRAD SCIENCE PROGRAMS - GrantsNet, the free Web site, CLICK: http://www.grantsnet.org that provides information on grants and fellowships for young biomedical researchers, has introduced a new database on undergraduate-level programs. Professors and administrators who seek to provide undergraduates with research experience and other opportunities will find hundreds of programs that offer support. Grantsnet also unveiled several new features, such as a My GrantsNet option that allows users to keep informed on new funding opportunities through e-mail alerts, and to save searches or update registration information quickly. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which sponsor GrantsNet,announced the changes during a career fair at the AAAS annual meeting. (Syllabus News, Resources and Trends 6 Mar 01, CLICK: http://wwwSyllabus@101communications-news.com) ___________________________________________________________________________
READS/RESOURCES
TECHNOLOGY AND THE BIOLOGICAL PROCESS OF LEARNING - The theme for the latest issue of EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY (vol. 4, no 1, Jan 01) is "Technologies and Their Effect on Learning as a Biological Process." Articles include:
"Computer Modeling and Biological Learning," by University of Victoria professors Wolff-Michael Roth and Daniel V. Lawless
"Key Design Considerations for Personalized Learning on the Web," by Margaret Martinez, Ph.D., The Training Place
"Cognitive Navigation: Toward A Biological Basis for Instructional Design," by Steven Tripp, University of Aizu
"Does Technology Present a New Way of Learning?" by Robert N. Leamnson, Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts - Dartmouth
The articles are available at CLICK: http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/vol_1_2001/v_1_2001.html
Educational Technology & Society [ISSN 1436-4522] is a peer-reviewed quarterly online journal published by the International Forum of Educational Technology & Society and the IEEE Computer Society Learning Technology Task Force (LTTF), available in HTML and PDF formats at CLICK: http://ifets.ieee.org/periodical/ (CIT INFOBITS Feb 01 no 32 ISSN 1521-9275) for INFOBITS CLICK: http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/infobits.html (HTML format) or CLICK: http://www.unc.edu/cit/infobits/text/index.html (plain text format).

LEARNING STYLES ONLINE - "Teaching & Learning Styles That Facilitate Online Learning" is a fascinating Web site sponsored by the Australian National Training Authority. Explore it at CLICK: http://dino.tafe.sa.edu.au/lsrsc/one/natproj/tal/ (Teaching OntheNet Mar 01)

MATH GOODIES (MG)- April is Math Awareness Month. This year's theme is Math and the Ocean. Math Goodies will celebrate MAM throughout April with crossword and word search puzzles, worksheets and solutions for each. Each item is easily printed for use with your class. The site welcomes you to post your ideas for lessons and activities to its Ocean Math and Oceanography sites that provide educational activities and information. CLICK: http://www.mathgoodies.com/mam/ (Gisele Glosser)

INTERNATIONAL DL COURSE FINDER - This new Web site is the world's largest database of online learning, listing over 50,000 courses. Also included on the site are: Who's Who in Distance Learning, Employment Opportunities, Distance Learning Events Held Around the World, Distance Learning Conferences and Exchanges, Brokers' Corner to Start Networking, A Wealth of Resources for Newcomers and Distance Learning Accreditation Associations and Organizations. To access this site CLICK: http://www.dlcoursefinder.com/

DISTANCE EDUCATION: GUIDELINES FOR GOOD PRACTICE - The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) CLICK: http://www.aft.org has released a set of guidelines for good practice in distance education. The fourteen guidelines are a result of a fall 1999 survey of 200 distance education practitioners in AFT's membership; they are also based on scholarship in distance education and the AFT's past investigations into the area. The report is engagingly written, marked by frankness and common sense. In addition to the guidelines, it includes the survey instrument as well as many and detailed selections from participants' responses. The full report and its antecedent, Teaming Up with Technology, are available at CLICK: http://www.aft.org/higher_ed/technology/ (NETWORKING ISSN 1206-9450 vol. 5, no 5, 7 Mar 01)

RESOURCE: AN INDEX TO CONTINUING EDUCATION RESOURCES ONLINE - The need for up-to-date teaching and learning resources is common to both corporate trainers and continuing higher educators. As a public service, Ron Tillotson, a training consultant with the project management firm of Michael Greer, has developed an index to online resources drawn from both the university and corporate training communities. To make the list easier to use, he has divided it into 14 categories: 1. Design of Training, 2. Delivery of Training, 3. Evaluation of Training, 4. Budgeting of Training, 5. Needs Assessment, 6. Performance Improvement, 7. Professional Training and Related Organizations, 8. Organizational Development, 9. Knowledge Management, 10. Misc. Training & Learning Resources, 11. Training Games and Tips, 12. Creative Training Techniques, 13. E-Learning/Distance Learning, and, 14. University Faculty Resources. Each category contains links both to single resources, and to collections. To view and use the resources, CLICK: http://www.michaelgreer.com/tillotson_list.htm (E-News From UCEA, no 39 5 Mar 01) __________________________________________________________________________
ISSUES/CHALLENGES
TREND: THE U.S. IS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE DIVERSE THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT - The U.S. is more racially and ethnically diverse than previously thought, according to an analysis of recently released 2000 Census data by The Washington Post, and that diversity is rapidly spreading beyond traditional immigrant gateways such as New York and Los Angeles, into the nation's suburbs and beyond. The most growth was noted among Hispanics and Asians, and in heartland states like Mississippi and Wisconsin, whose Hispanic populations have more than doubled since 1990. Officials interviewed by the Post attributed the dispersion of racial and ethnic minorities to the spread of job opportunities as the economy strengthened throughout the 1990s. Growth occurred much more rapidly in small to mid-sized towns than in larger cities, continuing the suburbanization trend reported in the 1990 census. However, enough immigrants settled in the nation's large cities to stabilize their populations, which had declined precipitously in the 1980s. Nationally, the number of people reporting themselves as Hispanic rose to 35.3 million, compared to 36.4 million black Americans. However, since a significant minority of blacks also reported themselves as Hispanic, it is possible that Hispanic Americans may already be the nation's largest minority. Read more on the Washington Post website at CLICK: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42542-2001Mar8.html, and read the complete report on the U.S. Census Bureau website at CLICK: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/cenbr01-1.pdf (E-News from UCEA 21 Mar 01)

A NEW DIVIDE? - The falling cost of PCs and Internet access is likely the cause of more people using the Internet than ever before. There were 162.8 million U.S. citizens with home Internet access in January, an increase of 33% from January 2000 when the number was 122.7 million. However, indications are that a different type of divide is now surfacing. "...not so much a digital divide as a connectivity divide," says T. S. Kelly of Nielsen//NetRatings. With only 13.1% of U.S. Internet users having high-speed connections, relatively few U.S. users can enjoy the latest Internet features such as streaming video and audio at peak quality. In addition, the online activities of U.S. Users are changing, particularly now that almost as many women as men are users. Health sites, online greeting cards, and instant messaging are popular with female users, while news, stock reports, and sports information remain popular with men. (USA Today, 19 Mar 01)

CHEAP PC FOR USE IN BRAZIL? A low-cost PC has been developed by researchers in Brazil that will retail for about $300. It is hoped that the PC will narrow Brazil's digital divide. With 170 million people, and an average minimum wage of $75 per month, many in Brazil are without phone lines, and therefore computers. The PC, designed by a team headed up by Sergio Vale Campos of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, features the basic components: a monitor, a mouse, speakers, and a browser for the Internet. A printer or disk drive can be added as modular units. It has 64 MB of RAM, a 500 MHz processor, and a 56K modem. Costs were further reduced by relying on free Linux-based software. However, the government may have difficulty finding a company that will manufacture the new PC. Several firms have stated the market price is too low and others have suggested that Brazil's lack of IT infrastructure may make using such a device problematic. (Associated Press, 5 Mar 01)

FULLY ACCESSIBLE WEB PAGES - Is your college's or university's Web site one of the few that passes the test? Dr. Cyndi Rowland has written an excellent white paper on the accessibility of college and university web pages for users with disabilities. Based on a study of 400 randomly- selected prominent colleges and university, Rowland finds that less accessibility levels drop sharply at each level below the home page. The Rowland paper is an excellent introduction for both university web designers and for administrators to the importance of providing access and a pointer for places to learn the techniques to create web pages that are accessible. The paper covers:
I. Introduction; II. Students Need the Web; III. Students in Cyberspace; IV. A Brief History of Web Accessibility for Individuals with Disabilities in Postsecondary Education; V. How Higher Education is Caught in the Web; VI. A Snapshot of Access; VII. The Complexity of the Problem; VIII. The Future of Access in Higher Education.

Providing an accessible web site is crucial because it permits students with disabilities a more level playing field than ever before. It is also by far the most economical means to provide materials for students with disabilities in an alternative format. There is also an increasing number of cases being investigated by the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights which contends that accessible information is equally important as are accessible buildings. The Federal government and numbers of state governments are passing fresh legislation underlining the necessity of providing materials, especially educational materials on the web in accessible formats. Dr. Rowand is expanding her work through a FIPSE grant in a project called, WebAIM on the web at CLICK: http://www.webaim.org and the actual paper is CLICK: http://www.webaim.org/articles/whitepaper.htm (AAHESGIT Listserv Mar 01. For more information about AAHESGIT CLICK: the Listserv/AAHESGIT section of http://www.tltgroup.org) __________________________________________________________________________
POSITIONS
- University of Nevada, Reno - Web Course Designer - this full-time administrative faculty position, reports to the Director of Independent Learning and Summer Session, College of Extended Studies and works with the Independent Learning production team and faculty during design and development phase and trains instructors who will be teaching online. For qualifications and position criteria contact: Chuck Newell, College of Extended Studies/048 University of Nevada-Reno, Reno, NV 89557

-Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario - Animator and Web/Graphic Designer - The Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Brock University, CLICK: http://www.brocku.ca in St. Catharines, Ontario is seeking an animator and web/graphic designer to work as part of a creative team in developing interactive online courses. Full position descriptions and application information are available at CLICK: http://www.brocku.ca/hr/jobs/admintxt.html __________________________________________________________________________
NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to new subscribers: Pat Fellows, Alan Murphy, Anita Hanawalt, Mattijn Bezemer, Jeff Larson, Amanda Maresch, Terry Hyde, Brad Hough, Tracy Nayar, Rebecca Thompson, Carlos Arancibia, Tony Sebastiano and Judy Williams.
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FYI
* "Casey Green" READY2NET #3, E-Commerce, E-Learning and E-Services will be broadcast April 5, 2001 from 2:00-3:30 ET, 1:00-2:30 CT, 12 noon-1:30 MT, 11:00-12:30 PT. Panel participants are: Deborah Bond-Upson, President, Teacher Universe; Terry Hilsberg, CEO at NextEd.com; Larry Irving, former deputy secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce; Laura Palmer Noone, President of the University of Phoenix; Peter Smith, President, California State University, Monterey Bay; and Casey Green (host) founder and director, The Campus Computing Project. For more information CLICK: http://ready2net.monterey.edu/>http://ready2net.monterey.edu

* Syllabus Has Extended Its Early Bird Deadline - The Early Bird 10% discount off registration fees for the Syllabus Spring 2001 conference has been extended to March 21. Online registration is available at CLICK: http://www.syllabus.com The Spring 2001 conference, to be held at the Dr. Albert B. Sabin Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati, April 5-8, will address Campus Communications: From World Wide Web to Wireless. For complete sessions descriptions CLICK: http:.//www.syllabus.com/cincinnati/index.asp
* Academic Exchange Quarterly, a peer-reviewed print journal, is seeking articles for an upcoming issue devoted to Online Instruction and Its Assessment. Information about the special issue is available at CLICK: http://www.higher-ed.org/AEQ/win01.htm The deadline for submissions July 1, 2001.
* Dr. Rena Palloff and Dr. Keith Pratt, authors of the enormously successful book "Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace," will teach a one-week online course by the same name. The course will be held July 23-27, just in time for your fall semester online courses. The theme will be engaging students online and building learning communities with your online students. The fee is only $85. Check it out at CLICK: http://www.TeachingOntheNet.org
* The Centre for Advanced Placement Education (CAPE) at Discovery Collegiate and the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland are seeking papers for the first annual Bits and Bytes: The Evolution of Technology in Education Conference. This is an online conference running from October 1-14, 2001. Deadline for submission of abstracts is April 30. For conference information and full call for papers CLICK: http://www.stemnet.nf.ca:8900/public/bitsandbytes/ ____________________________________________________________________________
ENDNOTE - According to Steven W. Gilbert, founder of the Teaching, Learning and Technology (TLT) Group, although we have a Moore's Law for technology (the capacity of microprocessor chips doubles about every 18-24 months), there is no Moore's Law for human learning. Instead we live through "hundreds of incremental changes, each less dramatic than a revolution, but totaling a major transformation." As part of this transformation we need to ask two fundamental questions: 1) What are one or two important results that we most want to gain in the future from educational uses of technology? What do we hope will be transformed for our students, our institution, ourself? 2) What do we most cherish and do not want to lose? What do we hope will be preserved? Gilbert says that without a commitment to these goals, technology will be adopted, but will not result in what we hope for. (Syllabus Mar 01) __________________________________________________________________________
APRIL DESIEN ISSUE FOCUS - Major Jim Bischoff, USAF, will discuss organizational cultural bias against technology-based learning, and offer suggestions for dealing with cultural problems as part of a comprehensive learning program.
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