CONTENTS

UPFRONT - Addressing the Issue of Digital Rights Management Technologies
FOCUS - Digital Rights Management in Distance Learning - Watch this Space - Chris Ashley and Glenda Morgan, UW System Administration
UW NEWS - ICS Working with MPS on Teaching via VC, ASL Learning Objects Project Funded by UW System, Keynote Speakers Announced for GWETC, Certificate Program Online Group Forming - Scholarships are Available
LINES - July News Highlights
ED - DLAM Plans to Spread Message Through Technology, Lippmann Advocates Technology Education for Students, CoursePacks Launched, Educators Push Reforms to Broaden Distance Learning, LOC Collaborative Digital Reference Service, What Does It Mean to "Be There?"
BIZ/GOV/ED - eEducation Initiated in China, Army's New eLearning Initiative, Implementers Must Drive the eLearning Agenda, IMS Establishes European Foundation, Entrepreneurial Education and Training
FUNDS - "First" is Unique Funding, NEC Foundation of America Announces Grants, Palm Education Pioneer (PEP) Awards $2.3 Million
TECH/TOOLS - ezBOARD Provides ezSKINS Technology, Free Online Seminars From Fathom and Prometheus, Demand for Optical Integrated Circuits is Predicted,, sMediaBlender
COPYRIGHT - Free MIT Course Materials Raise IP Questions, US Decision on Electronic Publishing Could Have Widespread Impact, The House Finds Itself Divided Over Further Broadening of Copyright Exemptions
READS/RESOURCES - eLearning Across the Enterprise: Benchmarking of Best Practices, All Learning is Self-Directed
ISSUES/CHALLENGES - Should the Government Fund Online Content? New American Alliance Formed, G8 Sets Plan to Bridge Digital Divide, DOTforce and G8 Nations, G8 Digital Opportunity Update
NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to New Subscribers FYI - News, Events, Conferences ENDNOTE - On the Button! Elliott Masie
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AUGUST DESIEN ISSUE FOCUS - "Web Accessibility: Creating Pages More People Can Access" - Alice Anderson, Learning Technology Initiatives Coordinator/Technology Access Program Coordinator, Division of Information Technology (DoIT) Learning Technology & Distance Education (LTDE), University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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UPFRONT - This month's article kicks off from June's FOCUS article on copyright ,and addresses the issue of digital rights management technologies, which tends not to have areas like fair use built in or allow for classroom exemptions. Instead, essentially a contract is built up around copyright law.
FOCUS authors, Chris Ashley and Glenda Morgan, UW System Administration, encourage us to familiarize ourselves with this issue and to become involved in the implications of how this is set up and how it works. They also encourage us to, "have a seat at the table as the technology evolves and the discussion regarding its use ensues." (Rosemary Lehman) ___________________________________________________________________________
FOCUS Digital Rights Management in Distance Learning - Watch this Space Chris Ashley, attorney in the General Counsel's Office and Glenda Morgan, Learning Technology Analyst with the Office of Learning and Information Technology, University of Wisconsin System Administration. It is, by now, a banality to say that the advent of digital technology is revolutionizing how educators use textbooks, periodicals, course modules and other educational materials to reach students in the classroom and on-line. It is also obvious that digital technology raises a new set of challenges, legal and otherwise, in balancing the interests of publishers and others who own the materials with the interests of those who use them. The recent negotiations on Capitol Hill on the TEACH Act, a bill to bring the so-called distance education provisions of the copyright law into the 21st Century, is reason to be encouraged that stakeholders can work together to find common ground. A compromise appears to have been reached, and if enacted into law, the TEACH Act will enable instructors and students to use copyrighted works in on-line courses while providing safeguards against unauthorized duplication and transmission of copyrighted materials.

Despite the advances on the legislative front, an issue yet to be resolved is how technological measures - "digital asset management" technology - will fit into the mix. The technology in theory would allow content owners to specify in computer code a user's authority to view, print, play or modify works in digital format and to track their usage automatically. As many critics have pointed out, it is possible that technological measures could be programmed to prohibit uses of a digital work that would otherwise be allowed under the copyright law. Unlike the more traditional license arrangement in which the user would have at least an opportunity to make a case to an arbitrator or to a court to defend his or her use of the product, it is unclear what recourse a consumer has if a technological measure automatically disables a legal use of the product.

Most of the action so far has been in the music industry in the wake of Napster and other software that enable widespread copying and distribution of copyrighted music. The music industry's Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), which aims to "build standards to protect the playing, storing and distributing of digital music," is being closely watched to see if the technology works and what the reaction from consumers will be if it does.

Technological measures are being used increasingly in educational media as well. For example, a student who purchases a "digital textbook" from: WizeUp http://www.WizeUp.com may only use the book on a single computer because the Enigma: http://www.Enigma.com technology protecting it is programmed to find the serial number of the purchaser's CPU and to restrict usage to that piece of hardware. Technology from Enigma and other firms with comparable products is capable of building access controls into digital information based on time or the identity of the user.

It is probably too soon to tell whether such technology will gain a foothold in the market, especially in on-line learning. It may yet turn out that consumers will not buy products that have too many built-in restrictions, similar to what happened to copy-protected software programs in the 1980s. Hackers may prove too adept at cracking the code that secures copyrighted works to allow digital asset management technology to work on a broad scale, although current law has harsh penalties for such "circumvention" activities. There also still remains quite a bit of research to do on the pricing models, standards and infrastructure that will allow widespread use of digital asset management technology.

But it is certainly appropriate and prudent for consumers of digital works to be aware that the technology exists and that it may be employed in ways that unduly restrict their ability to use the works. One problem is that, unlike the more traditional licensing model in which the user is made aware of the applicable terms before using the product, technological measures can be much less apparent to the user. The fine print of a license agreement might notify the user that technological measures protect the work, but it might not. Someone who tries to send an article via e-mail to a friend might not know that he can't until the technological measures kick in and prohibit the transaction. It is this "self-enforcing" potential of the technology that raises the most concern for libraries, educators and other users of digital works.

In fairness, it appears to be the purveyors of digital asset management technology, rather than publishers and other "content owners" who might use them, who have been the more aggressive so far in promoting the power of the technology and encouraging its widespread use. It may turn out that content owners and users can work together to determine whether, for instance, the law should require that some default level of fair use should be built into the technology that protects digital works. Or whether there should be some limitation on technology applied to works used for educational purposes. There is also the opportunity for users to make their case to the Library of Congress that consumers should be allowed to circumvent technological measures applied to certain categories of digital works under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In any case, it is particularly important that educators have a seat at the table as the technology evolves and the discussion regarding its use ensues. ____________________________________________________________________________
UW NEWS

ICS WORKING WITH MPS ON TEACHING VIA VC - This week, the Instructional Communications Systems (ICS) UW-Extension (UWEX) Design Team is working with 33 Milwaukee Public School teachers, via videoconferencing, to help them learns the skills of teaching over the technology. The teachers will discuss their expectations and concerns, learn about the 7 Keys to successful videoconferencing, experience the technology, form teams, brainstorm projects and develop a core module that they will then present for feedback. A component Web site will help the teachers at three different locations get to know each other and will also serve as a site for workshop resources.

Since last July, the ICS Design Team has trained more than 380 instructors, trainers and staff in the use of videoconferencing and since December, 2001, over 135 in the use of its new Web conferencing software, WisLine Web. ICS is a unit of Broadcasting and Media Innovations, a Division of UWEX. ICS provides audio, video and data conferencing technologies, support and training services for educational, governmental and non-profit organizations and collaborates with these types of organizations and the private sector through partnerships.

ASL LEARNING OBJECTS PROJECT FUNDED BY UW SYSTEM - The pilot project, Creating Standards-Based Learning Objects for American Sign Language (ASL), has received funding from University of Wisconsin System to develop ASL learning objects, and to: organize, index and tag the learning objects for meta-data. The learning objects will be used as a supplement to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) ASL course and will be available for use throughout the entire UW System

Partners in the pilot project include: 1) UWM School of Education, 2) ICS, UWEX at The Pyle Center in Madison and 3) University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP). Following the development of the learning objects, UWM and ICS will collaborate in the design of professional development opportunities that will showcase the ASL learning objects, include an in-depth case study and address such issues as: 1) standards-based content, 2) intellectual property and 3) learning object storage and retrieval. Information gleaned from both the ASL pilot project and the professional development opportunities will be of value to UW System universities and colleges, PreK-12 and other agencies. Ultimate plans are for the development of an online course and for collaboration with the University of Wisconsin ADL Co Lab.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS ANNOUNCED FOR GWETC - The 2001 Governor's Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference (GWETC 2001) to be held October 29-31 in Green Bay, WI, has announced its main Keynote Speakers. Dr. Lynell Burmark, an Associate with the Thornburg Center for Professional Development, with an impressive background in education and technology that extends from K12 through graduate school, will open the conference on October 29. Dr. Elliot Soloway's keynote will close the conference on October 31. Soloway is Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of Michigan, working at the Center for Highly Interactive Computing in Education (Hi-CE). He has been developing science curricula that embeds technology into the everyday experiences of students and teachers. According to Soloway, "There is an opportunity now, for making major changes in education, with technology as the Trojan Mouse." To find out more about GWETC visit: http://www.gwetc.org

CERTIFICATE PROGRAM ONLINE GROUP FORMING - SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE - A Fall 2001 online group is now forming to participate in the Distance Education Certificate Program offered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The group will start the program on October 1 (enrollment deadline is September 7), working as a cohort in completing online core modules. Four half-tuition scholarships are available to group participants. The scholarship application deadline is August 17. Offered since 1993, the Certificate Program builds knowledge, skills and leadership in distance/online education through a curriculum of core modules and electives that cover distance teaching, learning, technology, instructional design, evaluation, learner support and management. For more information, see the "DECP Online Catalog" at: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/depd/certpro.html or contact Chris Olgren at: cholgren@facstaff.wisc.edu ___________________________________________________________________________
LINES - July News Highlights

- A recent study by psychologist Robert Kraut of Carnegie Mellon U is in conflict with an earlier 1995 study, also by Kraut, that indicated that the Internet worsened both depression and loneliness in online users. His new study indicates that the Internet has either changed, or people have learned to use it in a more constructive way - perhaps both. In other words, the Internet has become more social with the use of eMail, instant messaging and support groups. In yet another study by Kraut, he has found that the Internet enhances mental health for extroverts, but reduces it for introverts. (USA Today, 23 July 01)

- A new project that includes The Harvard University Library and scholarly journal publishers John Wiley, Blackwell and the U of Chicago Press will attempt to build a digital archive for electronic journals. The project plans to improve on current digital archiving efforts, and to seek methods to archive non-text materials digitally (including video and sound files, computer data sets and computer simulations.) In addition, the plan will help determine rules for accessing digital archives. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 20 July 01)

- Increased interaction by students and professors in online MBA programs appears to be causing program popularity to increase, in spite of the additional program costs at some of the universities. Programs at University of Florida's Warrington College of Business and Kansas City's Webster University are among those who have a substantial number of students taking the online courses. According to Richard St. Clair, who teaches part of the online MBA program at Webster, there is greater interaction with the students in the online programs than he would have in a traditional classroom setting. (Kansas City Star Online, 15 July 01)

- Executive director of the Instructional Telecommunications Council, Christine Dalziel, recently reported that approximately 35 states provide distance education through a variety of modes. A list of these distance education networks is available on the council's Web site at: http://www.itcnetwork.org/default.htm "A lot of colleges are really rushing to put courses together, and they're afraid of the competition from other states," she said. "That's really what's driving it in a lot of cases: fear." While most distance education programs operate within state boundaries, there is variance in the way in which credits are transferred from one institution to another within states. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 13 June 01)

- Java in Administration Special Interest Group (JA-SIG) is developing a common reference framework with specifications that will allow institutions to plug content and design into that framework. Called uPortal, it also ensures security and convenience, through using a single log-on for each application. The beta edition of uPortal 2.0 was released July 22, 2001. (Syllabus, July 01)

- Australia's government has committed $19 million toward the development of a high-speed Internet backbone that will connect 80 educational institutions and research organizations. An additional $47 million is expected to come from universities, private-sector firms and government research groups. This backbone could also link to institutions in the US and Canada using undersea connections. Australia's Minister of Communications, Richard Alston, noted that the backbone is expected to lead to increased research and industrial development in the country and will lay the physical foundations for a national innovation network. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 4 June 01)

- Between spring of 2000 and the present, enrollment in higher-education distance learning programs in Illinois has risen 44%. Online courses from The Illinois Virtual Campus (IVC), a joint project of the University of Illinois and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, were the most popular, followed by "stored-media" programs that are available on DVD, CD-ROM, audio or videotape. Community colleges are the main source of distance learning programs, providing 75% of all programs, while public universities provide 20% and private institutions, 5%. An online database of distance learning courses is offered by IVC. (Civic.com, 6 June 01) ___________________________________________________________________________
ED

DLAM PLANS TO SPREAD MESSAGE THROUGH TECHNOLOGY - The folk group "Peter, Paul and Mary" is working to help transform schools, camps and other youth organizations into a more compassionate, safe and respectful environment for young people. The Don't Laugh at Me Project (DLAM) is a project that disseminates educational resources that are designed to establish a climate that reduces the emotional and physical cruelty some children inflict upon each other by behaviors such as ridicule, bullying and-in extreme cases-violence. Most recently the group is working with the Masie Center to learn how the use of technology might add to the expression and dissemination of its message.

DLAM has developed three curricula, one for grades 2-5, another for grades 6-8 and a third for summer camps and after-school programs. All utilize inspiring music and video as well as materials based on the well-tested, highly regarded conflict resolution curricula developed by the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP) of Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR). DLAM is a gateway program designed to provide teachers, school counselors, social workers, administrators and other professionals with an entry point for year-round social and emotional learning (SEL) and character education programs, as well as to interface with and energize other efforts of this kind. For full information and to become involved go to: http://www.dontlaugh.org/netscape/index1.htm

LIPPMAN ADVOCATES TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS - It is through the education of students that technology can be used to reinvent society, Andrew Lippman maintains - so educators are in effect shaping the future. According to Lippman, keynote speaker at the July Syllabus2001 conference in Santa Clara, CA, new technologies of bits and atoms are a driving force in the changes global networks are making in our media, communities and businesses. Systems can now be designed to respond to social and personal structures as well as impel them to change. Lippman, founding Associate Director of the MIT Media Lab, is also Director of the lab's Digital Life program, a multi-sponsor research consortium of faculty, graduate students and companies exploring the interconnection between bits, people and things in an online world. Under Lippman's direction, the program invents and explores new forms of communities through research in structured media, learning, human expression, interfaces and agents. The members of the program work to jointly define the research issues and participate in the work. Represented industries include telecommunications, media, transactions, advertising, publishing, consumer electronics and computing. (Syllabus e-News, Resources and Trends, 10 July 01)

COURSEPACKS LAUNCHED - a joint education initiative between XanEdu and The Economist, will make digital CoursePacks available by fall of 2001. Editorial content from The Economist will guide the CoursePacks and allow professors to integrate its content with XanEdu's vast archives of materials, literature works and academic collections. In addition, students will receive a print subscription to the Economist newsweekly. For more information, visit: http://www.xanedu.com

EDUCATORS PUSH REFORMS TO BROADEN DISTANCE LEARNING - The Internet Equity and Education Act of 2001, now under review by the U.S. House of Representatives, could strengthen eLearning by building a bridge between academic institutions and the IT industry. Among other changes, the bill would soften rules on compensating third-party IT firms that assist in recruiting and admissions. Allowing such compensation would encourage standard business practices, explained Stanley Ikenberry, president of the American Council on Education. "Distance education and on-campus instruction are converging, with online delivery systems being employed for distant commuting and residential students," he said. To date, 35 states have created statewide eLearning programs or virtual universities, reported Ikenberry. (Washington Technology, 2 July 01 - Edupage 2 July 01)

LOC COLLABORATIVE DIGITAL REFERENCE SERVICE - Developed by the Library of Congress (LOC), the Collaborative Digital Reference Service at: http://www.loc.gov/rr/digiref helps provide answers round-the-clock to reference questions. About 100 libraries take part in the program at present and organizers hope to add as many as 200 other libraries to the service by the end of the year. Questions are currently submitted by library reference personnel and then routed,using software developed by the Library of Congress, to other libraries that are most suited to answer the question, based on information provided by the other libraries about their hours of service and areas of expertise. At present, libraries are not required to answer more than 10 questions per week and usually respond within 2 days. Backers plan to expand the service and offer it directly to the public in early 2002 and also have an archive of previously answered questions to keep libraries from having to answer the same questions repeatedly. (Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 June, 01)

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "BE THERE?" - A recent conference, "Presence 2001" focused on virtual reality and electronic media to discuss how technology is changing what it means to "be there." Held at Temple University, this cross-discipline, international conference drew some 70 educators, researchers and psychologists. Keynote speaker, Carrie J. Heeter, a professor at Michigan State, who teaches her classes "virtually" from the basement of her California home, described a pilot program that gave senior citizen participants with large-screen video phone, a true sense of being in someone's presence. Temple University is working on the study of presence through the development of a media interface and network design lab that will link up with universities around the world that are conducting similar research. (Philadelphia Inquirer, 31 May 01) _________________________________________________________________________
BIZ/GOV/ED

eEDUCATION INITIATED IN CHINA - July 12, 2001 was the official launch date for a partnership effort of The Hartcourt Companies, Inc., California State U of Fullerton and Northern JiaoTong University of Beijing. The eEducation multi-discipline certificate and degree programs feature American-Standard Management and IT courses for Chinese entrepreneurs, and are taught by California State U instructors. Harcourt is providing the classrooms. Eventually these programs, along with MBA program, will be Webcast to students throughout China. For more information visit: http:www.hartcourt.com

ARMY'S NEW eLEARNING INITIATIVE - According to analysts, the Army's new eLearning initiative, eArmyU.com, may change how eLearning undertakings are accomplished. David Derman of Goldman Sachs Group tauts the five-year, $453 million initiative that was completed with consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Some 24 colleges and universities have teamed up to offer courses through the Army's eLearning portal. This initiative enables soldiers to get certificates and associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees online for no charge to the soldiers. According to Jill Kidwell, PricewaterhouseCoopers' program director for the program, it is anticipated that eArmyU can support 80,000 students and is expected to be available throughout the Army by 2003. (Washington Technology, 16 July 01)

IMPLEMENTERS MUST DRIVE THE eLEARNING AGENDA - On a recent trip to Ireland, Elliott Masie interviewed several CEO's of eLearning companies including Smartforce, WBT Systems and Thinq. It was intriguing that each of the CEO's felt that it was time for "implementing organizations," the actual companies deploying eLearning for their employees or customers to "take back the agenda for training and technology." The CEO's agreed that customers had to drive the agenda rather than be driven by the latest set of features or genre of tools announced by vendors. The training executives in the room, from 18 different countries, agreed that it was way too easy to default to the vendor's view of the learning world. The Masie Center believes that the agenda for eLearning must be driven by corporate strategies that are aligned with business needs and should be immune from the latest press releases or any new set of 3 or 4 letter terms heralding new software models for learning, tracking or management. (TechLearn Trends #207, 16 July 01)

IMS ESTABLISHES EUROPEAN FOUNDATION - IMS, a global consortium of more than 300 educational institutions, commercial entities and government agencies recently announced the founding of IMS in Europe - an independent foundation incorporated in the Netherlands that will serve the needs of eLearning organizations throughout Europe. A growing number of eLearning agencies, vendors, providers and universities are joining IMS in Europe to help develop technical specifications and involve the European eLearning community in their global use. Recently many of these organizations convened in Sweden and the UK to participate in an IMS Working Group on technical specifications for Digital Repositories. All of the specifications developed by IMS are available to the public without charge through the IMS web site at: http://www.imsglobal.org . (Syllabus e-News, Trends and Resources, 03 July 01)

ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING - To assist students in turning their work into new business ventures, several major European engineering and business schools have founded the Entrepreneurship Education and Training International Association. Participating institutions include: the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Cambridge University, the Ecole des Mines d'Ales in France and Morocco's Al Akhawayn University, as well as the HEC business school in Paris. These institutions have an entrepreneurial infrastructure in place, including courses, incubators and organizations that help students form startup firms. The hope is that by working together, the institutions will be able to support: student exchanges, international networking events and research and development programs. Officials intend to work with business, although the corporate community is traditionally wary of entering academic efforts such as this unless it gains a stake in the work under development. (TheStandard.com, 25 May 01 - CIT INFOBITS June 01) __________________________________________________________________________
FUNDS

"FIRST" IS UNIQUE FUNDING - Through the Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools and Transit (FIRST), the state of IL granted $12 billion through a five-year grant program to repair and upgrade critical infrastructure, including IT systems. Lincoln Trail College, a community college in the state, is one of the first recipients. With the $150,000 it received, the college will purchase office hardware for a building that will house up to 12 firms, a part of their eCommerce Incubator program. The grant will also help with college faculty support for the program. The eCommerce program should prove to be a valuable one for the area, which lacks jobs for local community college graduates. (Civic.com, 19 July 01)

NEC FOUNDATION OF AMERICA ANNOUNCES GRANTS - The NEC Foundation of America recently announced eight separate grants totaling $300,000 to not-for-profit organizations focusing their services on education technology applications and/or emerging technologies for people with disabilities. Organizations receiving support from this recent round of grants include Boston University and The Center for Excellence in Education. For more information see: http://www.nec.com/ (Syllabus e-News, Resources and Trends 17 July 01)

PALM EDUCATION PIONEER (PEP) AWARDS $2.3 MILLION - In a second round of grants from the Palm Education Pioneer (PEP) program, Palm, Inc., $2.3 million in Palm handheld units was awarded to elementary and secondary schools, colleges and universities. The funds will enable innovative teaching and learning, and gain insight into ways in which handheld devices can affect teaching and learning. Research from the awards is expected to help determine best practices for integrating handhelds into curriculum and teacher training. For more information go to: http://www.palm.com ________________________________________________________________________
TECH/TOOLS

ezBOARD PROVIDES ezSKINS TECHNOLOGY - a new product, ezSkins, allows Web communities to redesign the "social space" - structure, look and feel of their communities. It enables them to achieve almost any site design, without having extensive programming knowledge. The ezSkins technology is available to any participating member of the Community-Supported Communities programs. To find out more about it see: http://www.ezboard.com.

FREE ONLINE SEMINARS FROM FATHOM and PROMETHEUS - Columbia University, the London School of Economics, and Cambridge University Press are three institutions offering free seminars through Fathom and using Prometheus software. Fathom is a source for online learning and Prometheus is the open architecture courseware from the George Washington University. The Prometheus-Fathom partnership will offer the seminars free, internationally. Through Prometheus, the seminar material will be presented in a variety of media, including text, images, audio, video and animation. "Virtual lectures," will be followed by discussion boards, self assessment tests and related educational links. Some of the courses available this summer include: "Women's Health: Not for Women Only" from Columbia University; "The Globalisation Debate" from The London School of Economics and Political Science; "How to Read Joyce" from Cambridge University Press and "The Lindisfarne Gospels" from The British Library. The length of the seminars is expected to be between a half-hour and two hours. For more information visit: http://www.fathom.com

DEMAND FOR OPTICAL INTEGRATED CIRCUITS IS PREDICTED - Predictions are that the demand for optical integrated circuits will increase dramatically by 2005. The demand is being stimulated by the need for more capacity and performance. Networking companies are investing billions in this sector and venture capitalists are financing startups, among them: PMC-Sierra, Applied Micro Circuits and Vitesse Semiconductor. Cost, however is still a factor in the manufacturing and adoption of these new circuits. (Red Herring, 15 July 01)

MEDIABLENDER - This new web-based multimedia authoring tool will be available this fall. MediaBlender lets you create your multimedia wherever you are connected to the Internet: in the classroom, in the lab, at the local library, at home, on an airplane and even on vacation in another country! MediaBlender software is not tied to the computer where you installed it. You can access MediaBlender from any computer with Internet access, host the software on your own servers for better performance and load a stand-alone application on your computer for use without an Internet connection. Your projects can be shared on the Web and are platform independent. It was just named 2001 Districts' Choice by Curriculum Administrator. To find out more visit: http://www.tech4learning.com/products/mediablender.html (News4Educators News Flash, 22 June 01) __________________________________________________________________________
COPYRIGHT

FREE MIT COURSE MATERIALS RAISE IP QUESTIONS - Making course materials, available via the Internet at no cost, was a recent groundbreaking initiative implemented by MIT. Legal scholars are saying, however, that this effort poses a challenge to the traditional notion of intellectual property in the academic world. The American Association of University Professors suggests that if faculty members are mandated by the university to place their works on the Web and are using university tools to do so, the university should be able to make a claim for CO-ownership of that intellectual property. (National Law Journal, 23 July 01)

US DECISION ON ELECTRONIC PUBLISHING COULD HAVE WIDESPREAD IMPACT - The US Supreme Court ruled on June 25 that media companies must secure freelance writers' permission to republish their articles in electronic format. The ruling arose from the lawsuit of Jonathan Tasini, president of the National Writers Union against the New York Times. Mr. Tasini argued that online versions of freelance articles are in fact new editions, and therefore require their authors' approval. The New York Times responded that such online versions were simply "revisions" and therefore not subject to the authors' approval.

Seven out of nine judges sided with Mr. Tasini, and their decision could have a significant impact on the content, availability and pricing of electronic databases such as LEXIS-NEXIS, that republish freelance newspaper and magazine articles. Freelance articles may have to be deleted from online and CD-ROM databases, or the publishers of these databases may have to negotiate agreements and compensation with authors, which would likely mean increased subscription prices for already straitened library budgets. While most libraries would still be able to provide access to freelance literature through microfilm and interlibrary loan, the convenience of instant online access that many students and faculty have come to enjoy and expect may be in jeopardy. For more information see the June 26 article in the Chronicle of Higher Education at: http://chronicle.com/free/2001/06/2001062601t.htm (NETWORKING 11 Jul 2001)

THE HOUSE FINDS ITSELF DIVIDED OVER FURTHER BROADENING OF COPYRIGHT EXEMPTIONS - At a recent House hearing on S. 487. the issue of broadening copyright exemptions for online educational use came up for a new round of debate. Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, proposed a separate bill, H.R. 2100, that would also extend the fair-use exemption to public libraries that offer online education. Howard Coble, the North Carolina Republican who is chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, said he did not want to see any changes to S. 487, which has already been passed by the Senate. "I would rather go with this bill," he told the Chronicle of Higher Education after the hearing. "It appears to have the satisfaction of the players at the table." Marybeth Peters, the registrar of copyrights, said at the hearing that the Senate bill seemed to be the one most parties could agree on. "The parties, including libraries, sat down and decided on this bill," she told the Chronicle. "My goal is to see that this bill gets enacted." House action on the bill is expected in the near future. Read more on the Chronicle website at: http://www.chronicle.com/free/2001/06/2001062801u.htm (E-News From UCEA, #45, 10 Jul 01) ___________________________________________________________________________ READS/RESOURCES

eLEARNING ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE: THE BENCHMARKING OF BEST PRACTICES - This study is now available in subject-specific sections that will help you work through specific eLearning issues that other companies have experienced and hurdled. Organizations featured in the study include: Air Canada, Cisco, Dell, Ernst & Young, IBM Management Development, Rockwell Collins, Shell, Unipart, the U.S. Navy and Verizon Communications. Subject-specific sections are now being offered as three convenient, separate packages: Part 1: Business Imperative, Impact and Leadership Part 2: What Works: Tactics, Models, Content and Tools Part 3: Issues: Money, Staffing, Information Technology and Measurement For more information, or to review the executive summary for one of the sections, see: http://www.brandon-hall.com/benstudsec.html

ALL LEARNING IS SELF-DIRECTED - according to Daniel R. Tobin, Publisher: American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) ISBN# 1-56286-133-6. Daniel Tobin, former Dean of Getronics Virtual University (formerly Wang Global Virtual University) is the author of this slim book on self-directed learning. Tobin reminds us that while the adult learner may not have control over what is being taught, s/he always has control over what is learned. Guided by this premise Tobin systematically lays out how to create an internal institutional environment that encourages adults to learn. Tobin is a lucid writer, and his understanding of how to create a learning organization is equally advanced. He guides the reader through how to create a positive learning environment and make employees responsible for their own learning, defining the manager's role in independent learning, the role of technology-based training and building and using a corporate knowledge network. Essential reading for any educator who understands the difference between putting a formal training program in place and creating a learning organization. For more information contact ASTD at: http://www.astd.org. (Virtual University Gazette, 3 June 01) __________________________________________________________________________ ISSUES/OPPORTUNITIES

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT FUND ONLINE CONTENT? - Former PBS President Lawrence K. Grossman and former FCC Chief Newton N. Minow argue that the federal government should become more involved in bridging the digital divide by providing online public space to supplement their efforts to Web-enable schools and communities. With this end in mind, Grossman and Minow have formed the Digital Promise Project, an organization dedicated to the provision of educational and civic-centered Web content through initiatives such as the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust. The project would support the implementation of online libraries and museum collections, as well as programs to help teachers learn how to take full advantage of technology in their classrooms. The Digital Promise group suggests that funding could be acquired from electromagnetic spectrum auctions, but they would not be the only agency vying for such revenues. The promise of public sites uncluttered by marketing is a worthy goal, said Grossman. "You could have a virtual solar system, a 3D model of a human body, or a recreation of Mark Twain's America." (Wall Street Journal, 23 July 01 - EduPage, 25 July 01)

NEW AMERICAN ALLIANCE FORMED - A new Alliance has formed that is expected to provide schools, colleges, state agencies, libraries and other nonprofit groups with benefits in telecommunications services. The American TelEdCommunications Alliance represents all areas of the country. The founding member are: MiCTA, a national telecommunications association of more than 12,000 nonprofit organizations; the Midwestern Higher Education Commission (MHEC); the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE), the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The mission of the Alliance is to provide low-cost access to top-quality telecommunications programs and to create an organized way to exert leadership in building both technology policies and standards. Leaders of the five organizations will serve as board members. For more information visit: http://www.ATAlliance.org

DOTforce AND G8 NATIONS - Created two years ago at the Tokyo summit, and endorsed at the Okinawa summit last year, the Digital Opportunity Taskforce (DOTforce) has been hard at work on a plan to use the Internet to bring education and health care to the world's rural and urban poor. The Genoa action plan is intended to harmonize the development policies of the rich and poor nations, but two of its provisions could lead to new funding for continuing higher education. The first is the plan's goal of training teachers in Internet and telecommunications proficiency and in digital literacy education. The second is the creation of "university-based, networked centers of excellence, focusing on research and learning at the intersection between ICT [Internet and Communications Technology] and development." The Genoa plan foresees "twinning" these centers in G8 and developing countries, or creating multinational consortia linking rich and poor nations. For more about the Digital Opportunity Taskforce and the Genoa summit on the website of the US nonprofit coordinating organization, see the Markle Foundation at: http://www.markle.org/dotforce.html

G8 DIGITAL OPPORTUNITY UPDATE - the Genoa Plan of Action on information technology and development was formally adopted yesterday (July 22) by the G8 nations. The next G8 meeting, scheduled for June 2002 in Canada, will include a review of progress on implementation of the Plan. See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A33436-2001Jul22.html

While adoption of the Plan constituted agreement in principle, and could result in a giant step forward for distance learning, it remains to be seen whether implementation dollars for teacher education and online instruction will follow. US non-profit and university participation in the Genoa Plan is being coordinated by the John and Mary Markle Foundation. The Foundation's eMail newsletter, DigOpp Digest, reports on the latest developments in the Genoa Plan and allied activities. For a free subscription, eMail: majordomo@mail.edc.org and copy the following command to the eMail message field: subscribe digopp-digest (Joelle Brink, UCEA Update, 23 July 01) __________________________________________________________________________
NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to new subscribers: Ron Smith, Joanne Montanye, Daniel Pataca, Leslie Keeler, Alfredo Imbellone, Salley Sawyer, Soledad Kobrinsky, Mariana Thoss, Karina Eidman, Gerardo Ferronato, Javier Espeja, Scott Jones, Linda Byington, Steve Tenpas, Linda Manuel, Diana Mayo, Fatima Sousa, Brad Hinson, Maria Kaylor, Ann Green, Susan Simkowski, Ricky Wastrack, Virginia Clark, Tessie Yarn, Sherlyn Brown, Laurie Aaron, Lisa Idzikowski, Fran Bulger, Darice Lindsey, Candace Cline, Renee Scianni, Jennifer Basting, Char Harteau, Rich Ringhand, Maria Jaszewski, Neva Moga, Francine Smith-Mack, Sarah Scott, Mark Douglas, Angela Ford, Anna Grosgalvis, Norma Lathan, Precious Lefer, Reina Estes, Shurone Nash, Teresa Michals, LaMont Walker, Charles McKnight, Janice Galloway, John Parker, Mittie Rainey, Megan O'Connell, Kelly Patschull, Linda Albertson, James Ryan John Prichard and Pam Pham. __________________________________________________________________________
FYI - News, Events, Conferences

* Reminder - The 17 Annual Distance Teaching & Learning Conference will be held in Madison, WI, August 8-10, 2001 at the Marriott West. Plan to register now. For full information see: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference/

* The University Continuing Education Association is calling for session proposals for the April, 2002 national conference. Look for the guidelines on the UCEA website at: http://www.nucea.edu/2002RFP.htm Deadline for submissions is September 1, 2001.

* Emerging Technologies 2001 will be held October 3-4, 2001 in Thunder Bay, ON This conference is a northern Ontario conference on wireless technologies and communications for business, health care and education. It is presented by Contact North in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Thunder Bay Telephone. For more details see: http://www.cnorth.edu.on.ca/cnorth/English/wireless.htm

* CUMREC 2002, the Higher Education Administrative Technology Conference, will be held May 12-15, 2002, in Minneapolis, MN The 2002 conference theme is "Bringing HEAT Up North: Exploring New Landscapes for Administrative Technology." The CUMREC 2002 Program Committee is soliciting proposals for multiple tracks, with a due date of November 30, 2001, for receipt of proposals. CUMREC is an EDUCAUSE Affiliate. For more information see: http://www.cumrec.org/cumrec2002/


ENDNOTE - On the Button! - In a recent TechLearn Trends Newsletter, Elliott Masie described a Wish List of 10 Innovations. Among the 10 was the wish for the creation of a few additional Web Online Buttons:

- TWO HELP BUTTONS Toolmakers of synchronous and live learning tools should add two Help Buttons to their screens. The first one would be pushed if the learner needs technical help with the operation of the tool. The other would be pushed if the learner has a content or learning question. Each button would be handled differently, connecting with different FAQ's and connectivity to either a technical help desk or a learning content resource. Nothing is more distracting then a learner asking a technical question in front of 100 on-line students. Let's help both learners and instructors by sorting help requests right at the screen.

- A GOOD-BYE BUTTON - We should ask learners as they are leaving a learning activity to press one button to describe why they are leaving. Some folks are actually leaving because they got what they wanted and are now going back to work. Let's gather information that tracks positive departure as well as negative departure and allow those that are leaving to return at another time. (Elliott Masie, TechLearn Trends #208, 20 Jul 01) ___________________________________________________________________________
AUGUST DESIEN ISSUE FOCUS - "Web Accessibility: Creating Pages More People Can Access" - Alice Anderson, Learning Technology Initiatives Coordinator/Technology Access Program Coordinator, Division of Information Technology (DoIT) Learning Technology & Distance Education (LTDE), University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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