CONTENTS

UPFRONT - Networking is Connecting People
FOCUS - WiscNet: A Networked Community by Andrea Deau
UW AND WI - Effective Practices Book Now Available, DE Certificate Program
Scholarships-Online Group Now Forming, TTT, WIDS Wins Praise for Course
Design

LINES - October News Highlights
ED - Teleconferencing Will Save Money and Improve Access, Study Charts Growth
of Fully Online Distance Learning, Organizers Plan Online Medical School, Initial
MIT Coursework Goes Online, Doctoral Programs Added at U of Phoenix Online
BIZ/GOV/ED - INCITS Forms New Technical Committee, TechLearn Presents
Award to Home Depot, New MIT Center to Bridge Academia and Business
COPYRIGHT - The TEACH Act Passes as Amendment to HR 5512
ACCESSIBILITY - Kurzweil Program to Integrate Classroom Readers, Speech-to-
Language Application Unveiled, Judge Says Web Sites Not Subject to ADA
DIGITAL DIVIDE - Technology Centers Left to Support Themselves, Affordable
Language Learning Opportunities
TECH/TOOLS - Breakthrough to Boost Data Network Speed, Physicians Group
Launches PDA Info Clearinghouse
READS/RESOURCES - Converge, Distance Learning at the Tipping Point,
Content at Your Fingertips: Better Ways to Classify and Tag

NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to New Subscribers
FYI - News, Events, Conferences
ENDNOTE - Networking and Connecting: A Memorable Activity
_____________________________________________________________________

NOVEMBER DESIEN FOCUS ARTICLE - Synchronizing the Sun: An Attempt at
Building a Global Knowledge Network with Synchronized e-Learning by Stewart
Kowalski, the Centre for Information and Communication Research Stockholm
School of Economics.
______________________________________________________________________

UPFRONT - It's easy to become so wrapped up in creating technology infrastructure that
the real purpose of the infrastructure is forgotten - connecting people. This month's
FOCUS article "WiscNet: a Networked Community" concentrates on just that. WiscNet is
all about connecting people and shaping and creating services that are good for its members.
The concept began in 1989 and the operation in 1991. During that time, the member
community has grown to more than 500. Andrea Deau, the Educational Technical Liaison
for WiscNet shares the organization's story.
______________________________________________________________________

FOCUS

WiscNet: A Networked Community
by
Andrea Deau WiscNet Educational Technical Liaison

The WiscNet Vision - "The strength and resources of the members are WiscNet." This
is the philosophy that brought education folks together in the effort to get high-speed
Internet access in 1989. That effort began with 24 charter members, including the
University of Wisconsin institutions and eight private colleges and universities, and
began operation in January of 1991 under a grant from the National Science
Foundation. Today, WiscNet has a member community more than 500, strong
including all of the universities and technical colleges, most of Wisconsin's K-12
schools and private colleges, many hospitals, libraries, and city and county
governments, as well as a number of non-profit organizations. The focus has
always been to give members state-of-the-art network services that join members
inside the state, as well as connecting members to colleagues around the nation and
world - not just connecting locations, but connecting people. Additionally, WiscNet
works with our members to shape and create services that are good for the members
and leverage the strength of the cooperative.

WiscNet Collaboration - WiscNet member collaborations include:

o Efforts with videoconferencing leaders in our community (WI Technical Colleges,
CESAs, and several UW System institutions: UW-Colleges, UW-Extension, and
UW-Madison) investigating the development of full feature videoconferencing over
the WiscNet IP network.

o WiscNet & StateNets. There are at least 40 public and non-profit organizations like
WiscNet whose professionals operate statewide education networks that serve a
substantial portion of a state's K-20 education and library institutions. During the last
two years, several WiscNet staff have worked steadily to develop our interstate
relationships and compare and contrast the services each provide.

o WiscNet is partnering with several other educational networks in the upper Midwest
to begin the Great Lakes Light Rail (GLLR) initiative that will interconnect and
coordinate educational networking in our area. These efforts will result in new
opportunities to reduce interstate circuit costs and, more importantly, provide higher
quality connectivity for WiscNet members.

o Through a WiscNet web-based learning pilot, K-12 teachers are learning how to
use Blackboard as a teaching tool for the classroom and for professional
development.

WiscNet Opportunities - In addition to developing the network that joins our members,
we also provide opportunities for face to face networking within the WiscNet community
with our regional briefings and annual Future Technologies conference. The goal of our
briefings is to talk about emerging issues pertinent to education and public service,
identify existing resources in the WiscNet cooperative, and present examples of how
other members are addressing these issues.

The Future Technologies Conference offers our members a preview of emerging
technologies and their potential applications for education. Past topics have included
Internet2, e-Learning, IP video and new network technologies. The 2003 conference
will be held May 5-6 at Monona Terrace in Madison, Wisconsin.

Other WiscNet Services - WiscNet also provides services such as web hosting, email,
Internet content filtering, Blackboard, and technical support. To facilitate technical
support efforts, WiscNet developed the WiscNet Toolbox, providing members with
tools that will assist them in performing self-directed network troubleshooting.

WiscNet Future - Looking to the future, we are developing new services to help the
members. 2-way Video, Blackboard services, United Streaming, and Content Brokering
are all items on our radar that, along with members, we hope to develop.

(Author and contact: Andrea Deau - adeau@wiscnet.net; Website - www.wiscnet.net)
_______________________________________________________________________

UW AND WI

EFFECTIVE PRACTICES BOOK NOW AVAILABLE - Learn about the effective uses
of distance education technology. The authors of this book are practicing professionals who
have taught via a variety of technologies, often blending them for optimal teaching strategies.
These professionals have used distance education technology to deliver instruction for K-12
schools, universities and colleges, and state government agencies. Subject areas include:
English, engineering, nursing, music, library technologies, geology, foreign languages,
and more. To order the book go to: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/training/effect/index.html

DE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIPS-ONLINE GROUP NOW FORMING -
A Winter 2003 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 January 15 (enrollment deadline is December 20), working as a cohort in
completing online core modules. Two half-tuition scholarships are available. Scholarship
applications are due December 9. The Certificate Program features a professional
development curriculum covering distance/online teaching, learning, technology,
instructional design, evaluation, learner support, and management. No travel required.
For information about the program and scholarships, contact Chris Olgren at
cholgren@facstaff.wisc.edu or see the "DECP Online Catalog" at:
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/depd/

TTT - This month's issue of Teaching with Technology Today (TTT), vol. 9 no 2 can be
found at: http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/

* Preparing for Change: UW and the Quest for a New e-Learning System
http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/taskforce.htm by Tammy Kempfert, TTT Editor
* Cool, Convenient, and Connected: Using Streamed Media in the Basic Speech Course
http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/sims.htm by Judy Rene Sims, UW-Oshkosh
* The Natural Approach: Technology in the Second Language Classroom
http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/mannetter.htm by Terrence Mannetter, UW-River Falls
* IT Info http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/news.htm submitted by Tammy Kempfert, TTT Editor
* Meet the Experts! featuring UW-Oshkosh's AnnMarie Johnson
http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/meet/johnson.htm
(Tammy Kempfert, UW System, 30 Oct 02)

WIDS WINS PRAISE FOR COURSE DESIGN - Now in its seventh version, Worldwide
Instructional Design System (WIDS) allows educators to build courses online or offline,
and produce outcome summaries, reports, syllabi, teaching plans, and performance
assessment reports. This set of software and training tools was developed by the
Wisconsin Technical College System. WIDS is now in place in 300 schools and school
systems in the United States and abroad and was recently implemented by 26 of
Michigan's 28 community colleges. See: http://www.syllabus.com (Syllabus Magazine,
Oct 02)
_____________________________________________________________________

LINES

- Hospitals across the nation increasingly face pressure to reduce costs, while
simultaneously improving the quality of patient care. The Avera McKennan Hospital
and University Health Center, was formed in December 1993 to provide clinical
consultations, via videoconferencing, for patients and physicians across South
Dakota. The TeleHealth Network uses Polycom videoconferencing technology
to treat patients in the clinical areas of psychology, pulminology, internal medicine,
obstetrics ultrasound, emergency medicine, dermatology, infectious diseases, and
oncology - http://www.collaborate-mag.com (Collaborate Newsline, vol. 1 no 10,
23 Oct 02)

- Researchers at Stanford University say that an experiment they conducted validates
the usefulness of distributed computing in real-world, laboratory problems and that
their results are the first to be published. The Stanford experiment compared data
returned from calculations done by 200,000 distributed computers to results from
laboratory tests. The calculations, designed to predict the folding of molecules, did
not produce new information but corroborated results obtained from physical tests
on those molecules. This suggests that complex calculations, performed in a
distributed computing project, can accurately predict physical behavior. The
research is published in "Nature" -
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1105-963024.html (ZDNet, 23 Oct 02)

- The Board of Trustees of the Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) of Mississippi,
representing six state universities, has signed a deal with e-education vendor SCT Inc.
to consolidate six separate contracts for product maintenance and services. Under the
agreement, IHL will be a central point of contact for distributing SCT services to the
six schools. The services include product enhancements for the schools' SCT
banner applications. The IHL's main purpose is to administer a shared vision
through the value and services that can be provided for the Mississippi institutions -
http://www.ihl.state.ms.us.

- The Gale Group has announced that much of its reference material will be made
available online through netLibrary. Libraries with netLibrary accounts will have
access to selected Gale content, including publishing imprints such as Macmillan
Reference USA, Charles Scribner's Sons, Thorndike Press, Wheeler Publishing,
and the Taft Group. Initial offerings will include titles that do not already have a
CD-ROM or Web version. The Gale content would use the standard formatting and
features offered by netLibrary, including full-text searches across multiple titles,
but individual titles would have no special customization. (Information Today,
30 Sept 02)
_____________________________________________________________________

ED

TELECONFERENCING WILL SAVE MONEY AND IMPROVE ACCESS - A
new teleconferencing system will connect all of the California Community Colleges' 108
campuses and will provide access to users with disabilities. Community colleges in the
state are having to work with significant budget cuts and the new system is expected to
allow substantial savings in travel budgets. The system also satisfies accessibility
requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act, according to officials from Palomar College, which is heading the project. Colleges
will initially use the system for virtual meetings, though the technology could be used
later for online courses and other functions. See:
http://chronicle.com/free/2002/10/2002102502t.htm (Chronicle of Higher Education,
25 Oct 02 - Edupage 25 Oct 02)

STUDY CHARTS GROWTH OF FULLY ONLINE DISTANCE LEARNING -
Research firm Eduventures, Inc. released a study on the distance learning market that
shows that the market for fully online degree programs is growing at a rate of 40%
annually. Currently, more than 350,000 students are enrolled in fully online degree-
granting programs, which generated $1.75 billion in tuition revenues for institutions in
2001/2002, according to the study. A key to institutional success is the comprehensive
integration of direct and indirect services in support of online programs. The study
looks at success factors of fully online degree programs at Bismarck State College,
the University of Wyoming, and Strayer University. For more information, visit: http://www.eduventures.com (Syllabus News, Resources, Trends, 4 Oct 02)

ORGANIZERS PLAN ONLINE MEDICAL SCHOOL - A group of more than
50 schools in 16 countries are working to create an online medical school. The
International Virtual Medical School is led by the University of Dundee in Scotland,
and includes Scotland's other four medical schools at the Universities of Aberdeen,
Edinburgh, Glasgow, and St. Andrews. Organizers said that because degrees would
be granted by individual participating schools, all of which are accredited, students
should not have to worry about accreditation problems. Students would spend about
30% of their time in clinical settings during the first two years of the program and
about 70% after that. American schools participating in the project include Brown,
Wake Forest, West Virginia Universities, and the University of Miami. (Chronicle
of Higher Education, 9 Oct 02)

INITIAL MIT COURSEWORK GOES ONLINE - MIT recently began placing
courses online as part of its OpenCourseWare project (http://ocw.mit.edu/). The
university opted not to develop a for-profit learning initiative, choosing instead to
make its courseware open to the public. MIT plans to put lecture notes, syllabi,
assignments, tutorials, video simulations, and reading lists from over 2,000 courses
on the site over the next ten years, though no credit will be offered for those who
complete the assignments. Questions remain about technology tools for the site
and intellectual property issues, but a representative of the program said that so far
the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Critics said the offerings to date
are limited and that merely posting such resources online does not substitute for an
education at MIT. Officials from OpenCourseWare agreed that the experience of
learning at MIT is not replicated by the program, but they hope that it will serve as
a model for other institutions to disseminate their own resources. The full article is at: http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,55507,00.html (Wired News, 4 Oct 02)

DOCTORAL PROGRAMS ADDED AT U OF PHOENIX ONLINE - The University
of Phoenix Online has received approval from its accreditor, the Higher Learning
Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, to add three
doctoral programs. The university already offers one Ph.D. in management in
organizational leadership. The new programs are in business administration, education,
and health-care administration. The university will also establish a School of Advanced
Studies to support the new programs. The dean of the school said the new programs are
in line with the university's mission to provide working adults with educational alternatives.
Some observers said the university's move reflected its desire to "move up the educational
hierarchy." The university said it hopes to enroll 300 to 500 Ph.D. students over the next
three years. Much of the coursework will be done online, though students will be required
to spend two weeks per year on the university's campus in Phoenix to meet with faculty
advisors and mentors. The complete article is at:
http://chronicle.com/daily/2002/09/2002093008n.htm (Chronicle of Higher Education,
30 Sept 02)
______________________________________________________________________

BIZ/ED/GOV

INCITS FORMS NEW TECHNICAL COMMITTEE - The International Committee
for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) has formed a new technical committee
to support international standards for technology-based training and education. Projects
will fall into four specific areas: vocabulary, collaborative technology, learner information,
and management and delivery. The inaugural meeting will be a teleconference on Nov.
25. INCITS is based in Washington, DC and is an organization of information technology
developers, producers, and users devoted to the creation and maintenance of formal IT
standards. It is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and
operates under rules designed to ensure that voluntary standards are developed by the
consensus of directly and materially affected interests. (For more information visit: http://www.incits.org. (e-Learning Newsline, 30 Oct 02)

TECHLEARN PRESENTS AWARD TO HOME DEPOT - The Home Depot
organization was honored with the TechLearn Pioneer Award for its enterprise
wide deployment of e-Learning. The award recognizes Home Depot's cutting-edge
use of e-learning as a tool for building employee product knowledge, providing fast
and scalable training processes, helping to retain key associates, focusing on business
drivers, and providing instructional excellence to its employees. TechLearn is the
leading conference focused on educating business and government leaders engaged
in learning and training activities. (Collaborate Newsline, vol. 1 no 11, 30 Oct 02)

NEW MIT CENTER TO BRIDGE ACADEMIA AND BUSINESS - The Deshpande
Center for Technological Innovation opened this week at MIT to facilitate connections
between academic innovation and the commercial sector. Charles Cooney, a professor at
MIT, said a gap exists between nascent ideas and those which are sufficiently developed
to attract investors. The center is funded by a $20 million donation from Desh Deshpande,
cofounder of Sycamore Networks, and his wife, Jaishree. The center will award ignition
grants, for projects at the conceptual level, and innovation grants, for more mature projects
that have mapped out strategies for research and development. The center has already
awarded 9 grants, selected from 47 proposals, totaling $1.25 million. For the entire article
see: http://www.wired.com/news/school/0,1383,55796,00.html (Wired News, 17 Oct
02 - Edupage 18 Oct 02)
______________________________________________________________________

COPYRIGHT

THE TEACH ACT PASSES AS AMENDMENT TO HR 5512 - Critical distance
education legislation, the TEACH Act, has now passed both houses of Congress as an
amendment to the Justice Department reauthorization bill (HR 5512). The language of
this legislation is identical to that of the Hatch-Leahy TEACH Act that the Senate passed
in June 2001 (CR S9889). The American Library Association (ALA) has long supported
this version. The President is expected to sign HR 5512 soon and the TEACH Act will go
into effect immediately.

The TEACH Act expands face-to-face teaching exemptions in the copyright law, allowing
teachers and faculty to use copyrighted works in the "digital classroom" without prior
permission from the copyright holder. The law is complex and details numerous
responsibilities that must be met before educational institutions (including their libraries)
can benefit from the exemptions. The ALA Washington Office has created a TEACH
Web site (http://www.ala.org/washoff/teach.html) to help members understand the
complexities of TEACH . In addition, the Office for Information Technology Policy will
offer an email tutorial on distance education and copyright in the near future. Watch the
Washington Office Web site and ALAWON for more information. (Grace Agnew,
Associate University Librarian for Digital Library Systems Rutgers, the State University
of New Jersey)
______________________________________________________________________

ACCESSIBILITY

KURZWEIL PROGRAM TO INTEGRATE CLASSROOM READERS - Reading
technology developer Kurzweil Educational Systems said it will offer a program to
train educators to integrate Kurzweil 3000 - its comprehensive reading, writing, and
learning software for struggling students - into the classroom and to adapt its use to
students' learning styles and boost their performance. The professional development
program (PDP) is designed to assist teachers who are struggling to learn and
incorporate new technologies into the classroom. The Kurzweil PDP involves four
workshop modules to accommodate teacher technology expertise and tight work
schedules. (Syllabus News, Resources, Trends, 25 Oct 02)

SPEECH-TO-SIGN LANGUAGE APPLICATION UNVEILED - Two imaging, speech
and language technology developers last week unveiled a product to convert speech into
video-based sign language in real time. The iCommunicator, developed by ScanSoft, Inc.
and Interactive Solutions, Inc., is designed to help people with hearing loss, as well as
others without hearing loss, interact even if they do not know how to sign. The application
uses ScanSoft Dragon NaturallySpeaking for automatic speech recognition, and ScanSoft
RealSpeak for converting text into synthesized human speech. In a classroom setting, a
teacher wears a wireless headset that relays what is spoken to a PC used by a student.
The program converts the speech into text, and simultaneously presents video sign
language from a database of more than 9,200 video clips. Developers said the application
would help meet requirements for equal access to information required under Section 508
of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Syllabus News, Resources, Trends, 22 Oct 02)

JUDGE SAYS WEB SITES NOT SUBJECT TO ADA - In a case involving a blind
man and Southwest Airlines, a federal judge recently ruled that the airline is not
compelled by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to make its Web site more
accessible to those with disabilities. According to judge Patricia Seitz, the ADA
applies only to physical spaces, not to "virtual" spaces like Web sites. The advocacy
group Access Now had filed the suit against the airline on behalf of Robert Gumson,
who argued that, although he was able to use the Web site to buy plane tickets, it was
"extremely difficult." The suit asked Southwest to modify its site, particularly the
graphics, so Gumson could more easily use the site. The judge's decision presumably
has significance for many other businesses, whose Web sites could have been subject
to ADA standards of accessibility. See: http://news.com.com/2100-1023-962761.html
(CNET, 21 Oct 02 - Edupage 21 Oct 02)
_____________________________________________________________________

DIGITAL DIVIDE

TECHNOLOGY CENTERS LEFT TO SUPPORT THEMSELVES - A national
initiative designed to provide community-based technology centers to bridge the digital
divide will end this week, leaving the nearly 1,000 centers to arrange their own
financing. The PowerUP program was started in 1999 by Stephen Case, then chairman
of America Online. A group of financial backers provided roughly $100 million for
the project, but many of them have ended their support. According to a spokesperson
for PowerUP, the plan was always for the centers to become self-sustaining and that
this "seems like a natural transition time." The Boys and Girls Clubs of America,
which operates 434 of the centers, will keep many of them running. Others will be
forced to find financial support. Supporters of the centers say they are important
resources in many communities that otherwise would be unable to have such access.
At least one critic said the program's "top-down franchise" style of operation is a
poor model for community development. The complete article is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/30/technology/30POWE.html (New York Times,
30 Oct 02)

AFFORDABLE LANGUAGE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES - Generation21
Learning Systems and Planeta Inteligente announced a partnership they say will
provide people throughout Latin America and parts of the United States with online
learning opportunities equal to those offered at mainstream universities in the US. The
companies say the partnership will provide affordable learning opportunities for people
who have been unable to benefit from cutting-edge learning technologies. The venture
also is expected to open up new markets for both companies. Planeta Inteligente
currently has 11 affiliated universities in Venezuela, Ecuador, Mexico, Colombia, El
Salvador, and the US. Courses offered cover bachelor and master degree-oriented
curriculum, certificate degrees, and professional skill development courses. For more
information visit: http://www.gen21.com (e-Learning Newsline, vol. 3 no 31, 16 Oct
02)
____________________________________________________________________

TECH/TOOLS

BREAKTHROUGH TO BOOST DATA NETWORK SPEED - STMicroelectronics
plans to announce a breakthrough in light-emitting silicon that could lead to a new
generation of more powerful computing processors, as well as potentially higher-speed
optical data-transmission systems. The company has done this by increasing the
efficiency of light-emitting silicon 100-fold. The first products are expected to reach
the market later this year. The first application will be to build power control devices in
which the control circuitry is electrically isolated from the power switching devices,
resulting in significant advances in data network speed as well as lower costs. Much
of the research has been done in Catania, Sicily. (New York Times, 28 Oct 02)

PHYSICIANS GROUP LAUNCHES PDA INFO CLEARINGHOUSE - pdaMD, a
provider of handheld computing technology for physicians, said it would create a PDA
Center for the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine
(ACP-ASIM), the national organization of internal medicine specialists. The PDA
Center will provide physicians access to a library of medically oriented handheld
applications, advanced customization options to speed deployment, and dedicated
support personnel. Handheld technology has become increasingly important in today's
medical environment, providing improved access to critical information such as drug
prescribing data, treatment strategies, patient history, and reference material, all at the
point of care. According to a 2001 ACP-ASIM survey of 489 members, 47% were
found to use handheld computers, and usage among internists is expected to increase.
For more information, visit: http://www.acponline.org (Syllabus News, Resources,
Trends, 4 Oct 02)
_____________________________________________________________________

READS/RESOURCES

CONVERGE - The September/October 2002 issue of Converge magazine lists its
picks for the "Shapers of the Future 2002" - "...today's leaders and innovators who
have dreamed and accomplished mighty things in technology and education." Each
person's profile also includes email and web links. The complete article is available
online at:
http://www.convergemag.com/magazine/story.phtml?id=3030000000022198
Subscription information is available at: http://www.convergemag.com/subscribe/
(CIT INFOBITS no 51, ISSN 1521-9275, Sept 02)

DISTANCE LEARNING AT THE TIPPING POINT - Research firm Eduventures,
Inc., has released a new study entitled "Distance Learning at the Tipping Point: Critical
Success Factors to Growing Fully Online Distance Learning Programs." According
to the report:
- The distance learning market for fully online degree programs is growing at a rate
of 40% annually;
- More than 350,000 students are enrolled in fully online degree-granting programs,
which generated $1.75 billion in tuition revenues for institutions in 2001/2002.
- A key to institutional success is the comprehensive integration of direct and
indirect services in support of online programs. The report provides an overview
of key trends in the distance learning market and looks at success factors of fully
online degree programs at Bismarck State College, the University of Wyoming,
and Strayer University.
For complete information: http://www.eduventures.com (E-News from UCEA, Oct 02)

CONTENT AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: BETTER WAYS TO CLASSIFY AND TAG -
This book by Michael P. Voelker discusses the problem of infoglut. As the amount of
electronic information grows, so does the need to locate relevant information quickly
and accurately. But without structure and organization, users waste time (and therefore
money) trying to find content they need. Valuable content assets may not be retrieved
on time or at all. Enter taxonomy, the structure of topics and subtopics that comprises
a virtual filing cabinet in which content can be sorted. Placing content into a topic
"bucket" requires no special technology at its most basic level; anyone who's chosen
a specific subfolder in which to save a file has done as much. But this fully manual
approach becomes impractical and potentially inaccurate as the volume of information
increases. It also doesn't necessarily allow for searchable retrieval of content, something
that the application of metadata to content does.

There are two schools of thought as to when metadata should be applied to content (in
a process known as meta tagging). The first school advocates applying tags at creation,
a theory that, not surprisingly, many vendors in the content management and taxonomy
software vendor community support. The second school calls for categorization of
content at the search end using various algorithms that analyze content for meaning.
These algorithms aren't dependent upon metadata applied to the content along the
creation path. This method, again not surprisingly, is championed by categorization
and search vendors. Complete information can be found at:
http://www.transformmag.com/db_area/archs/2002/10/tfm0210f1.shtml
____________________________________________________________________

NEW ON THE LIST - Welcome to new subscribers: Zahra Razaghi, Richard Perrin,
John Back, Sarmila Conger, Candace Elliott Person, Rabelani Dagada, Jory Weintraub,
Gail Darden, Alex Kuskis, Julie Lytle, John O'Brien, Dick Johnson, Michael Condon,
Beth Harris, Mark Peterson, Anna Nascimento, Tiffni Deeb, Frank Hales, Elizabeth
Menacher, Amanda Dominique, and Stewart Kowalski.
_____________________________________________________________________

FYI - News, Events, Conferences

- AACIS will host its 10th annual conference November 13-16. 2002 in Reno, NV at the
Circus Circus Hotel Casino. This year's theme is "Independent Study: Branding the
Educational Frontier." The keynote speaker is Burks Oakley, Assoc. VP for Academic
Affairs, University of Illinois and director of University of Illinois Online -
http://www.dce.unr.edu/aacis

- The Megaconference IV worldwide videoconferencing event, scheduled for December
10, is now seeking proposals for presentations. The theme of this year's event is "Best
Examples of Teaching and Learning Using H.323 Technology." Megaconference IV will
utilize the resources of the Internet2 Commons. Reservations are temporarily on hold for
revision - http://www.mega-net.net/megaconference/index.htm

- The ASTD TechKnowledge 2003 Conference and Exposition "Truth in e-Learning"
will be held at The Rosen Centre, Orlando, FL, January 27-30; the EXPO will be held
in conjunction with the ASTD conference January 28-29 - http://www.astd.org

- The Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education International
Conference March 24-29, 2003 will be held in Albuquerque, NM, at the
Albuquerque Convention Center. The conference is organized by the Society for
Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) - http://www.astd.org

- The ASTD 2003 International Conference and Exposition is scheduled at the San
Diego Convention Center, San Diego, CA for May 16-22 - http://www.astd.org.
_____________________________________________________________________

ENDNOTE - At the recent Governor's Wisconsin Educational Technology Conference
(GWETC), the keynote speaker Bernajean Porter, created a memorable activity. Each
member of the audience was given a short, green strip of paper and asked to fold it four
times into a small square. Then the audience was asked to begin to unfold the paper,
once for every few years of a child's learning life. As the child continued to grow and
learn beyond 12 years, and there was no more paper to unfold, it was necessary to
connect to other people to add to the length of the paper. As the child grew into
adulthood, more green paper was needed, more people needed to network and
connect, until there were networks of people connected across the entire auditorium.
Through this simple activity we were all able to see the necessity and significance of
working with, networking with, and connecting with others - a critical process in the
world of learning, and an equally critical process in the world of learning and technology.
The impact of this activity was memorable. People are still talking about it. Growing
and learning is all about networking with others face-to-face and via technology. It's
about connecting people. (Rosemary Lehman)
_____________________________________________________________________

NOVEMBER DESIEN FOCUS ARTICLE - Synchronizing the Sun: an Attempt at
Building a Global Knowledge Network with Synchronized e-Learning by Stewart
Kowalski, the Centre for Information and Communication Research Stockholm School
of Economics.
______________________________________________________________________

DESIEN ARCHIVE: An Archive has been created for past issues and interaction
comments. To access the archive go to: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/desien/

DESIEN includes subscribers from institutions and organizations around the globe.
DESIEN encourages information exchange of distance education issues concerned with:
1) distance education progress and course/program development, 2) team development
and collaboration, 3) technology, 4) policy, 5) funding and 6) research. Subscribers
outside of the UW System are encouraged to submit information and contributions.

* To submit articles or questions, email: lehman@ics.uwex.edu
* Encourage your colleagues to subscribe to DESIEN. To subscribe they
should do the following:

To: listproc@uwex.edu
Subject: (leave blank)

In the body of the message:

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Creator/Editor: Rosemary Lehman, Ph.D.
lehman@ics.uwex.edu
Copyright 2002 Board of Regents
University of Wisconsin