CTL's Weblogs

Model of Learner-Centered Computer-Mediated Interaction for Collaborative Distance Learning

Model Of Learner-Centered Computer-Mediated Interaction For Collaborative Distance Learning :: Distance-Educator.com's Daily News :: Distance education news from around the world!
"Interaction research in distance education has focused mostly on learner-teacher interaction in a learning environment
based on a behaviorist curriculum. This presentation focuses on factors contributing to learner-learner interaction in a distance
learning course based on learner-centered and collaborative instructional design. The proposed model, which resulted from research on patterns of learner interaction in both synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated communication modes, examines factors contributing to interaction in the areas of learner characteristics, technology attributes, and learning activities."

Poland's Warsaw U. Wins an International Computer-Programming Contest

The Chronicle: Daily news: 03/27/2003 -- 02
"Last weekend they gathered in Beverly Hills, many of them dreaming of going home with a trophy. They toured Hollywood, and were wined and dined by executives in suits. They flew in from Cairo, Cape Town, Tokyo, Moscow, Buenos Aires, and ... Morgantown, W.Va.
They weren't glitterati, and they were not competing for golden statuettes for 'Best Picture,' or even for People magazine's 'Best Dressed' honors. They are computer programmers -- students from more than 70 universities and institutes -- and they are the best in the world."

Is There a Future for Online Ed?

University Business
"Just a few years ago, almost every college and university announced that it was going online. But from Fathom and Harcourt Higher Education to Pensare, many noble experiments are finished, and some have asked, 'Is anyone making money on online learning?' The implied answer is, 'No,' and yet, several organizations have demonstrated viability, including the University of Maryland University College’s UMUC-Online, Penn State’s World Campus, and the University of Massachusetts’ UMassOnline."

Private U. Offers Degree in Online Game Design

Syllabus News & Events
"The University of Advancing Technology (UAT), a Tempe, Ariz.-based for-profit school (http://www.gamedegree.com) said it will offer via its online division a degree program entirely devoted to designing online games. UAT said students would work closely with instructors having in-depth experience in game design and programming. Students would graduate with an education in multimedia arts and expertise in 3-D modeling and animation, game documentation, interactive story telling, interface development, as well as proficiency in a number of interactive software development platforms."

Colleges Expect to Increase Information-Technology Spending

The Chronicle: Daily news: 03/26/2003 -- 01
"American colleges and universities this year expect to spend more than $5.2-billion on information technology, an amount that reflects about a 5-percent increase over what they budgeted for academic- and administrative-technology expenses in the 2001-2 academic year."

Research Into Practice: The Push for Usability

Education Week on the Web Special Reports: Research Into Practice:
The Push for Usability
"This four-part series examines the movement to make education research more 'usable' and explores some efforts to connect the worlds of research and practice."

Universities Exporting M.B.A. Programs via the Internet

Universities Exporting M.B.A. Programs via the Internet
"If Jeremy Hallett had his way, he would be sitting on a leafy university campus in the United States with plenty of time to contemplate the theories of business.
Instead, he spends hectic lunch hours and long evenings in his office cubicle here, earning his M.B.A.
'It's not a perfect world,' he says with a shrug.
Driven by the mantra of globalization and enabled by Internet-based technologies, M.B.A. programs in the United States are expanding rapidly into new markets overseas. The schools are looking for full-time, on-campus students seeking an international M.B.A. degree as well as part-timers like Mr. Hallett, who want to learn from afar while they continue working."

Centra's Web Collaboration Software is Key Component of Virginia Tech's Innovative and Award Winning Programs Delivered at a Distance

Distance-Educator.com's Daily News
"Centra Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTRA), a leading provider of application software and services for real-time enterprise collaboration (RTEC), today announced that Virginia Tech, the largest university in Virginia, is using Centra to power its Institute for Distance and Distributed Learning (IDDL) with real-time, interactive online courses. With 24 different masters degrees and certificates offered at a distance, Virginia Tech is using Centra to connect faculty and students from around the world to deliver award-winning education programs online, such as its Master of Information Technology, and new innovative offerings, such as its Master of Science in Ocean Engineering - one of only four such programs in the nation. The university's faculty is also using Centra to collaborate online with colleagues worldwide for grant and research activities."

Slow Start For Long-Awaited Easing Of Copyright Restriction

Slow Start For Long-Awaited Easing Of Copyright Restriction :: Distance-Educator.com's Daily News :: Distance education news from around the world!
"Deborah K. Griggs used movie clips in her courses on intercultural communication, turning off the sound to show students what they could figure out from just watching the characters.
While watching the 1991 American movie Father of the Bride, students in her classroom could easily tell that Steve Martin's character was jealous of his future son-in-law for stealing his daughter's heart. While watching the Indian film West Is West, however, students couldn't as easily read the main character's expressions as he made his way around San Francisco."

Barriers to Distance Education

Barriers To Distance Education :: Distance-Educator.com's Daily News :: Distance education news from around the world!
"In the past few years, Dr. Berge has studied factors impeding distance education in higher education institutions. The data provided in these studies reveal a wealth of information about the subject. They are a must-read for administrators, practitioners and researchers in the field.
Dr. Berge is an experienced researcher whose work includes meticulous data collection. The series of research studies presented here is rare in its depth, breadth and period of time covered."

Uncertified Teachers at Record Numbers

TheStar.com - Uncertified teachers at record numbers
"A record number of Ontario schoolchildren are being taught by people not trained for the job, new studies show.
Faced with a severe teacher shortage, schools are hiring an unprecedented number of people who either have not been to teachers' college, or who have graduated from teachers' college but are not trained for the subject they now teach."

New Online Guides Rate Professors

New Online Guides Rate Professors
"When Kelaine Conochan, a sophomore at the University of Maryland here, was choosing courses for this semester, she went online to Pick-a-Prof to check out the teachers — and their grading patterns. Ms. Conochan's consumer-minded approach to her education is not unusual these days: many students see higher education less as a learning opportunity than as a high-priced commodity whose value will be enhanced by good grades."

Antivirus Vendors To Add Spam-Fighting Capabilities

InformationWeek > Security > Antivirus Vendors To Add Spam-Fighting Capabilities > March 24, 2003
"Although the antivirus market is among the most mature in software, there's still room for improvement, research firm Meta Group says.
Businesses should keep an eye on developments, particularly moves by major vendors in integrating corporate anti-spam defenses with virus killers."

Princeton Dean Reassigned

Princeton Dean Reassigned
"Princeton University has reassigned a dean who was removed from his post last year after he gained access to Yale's admissions Web site without authorization.
The dean, Stephen LeMenager, started this month as director of planning and administration for campus life, the university said Thursday. Mr. LeMenager was associate dean and director of admissions before he was placed on paid administrative leave in July. He was later temporarily reassigned to the communications staff. Mr. LeMenager was removed after Yale officials traced unauthorized log-ins to computers at Princeton, including 14 log-ins from the admissions office."

What Being a College President Has Taught a Steel Executive

University Business
"I was in the steel business for 37 years. I’ve now been a college president for two years. In the transition, I’ve learned a few things that I wish I had known before and that other business leaders might find useful.
Primarily, I now see that it is in the interest of American business leaders to be far more involved with higher education than they are at present. I urge company managers who serve on advisory boards of colleges and universities to make their voices heard more loudly and often. Colleges really do want to know what business executives think about the curriculum: If there is a business process, application, or skill set that is central to the success of your organization, and you find that educators are ignoring it or giving it short shrift, speak up! Do not underestimate the impact of outside opinion and needs on curriculum development, particularly in technical and business-related fields."

No-Frills English Pays Off at Local School

Daily Yomiuri On-Line
"Since April last year, the SELHi schools have been trying various innovative teaching methods and tools on a trial basis, not only to nurture fluent English speakers but also to develop a new teaching model of English education.
Yamaoka said what has been done at Maibara is rather simple compared with some other designated schools, which have introduced the Internet or have sent students overseas for certain periods before starting to teach all subjects in English."

United Way to Bring Wireless Internet to Poor Neighborhoods

USATODAY.com - United Way to bring wireless Internet to poor neighborhoods
"The United Way is building a network of wireless high-speed Internet antennas in a pair of poor city neighborhoods where some people still can't afford a phone.
The project, to be completed in April, will create two Internet "hot spots" in West Philadelphia that will allow anyone with the right equipment to tap into a broadband connection as powerful as any offered by a commercial service."

Start-Up Aims to End Spam

Start-Up Aims to End Spam
"Silicon Valley is continuing to hemorrhage thousands of jobs, but there are some here who say that the time has never been better for creating a start-up company.
On Monday, Phil Goldman, whose career as a software designer has included stints at Apple, General Magic, WebTV and Microsoft, will introduce a service that he says will permanently end e-mail spam for consumers who are being driven to distraction by unsolicited pitches for diet schemes and offers of great wealth from Nigeria."

Concepts for Improving E-Learning

Learning Outcomes and Learning Styles: Concepts for Improving E-Learning (spjc.edu/eagle/BEEP/BEEP30.htm)
“…the widespread development of digital processing and communication coupled to network computing…has opened up a broad set of teaching and learning opportunities, allowing a new emphasis on interaction and concept exploration.”
This site, Best Educational E-Practices (BEEP), offers an abundance of resources on learning styles and learning outcomes including: Identifying Student Attitudes and Learning Styles in Distance Education, How to Effectively Assess Student Learning Outcomes in Online and/or Hybrid Courses, and Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligence. Check it out.

Where Girls and Tech Make a Match

Where Girls And Tech Make a Match (TechNews.com)
"The technology business has made incredible advances in recent years, but drawing more women into the field is not among them.
Despite making up half of the existing workforce, women account for only 20 percent of technology professionals. And there is little hope for improvement on the horizon: Of the students who took Advanced Placement exams in computer science last year, just 14 percent were girls, down from 17 percent in 1997, according to records from the College Board."

For Laptops, a New Way to Say 'Fast'

For Laptops, a New Way to Say 'Fast'
" Intel has traditionally developed chips for laptops by stripping down, and slowing down, existing Pentium chips for desktop PC's. This time, though, it created a chip expressly for laptops, a processor that Intel claims is its fastest yet for laptops, yet extends battery life by at least an hour. It's called the Pentium M processor, and it's big news - or at least it should have been."

An Updated and Theoretical Rationale for Interaction

An Updated And Theoretical Rationale For Interaction :: Distance-Educator.com's Daily News :: Distance education news from around the world!
"No topic raises more contentious debate among educators than the role of interaction as a crucial component of the education process. This debate is fueled by surface problems of definition and vested interests of professional educators but is more deeply marked by epistemological assumptions relative to the role of humans and human interaction in education and learning. Daniel and Marquis' (1979) seminal article challenged distance educators to get the mixture right between independent study and interactive learning strategies and activities. They quite rightly pointed out that these two primary forms of education have differing economic, pedagogical and social characteristics and that we are unlikely to find a “perfect” mix that meets all learner and institutional needs across all curriculum and content. Nonetheless hard decisions have to be made."

Microsoft Warns Windows Users About Two New Security Flaws

InformationWeek > Security > Microsoft Warns Windows Users About Two New Security Flaws > March 19, 2003
"Microsoft is warning users of virtually every version of its Windows operating system of a new critical security vulnerability. It's urging users of Windows 98, 98SE, Windows ME, NT, 2000, and XP, as well as Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition, to patch immediately.
There have been no reports of hackers or a virus exploiting this flaw.
The security flaw resides within the Windows Script Engine, which is used by the operating system and apps to automate certain tasks. The flaw, detailed in Microsoft bulletin MS03-008, exists in the way the engine for the scripting language Jscript processes information, so an attacker could design a Web page or HTML-based E-mail that exploits this buffer overrun vulnerability. A successful attack could let a hacker gain compete control of a user's system and execute software of their choice, Microsoft warns."

Al Gore Joins Apple's Board of Directors

InformationWeek > Hardware > Al Gore Joins Apple's Board Of Directors > March 19, 2003
"Former Vice President Al Gore was elected Wednesday to the board of Apple Computer Inc. Gore, who popularized the "information superhighway" as vice president and helped secure money to build the Internet as a congressman, praised chief executive Steve Jobs and other Apple executives for making the computer company "once again the very best in the world."

Wormy War Intelligence Infects PCs

InformationWeek > Security > Wormy War Intelligence Infects PCs > March 19, 2003
"Virus and worm writers often use social engineering tactics to lure victims: ...This week, at least one virus writer decided to tap into the public's interest in information regarding the pending U.S. invasion of Iraq. The worm, commonly called Ganda.A, uses about 10 different subject lines and E-mail messages to trick users into opening the malicious file. According to antivirus firm Sophos, these include several that discuss President Bush..."

Usability Of Hypermedia Educational E-Books

Usability Of Hypermedia Educational E-Books :: Distance-Educator.com's Daily News :: Distance education news from around the world!
"To arrive at relevant and reliable conclusions concerning the usability of a hypermedia educational e-book, developers have to apply a well-defined evaluation procedure as well as a set of clear, concrete and measurable quality criteria. Evaluating an educational tool involves not only testing the user interface but also the didactic method, the instructional materials and the interaction mechanisms to prove whether or not they help users reach their goals for learning. This article presents a number of evaluation criteria for hypermedia educational e-books and describes how they are embedded into an evaluation procedure. This work is chiefly aimed at helping education developers evaluate their systems, as well as to provide them with guidance for addressing educational requirements during the design process."

New Allies in the Fight Against Research by Googling

The Chronicle: 3/21/2003: New Allies in the Fight Against Research by Googling
"Ronald J. Granieri is doing what he can to keep his history students out of the quagmire of misinformation known as the World Wide Web. Two years ago, when he started using Blackboard's software to post assignments, handouts, and materials for his courses at Furman University, he added a link to a page of library resources. It was a small effort, perhaps, but he favors anything that leads his students away from Google and toward vetted scholarly material."

Viruses, Worms and Security Holes

Viruses, Worms and Security Holes - Special Coverage
Here is a page of present and past web security articles including:
" Do look this gift horse in the mouth ...Trojan horse programs masquerade as harmless applications, concealing their destructive power. Doug Schweitzer offers advice on how to protect your computer and what to do if you're attacked."

Search for ET

03.10.2003 - Search for ET to look again at 150 signals
On a lighter note... "After more than a million years of computation by more than 4 million computers worldwide, the SETI@home screensaver that crunches data in search of intelligent signals from space has produced a list of candidate radio sources that deserve a second look.
Three members of the SETI@home team will head to Puerto Rico this month to point the Arecibo radio telescope at up to 150 spots identified as the source of possible signals from intelligent civilizations."

Centrino Hots up SA Wireless Debate

Centrino hots up SA wireless debate
"At news conferences in cities around the globe, Intel has unveiled the Centrino-branded set of chips, most notably allowing users to get online wirelessly. The move is further evidence of the convergence between communications and computing, and could threaten the data push by cellphone-makers. The Centrino processor was built using the 0.13 micron processor building process. Airport and hotel wireless hotspots allowing use of this technology are blossoming around the world, but SA's telecommunications regulations have restricted public use of wireless connectivity."

When Is a Learning Object Not an Object

IRRODL: When is a Learning Object not an Object: A first step towards a theory of learning objects
"For some, “learning objects1 “ are the “next big thing” in distance education promising smart learning environments, fantastic economies of scale, and the power to tap into expanding educational markets. While learning objects may be revolutionary in the long term, in the short term, definitional problems and conceptual confusion undermine our ability to understand and critically evaluate the emerging field."

‘Internet Nurses’ Serve Rural Schools’ Health Needs

eSchool News online
"High-resolution cameras and speedy internet connections to a doctor’s clinic in Norfolk, Neb., are helping some cash-strapped schools provide nursing services they might not otherwise be able to afford."

How Translation Web Sites Can Help English Language Learners

District Administration

"There are more than three million ESL students nationwide, and the situation is complicated further since non-English speaking students represent a range of languages. For example, Mitchell Grayson, the ESL coordinator in Cromwell, Conn., says district students speak 27 different languages "alphabetically from Bengali to Urdu." Similarly, the state of Washington recently identified more than 180 languages spoken in their schools. It is clearly impossible for administrators to hire bilingual staff members and prepare programs to support all of these groups, but this is where online resources can help."

Scathing Criticism of Cal State Administrative Computing Implementation

The Chronicle: Daily news: 03/12/2003 -- 01

"In a scathing report released on Tuesday, California auditors denounced a controversial nine-year project to overhaul administrative computing throughout the California State University System at a cost of more than $440-million. The report accused the university of understating costs and failing to establish a business plan for the undertaking.
The goal of the project, known as the Common Management System, is to replace outdated computer systems on Cal State's 23 campuses with one system. It would run software from PeopleSoft Inc., which sells administrative systems to colleges and businesses."

From Blogs to Glogs?

Cyborg logs - from First Monday,

Volume 8, Number 2 — February 3rd 2003

If you haven't checked out "First Monday" - do.

As blogs go mainstream, how will bloggers stay ahead of the pack (if that's even part of the motivation of bloggers)?

Talk about information overload - yipes!

Blogging Goes Mainstream (CNN.com/Technology)

CNN.com - Blogging goes mainstream - Mar. 10, 2003

"The online diaries known as Weblogs, or "blogs," seemed like a lot of inconsequential chatter when they surfaced a few years ago.

But as more people have embraced the concept, what once seemed like a passing fancy has morphed into a cutting-edge phenomenon that may provide the platform for the Internet's next wave of innovation."

Western Governors U: New Online Teacher Certification

The Chronicle: Daily news: 03/11/2003 -- 01

"Western Governors University is opening a new college that will let teachers earn certification online, and that could help ease the shortage of educators in schools across the nation, WGU officials said Monday."

Shallow Learning

AFT: Publications: AFT On Campus: February 2003 Speakout
"Technology may well have delivered an unprecedented kind of global village. But only good teaching and careful questioning can help students become the village shaman rather than the village fool."

New Approach to Network Charges

The Chronicle: Daily news: 03/06/2003 -- 01

"Cornell University officials have developed a new "pay by the drink" billing system that will charge students and employees incrementally for Internet use as a way of controlling what officials call 'irrational consumption' of bandwidth."

Possible Relaxation of Distance Education Restrictions

The Chronicle: Daily news: 02/27/2003 -- 02

"The American Council on Education is lobbying Congress to let the Department of Education decide which institutions can ignore distance-learning rules, even as lawmakers consider weakening one of the regulations instead. But officials at the council argue that their proposal is the better option for expanding access to online education while maintaining protections against possible fraud and abuse."