E-LEARNING STANDARDS
================================================
 

NO ONE STANDARD WILL SUIT ALL
Not a new sentiment, really, but one worth repeating. And it was repeated, in many different ways across a rather wide spectrum of speakers at the eLearning Results conference in Sestri Levante, Italy, yesterday. The eLearning Results conference is a two day do, organised by the hosts Giunti Labs, in collaboration with IMS, ADL, and the various other interoperability specification and standards acronyms: ISO SC36, CEN/ISSS, IEEE LTSC, BSI, and more. Yet the overriding message of day one was remarkably clear: there is no one standard to rule them all, nor will there ever be. However seductive the vision of universal interoperability may be, each and every community has its own needs and wants that need to be addressed.
http://www.cetis.ac.uk/content/20030513175232
 
BIG VENDORS REAFFIRM COMMITMENT TO STANDARDS
Which is nice, but what does that mean outside of their marketing departments? For a start, a promise to hold them against. But there's more. The second day of the eLearningresults conference in Sestri Levante, Italy, was pretty much dedicated to the plans of the major vendors. IBM, for instance, touted its early support for SCORM, as well as its sponsoring of the SCORM related IEEE/LTSC standardisation effort.
http://www.cetis.ac.uk/content/20030516070334
 
ADL REQUESTS COMMENTS AND FEEDBACK FROM ADL COMMUNITY
The Simulation Special Interest Group (SIG), of the IMS Global Learning Consortium, has drafted a charter (scope of work) for a Sharable State Persistence (SSP) Specification. If approved by the IMS Technical Board, the work will begin in June and will be completed by Q4 2003 with a public draft available in Summer 2003. They have developed the charter based on several relevant use cases. See attached document for a summary of the IMS SSP Charter.
http://www.adlnet.org/forums/implement/messageview.cfm?catid=11&threadid=846
 
SECRET STANDARDS BUSINESS?
Engagement by the higher education sector in standardisation of the technology that supports e-learning is hardly a mainstream activity. For many stakeholders, processes associated with standardisation are both perceived as opaque and tedious. Reasons for a lack of engagement are canvassed; among them, the perception that ‘secret standards business’ is conducted only by those individuals and communities with certain kind of technical understanding or calling. However, it is argued that standardisation of information technologies relevant to learning, education, and training would both be better served and better informed from wider stakeholder buy-in. [PDF]
http://www.educationau.edu.au/papers/standards.pdf
 
 
 
EDUCATION NEWS
================================================


STATES GRAPPLE WITH VIRTUAL SCHOOL LEGISLATION
Recent developments in state courts and legislatures across the nation have produced mixed results for virtual education. Proponents of virtual schools—in which students receive instruction entirely online—contend the programs open new doors for students, but skeptics say they siphon tax dollars away from public schools and into the hands of for-profit companies.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/ssunreg.cfm?ArticleID=4419&ul=%2Fnews%2FshowStory%2Ecfm%3FArticleID%3D4419
 
HIGHER ED IN A DOWN ECONOMY
How is the current economic downturn transforming higher education in America? This weeklong series focuses on major changes taking place on campuses around the country as public and private institutions face tough economic times. We look at the impact on students, employees and parents, on schools large and small, and on the ways that colleges do business.
http://www.marketplace.org/features/learning/
 
ONLINE UNIVERSITIES PROMISING "ACCREDITED" DEGREES & DIPLOMAS
Bogus diplomas available on the Internet. Last year Investigator Glen Meek exposed people with degrees from phony schools--getting jobs they didn't qualify for. Glen's been digging deeper into services that try to make those diploma mills look legit.
http://www.kvbc.com/Global/story.asp?S=1288151&nav=15MVFwsn
 
ONLINE LEARNING FILLS VOID IN NATIONS COPING WITH SARS
Over the past two months, schools throughout Beijing, Hong Kong, and Singapore looked like mini-ghost towns: empty, silent classrooms, deserted hallways, and vacant playing fields. The steep escalation of people contracting the potentially fatal respiratory illness known as SARS forced many government and school officials in Asia to close school for more than 2 million students. Schools are gradually reopening, and, surprisingly, many students aren't behind academically. That's because while school buildings stood empty, students still attended classes—virtually.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/ew_printstory.cfm?slug=37sars.h22
 
FIRST DRAFT OF UK COMMON METADATA FRAMEWORK RELEASED
CETIS has released the first draft of the UK Common Metadata Framework, providing practitioners in the UK with guidelines for using learning object metadata. The UKCMF stems from efforts to identify common practice in the use of metadata in packaged e-learning content. Drawing upon work such as CanCore, FAILTE, ADL's SCORM, the National Learning Network and the University for Industry, the Framework provides a set of guidelines to inform UK practitioners on the implementation of a minimum common core of LOM elements and associated vocabularies.
http://www.cetis.ac.uk/content/20030523110919
 
NATION'S LEADING UNIVERSITIES LAUNCH CONSORTIUM TO GIVE COMPANIES, ADULT LEARNERS EASY ACCESS TO QUALITY ONLINE DEGREES, DECISION-MAKING RESOURCES
Recognizing the need for quality online education and credible degree programs, several of the nation's leading colleges and universities have joined the rapidly expanding Online University Consortium. The Online UC serves companies and the growing number of adult learners whose education is funded through employee tuition reimbursement. It qualifies reputable universities, offers easy access to online degree programs, and provides informative resources for how to spend tuition dollars wisely.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/cb_headline.cgi?&story_file=bw.052103/231415319&directory=/google&header_file=header.htm&footer_file=
 
CURRENT PERSPECTIVES ON LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
In the February 2003 Sloan-C View, there was a lead article summarizing the give and take views expressed on the Sloan-C listserv regarding Learning Management Systems (LMS). The editors feel that there is more to be gleaned from a discussion of this topic and they have asked a university IT administrator and a knowledgeable faculty member to present perspectives regarding a series of probing issues related to LMSs.
http://www.sloan-c.org/publications/view/v2n3/lms1.htm
 
WEB PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE STUDENT FLUENCY IN MATHEMATICS
The cornerstone of science and engineering education, freshman and sophomore mathematics courses are almost as basic at MIT as knowledge of the English language. Nearly every undergraduate who comes through the Institute’s door takes three math courses--Calculus, Differential Equations and Linear Algebra--and how well or poorly he or she performs affects faculty in other departments, because students apply the mathematics principles to their subsequent courses. This is so obvious that it doesn’t bear stating, many may think. But several mathematics professors recently have given that aspect of an MIT education careful consideration. They want to make the math classes more compelling, give students online tutorials to use at any time, and enhance faculty awareness of the freshman and sophomore mathematics curricula.
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/2003/may14/math-ed.html
 
WHAT ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATORS SHOULD KNOW TO ATTRACT SENIOR LEVEL FACULTY MEMBERS TO ONLINE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
The purpose of this article is to present findings of a focus group study used to design a survey instrument for applications in future studies to determine factors of influence that inspire senior faculty members to participate in course delivery through online learning environments (OLE). Much of the general research that is available, identifies concerns such as monetary compensation, and concerns for technological savvy, however these concerns are not true for all faculty members. The differing motivational factors (as they have emerged in the literature) have shown to be related to faculty appointment levels and years of service, which seem to play an important role in identifying how administrators can encourage these seasoned instructors to participate in the online learning environments.
http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/spring61/giannoni61.htm
 
THE WEB'S IMPACT ON STUDENT LEARNING
Recently, I set out to find an answer to the question of what current research was saying about how, if at all, the Web impacted student learning. My recently released monograph, Quality in Distance Education: Focus on Online Learning, is a compilation of more than 100 studies drawn from several online journals, conference Web sites, as well as some interesting sites maintained by associations and institutions. One of the unintended lessons learned from this project was discovering how easy it is to locate good research on the Web and how many studies there actually are.
http://www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/A4401.cfm
 
ONLINE CLASSES PROVIDE BETTER WAY TO TEACH GLOBAL EDUCATION, RESEARCHER SAYS
Web-based college classes are more than just a technological novelty for graduate students who are learning global education, according to an Ohio State University researcher. Courses taught on the web allow Americans to interact with people from around the world and to learn new perspectives that they could never experience in a typical classroom, said Merry Merryfield, professor of social studies and global education at Ohio State University.
http://www.ascribe.org/cgi-bin/spew4th.pl?ascribeid=20030512.133814&time=03%2002%20PDT&year=2003&public=1
 
 
 
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
================================================


INTEL UNVEILS FAST CHIPS FOR CHEAP PCS
Intel Corp. unveiled new processors and chipsets designed to bring to mainstream corporate and consumer PCs features now typically found only in higher-priced computers.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/05/21/intel.chips.reut/index.html
 
MICROSOFT PROPOSES LAW ON JUNK E-MAIL
Microsoft Corp. is proposing a new legislative approach to battling junk e-mail, hoping to bridge a widening gap between various industry and consumer groups that threatens to bog down congressional efforts to eradicate spam.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17281-2003May20.html
 
WHY VOICE OVER WI-FI HAS TELCOS DIALING 911
The first wave of voice over Wi-Fi is already hitting hospitals, schools, airports, and factories. And because many enterprises have already switched their phone systems to voice over IP, adding Wi-Fi should be swift and easy. SpectraLink and Symbol Technologies are among the companies offering 802.11b handsets that work with voice-over-IP systems. Twenty thousand such phones shipped in 2001, and 30,000 were sold last year.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.06/start.html?pg=8
 
NOKIA PEN TO BEAM NOTES TO PHONES
Nokia is developing a digital pen that will let people write or draw a note, transfer it to a cell phone and then distribute it via multimedia messaging. When used with a specially printed notepad, Nokia's Digital Pen SU-1B will let people write in digital ink and transfer the image to their mobile phones via a Bluetooth short- range wireless connection.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1003721.html
 
WILL THIS BE THE SUMMER OF MAC?
A promising new set of chips, a possible Quark version for OS X, a surge in online advertising, and a new music store could goose sales--and the stock. For three years, investors have turned up their noses at Apple. Like most tech outfits in the postbubble economy, Apple suffered sliding profits and declining sales. Its stock, which had been trading at around $15 for almost a year, saw a slight uptick at the beginning of May on news of Apple's foray into the music business, and has been around $18 since.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5920220.htm
 
THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE'S UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE (USPTO) RELEASES REPORT ON TECHNOLOGY TO PROTECT DIGITIZED COPYRIGHTED WORKS
The Department of Commerce’s United States Patent and  Trademark Office (USPTO) today released its report to Congress on technology designed to protect digitized copyrighted works from infringement, as required under the “Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002” (TEACH Act).
http://www.distance-educator.com/dnews/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=9093&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
 
SPECIAL REPORT: READING THE MICROSOFT RESEARCH TEA LEAVES
Microsoft Research projects tend to show up in products—and usually sooner, rather than later. This week, MSR is hosting a research road show in Washington, DC. Check out some of the interesting morsels that MSR has on its plate, via our collection of articles from Microsoft Watch, other Ziff Davis sites, and random places around the Web.
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,4248,1095215,00.asp
 
LAWSUIT COULD THREATEN OPEN-SOURCE MOVEMENT IN SCHOOLS
SCO Group, which owns the Unix operating system, is suing IBM Corp. for allegedly trying to tank the value of Unix on the open market by illegally embedding strands of the operating system’s code into its open-source Linux platform. Though IBM denies the allegations, the billion-dollar lawsuit threatens to derail the open-source movement just as it has begun to catch on in schools.
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryalert.cfm?ArticleID=4410
 
SUN MICRO FIGHTS BACK AFTER CAUSTIC REPORT
Sun Microsystems is spitting nails over a biting report from Meta Group, a market research and consulting firm, that suggested, among other things, that Sun's customers should rethink doing business with the company in the long term, and that Chief Executive Scott McNealy should be replaced. Time will tell if Sun's business will be affected by the report, which was distributed last month.
http://www.forbes.com/2003/05/12/cx_ld_0512sunw.html
 
ITANIUM 2 FLAW COULD REQUIRE BIOS UPDATE OR CHIP SWAP
Nearly one year after it began shipping its first Itanium 2 processors, Intel says it has learned of a flaw in the processor that could require a BIOS update or the need to swap current McKinley processors for the newest version of Itanium 2, known as Madison. Intel says it can't say how many processors will be affected.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=9900004
 
IBM: BRING A T-REX TO WORK
IBM's new z990 is the most significant machine so far in Big Blue's effort to marry the largely unique capabilities of the mainframe computer to prevailing computing trends. In an indication of just how strongly IBM worked to counter criticisms that its vaunted mainframe line is headed for extinction, the company assigned 1,200 employees to work on the four-year, billion-dollar development of the z990. The result: The new machine, code-named T-Rex, boasts three times the performance of its predecessor, according to Big Blue, and carries additional features designed to extend the mainframe's advantages over other, more widely used, computers.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1001595.html
 
GARTNER: COMPANIES WEIGH MICROSOFT ALTERNATIVES
Unattractive licensing, security breaches, and the desire to use Linux and other open-source software are driving businesses to consider alternatives to Microsoft, Gartner said. Governments in Asia/Pacific, including China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, and several in Europe and South America, are encouraging government departments and businesses to support Linux, open source, and local vendors, Gartner said.
http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=9901246
 
IS PALLADIUM GETTING A BAD RAP?
According to Microsoft, a flood of FUD -- spooky rumors intended to cause fear, uncertainty and doubt -- are swirling around its Next Generation Secure Computing Base. Also known as Palladium, NGSCB is comprised of new software and hardware that will work in tandem to protect users' data from malicious hackers, viruses and spyware. NGSCB software components debuted last week at the Windows Developers Conference and Microsoft plans to include the software in the next version of the Windows XP operating system, code-named Longhorn and slated for release in 2005. NGSCB-ready hardware should be available in the latter half of 2004.
http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,58822,00.html
 
MICROSOFT MAY CUT COSTS TO BEAT LINUX
Software could be sold at deep discounts, or even for free, report says. In an effort to win big government and institutional contracts when up against Linux, Microsoft is prepared to draw from an internal slush fund to offer its software at deep discounts or even for free, according to a published report.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,110748,00.asp
 
 
 
INTERNET RELATED NEWS
================================================


HARVARD STUDY WRESTLES WITH GATOR
A Harvard University researcher has completed an investigation of the Gator advertising utility, offering a glimpse into the workings of one of the Web's most controversial pop-up networks. Gator is a utility, sometimes derided as "spyware," that monitors a user's Web browsing activity and displays relevant advertisements. Until this week, the service promised advertisers that it could slap promotions onto a computer screen when a reader visited a competitor's Web site.
http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-1008954.html
 
TECH EXPERTS ASK FOR INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO CONTROL SPAM
A broad international effort by government and industry is needed to stop the torrent of junk e-mail that threatens Internet commerce and correspondence, lawmakers were told Wednesday. Spam now accounts for 46 percent of all e-mails sent, said Enrique Salem, president of Brightmail, a San Francisco company that helps Internet providers block spam before it reaches users' inboxes. He told lawmakers that half of e-mail will be spam by December, up from 7 percent in 2001.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/5920220.htm
 
802.11g HEADS FOR STANDARDS APPROVAL
The latest wireless networking specification is on track for standards approval, which should open the door for further adoption of the already popular technology. A working group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), an organization responsible for setting standards for the networking industry, finished work on the most recent version of the 802.11g wireless networking specification last week. That version, 8.2, will likely be the final form of the 802.11g specification, which is expected to be approved as a standard at an upcoming IEEE meeting on June 12.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-1008774.html
 
MICROSOFT PREPARES REPLY TO ITUNES
While Apple Computer grabs publicity for its new 99 cent music download store, Microsoft is quietly preparing for a counterattack by improving its own technology for supporting subscription music services. Services such as Pressplay, which uses Microsoft technology, have been put on the defensive with news that Apple has sold more than 2 million downloads since April 28, the day its iTunes Music Store launched. But Microsoft is betting that new security enhancements planned for later this year could make renting music, rather than owning it, more attractive to consumers.
http://rss.com.com/2100-1027_3-1009794.html
 
CLICK BY CLICK, TEENS POLISH WRITING
Rich online writing by teenage authors is hardly uncommon, according to those who study electronic correspondence. Instant messaging and e-mail are creating a new generation of teenage writers, accustomed to translating their every thought and feeling into words. They write more than any generation has since the days when telephone calls were rare and the mailman rounded more than once a day.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12718-2003May19.html
 
BLIND GROUP URGES ONLINE IMPROVEMENTS
The National Federation of the Blind introduced an online seal of approval, hoping to prod more Web sites to extend a helping hand to visitors who can't see what's on the computer screen. The 50,000-member federation, which bills itself as the largest U.S. organization representing blind people, awarded its initial certificates to the online arms of Wells Fargo Bank, Hewlett Packard Co. and the Social Security Administration.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46497-2003May12.html
 
 
 
 
================================================
[NOTE: The selections above are from the Academic ADL Co-Lab News Report, a limited-distribution, weekly executive summary of trends, strategies, and innovations influencing the future of learning and technology in higher education. It is prepared by the University of Wisconsin System Office of Learning and Information Technology (OLIT) in coordination with the Co-Lab. Collegebuys.org/schoolbuys.org is using these selections with permission. The selections from the weekly summaries were selected and edited by David Stuart of collegebuys.org/schoolbuys.org.]
 
[NOTE: This information is provided for information purposes only. Mention or discussion of a product, company, or person does not represent any official endorsement or criticism of the same. All authors and organizations retain complete copyright.]
 
[SOURCE MATERIAL: The reference as specific as possible is provided to a source for each summary. When using an online link, ensure the URL has not been broken with a carriage return.]
 
[ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Judy Brown is the Emerging Technology Analyst for the University of Wisconsin System, OLIT. Brown conducts research and consults for the 15-institution UW System. She is Director of the Academic ADL Co-Laboratory at The Pyle Center in Madison, WI. Until recently she coordinated the WTCS Hardware and Software Purchasing Consortium and other statewide technology initiatives for 16 technical college districts comprised of 47 campuses. Brown was named one of the Top 100 women in computing by McGraw Hill's Open Computing magazine (December 1994). She writes a business technology column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and is the coordinator of eWEEK's Corporate Partner Program.]
 
[COMMENTS & CONTRIBUTIONS: If you want to offer material, or if you want to comment on the contents, contact Judy Brown at judy@academiccolab.org