Colleges, Fighting U.S. Trade Proposal, Say It Favors For-Profit Distance Education
I didn't see this coming (I hate admitting that) but in hindsight I can't say I'm surprised. This excellent article is an overview of an attempt by the United States government to estanlish what amounts to global free trade in education by urging WTO member countries to reduce barriers such as restrictions on satellite reception, rules prohibiting foreign education providers from offering services, and taxes on foreign education provider. More...

Achieving the Embarrassment Level
The 'Embarrassment Level' is an instructional technology equivalent of the poverty level: it is the minimum level at which institutions shoudl provide services for all staff and students. It's a pretty generous level - including ethernet and a colour printer within fifty yards - but still a pretty good guide to overall connectivity. More...

Interactive Teaching
Let me call this the "email-me syndrome." It is clearly expressed in this column on creating increased interaction in a class. If you look at the list of ways this instructor interacts with his students, you'll see that most of the items contain the words "email me." This means that the vast bulk of interaction in the classroom is conducted privately in one-on-one conversations between the student and the instructor. More...

A New Methodology for Evaluation: The Pedagogical Rating of Online Courses
Interesting item in which a mathematical model for evaluatig the effetciveness of a course is presented. The process sums measurements of properties along three major facets of online instruction: the use of different media, the employment of different learning styles, and the degree of interaction in the course. More...

Babel and the Vintage Selection: Libraries in the Digital Age
While computers are not new to the library, the author asserts, the advent of electronic textx and internet connectivity create a new reality for the librarian. Their very means of interacting with the text has changed. More...

The Teachers' Place
Sponsored by UNICEF, The Teachers' Place provides resources and discussion for teachers interested in learning about and teaching interdependence, peace, social justice and the rights of young people. The resources on the page encourage students to take action on global issues. More...

SchoolForge Coalition Formed to Advance Open Resources in Education

Patterned on the open source software initiative called SourceForge, SchoolForge, founded January 8, is intended to be a central repository for open source projects related to education. More...

$1B US for Education? Commentary on the US vs Microsoft Settlement Failure
Schools may not be getting a billion dollars worth of software, writes the author, but as a result they may be better off. Microsoft software would have come with Microsoft licenses, meaning that schools would have been looking at leasing their software in the future rather than owning it outright. More...

Specifying Requirements With a Wall of Wonder
A good piece for people developing online courses and educational software, this article recommends the use of a 'Wall of Wonder' as a tool to facilitate collaboration. Having worked with similar 'walls' on various projects in the past, I can personally attest to its usefulness in creating an open and collaborative atmosphere. More...

Very Big Pipes
Even after the demise of Napster, file sgaring continues to be a major activity among college and university students. Fle sharing and the many other activities that make up educational internet traffic are clogging university internet connections. More...