TAD Consortium April 2000 Information Update 3
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CONTENTS
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NEWS/TRENDS
--- India's high-tech hopes
--- Bhutan gets its first internet café
--- Latin America User Numbers
Skyrocketing
--- New Laws to Standardise Thai
Ecommerce
--- Rosy Future Predicted for
Interactive TV
--- The Commercial Value Of Credibility
--- Are Newspapers Committing
Cultural Suicide?
--- Using Online
Education To Make The World A Little Smaller
--- Email That Talks
---
Staffordshire University Pioneers Research Into Access Problems
PROFILED ORGANIZATIONS
--- The African Virtual Library
Initiative
--- ABCDEspanol - Latin America
--- SAfAIDS - Southern Africa
--- Edunexo.com: A Portal with
Latin-American Flavor
--- Telecommunications
and Computer Networks Group (TeNeT)
ONLINE RESOURCES
--- Bartleby.com
Relaunches With Five Major Reference Works
--- Opinion-Pages
--- "E-Education, the
Opposite of Equality"
--- Lesson Plan: Earth Science Lessons and Activities
---
Recommended Reading List for "Distance Education and Online Learning"
--- World
View Information System (WVIS) for Basic Education NGOs in Africa and South Asia
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NEWS/TRENDS
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By Sanjeev Srivastava in Bombay
The software business is the one sector of the Indian economy which has thrived the most in recent years. Not even the most die-hard sceptic would disagree that a major factor behind the success of the industry has been its close contact with the US. The US computer industry is served by an extensive pool of skilled Indian professionals and India's IT sector growth has been largely driven by the availability of US technology first and then by huge orders from US firms which decided to outsource their service work to Indian companies. Indo-US software trade stands at $5bn currently and is projected to grow at an annual rate of about 60 % in the next decade.
Opportunity
Debang Mehta, president of the national association of software and services companies (Nasscom), told BBC News Online that President Bill Clinton had gone on record saying that one reason for his Indian visit is to take a first-hand view of the IT industry here "We are not letting this opportunity slip by. The Nasscom is doing a presentation on the Indian IT scene for the US president in Delhi next Wednesday which should give an extra push to the Indo-US software trade," says Mehta. Mr Clinton wil be going to India's newest cyber-city, Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh.According to Narayan Murthy, the chairman of software giant Infosys, the forthcoming visit is perhaps the first time when Indo-US relations are being put on a trade platform rather than a political platform.
"The fact that he is visiting a state (Andhra Pradesh) where the chief minister (Chandrababu Naidu) symbolises a modern mindset proves it," Murthy told the Indian Express in an interview.
Visas
The Indian software industry is also keen to use the Clinton visit to secure some concessions and get certain restrictions lifted. According to the Nasscom chief, Deband Mehta, the industry wants a "totality agreement" between the US and India which would save Indian professionals in the US from paying double taxation for social security.
The industry also wants that the number of H1-B visas granted to Indian professionals to be nearly doubled from the existing 100,000 per annum (of which 90% are issued to IT professionals only) and the introduction of trade treaty visas or "even visas" for software professionals which would give a further fillip to Indo-US trade in the IT sector.Industry experts believe that the Indian IT sector - given sweeping concessions by the government in last month's budget - could well witness another boom in the wake of the exposure it gets because of the Clinton visit.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_681000/681433.stm
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Bhutan gets its first internet café
The first internet cafe has opened in Thimphu, the capital of the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. Umesh Pradhan, the proprietor of the Internet Cafe, said that while the cafe had internet access, e-mail, printing and scanning facilities, its main purpose was to address IT problems in Bhutan and create a place for informal learning. Its focus was tapping the potential of Bhutanese youth, he said in remarks quoted by the website of the Bhutanese official newspaper Kuensel. "The cafe is a place where students can bring their own software and either entertain themselves or learn something," he said. An IT enthusiast at the cafe was quoted as saying that while other countries were already adapting to the new technology, Bhutan was only just beginning to obtain it.
High costs
An internet cafe was a good way to get the general public interested in such things, he
added. The cafe was not viable as a business venture because costs were high and
local people unable to afford its rates for internet access, Mr Pradhan said.
"It is expensive for us also because at the moment there is not a lot of business and
most people just use the internet for a few minutes to send e-mail," he said.
In a separate report, the website said that cable television was "a booming business
around the country" - less than a year after television was allowed in the
kingdom. Major towns had two operators each and installation and rental charges were
falling. The advent of cable was responsible for displacing satellite TV, with the
number of "ugly" dish receivers in Thimphu falling to 250 from 800 last year,
the web site reported.
First TV and internet services
The first-ever internet service was inaugurated in the
remote Buddhist country only in June last year. The launch of the internet and the
first TV station was part of celebrations marking the silver jubilee of King Jigme Singye
Wangchuk. For years, Bhutan had a deliberate policy of isolation, fearing outside
influences would undermine its absolute monarchy, freedom and culture. Three similar
Buddhist kingdoms - Tibet, Sikkim and Ladakh - have disappeared as independent
states. Bhutan, squeezed between India and China, has just 600,000 people, most of
them subsistence farmers. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_690000/690789.stm
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Taken from NUA INTERNET SURVEYS
Web: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/
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IDC Research: Latin America User Numbers Skyrocketing
The number of Internet users in Latin America will reach 29.6 million by the end of 2003, according to IDC. This is more than double the projected figure for the end of 2000, which is 13.3 million users.IDC's aggressively optimistic predictions are based on the increasing availability and popularity of free ISP services in the region. Other factors include lower PC costs in Mexico lower Net access rates in Brazil and lower call charges in Chile and Argentina.
The biggest Latin American market in 1999 was Brazil, with 41 percent of total users in the region. Mexico had 21 percent of users, Argentina had 10 percent and Chile and Colombia had 6 percent each. Venezuela had 5 percent and the remaining 12 percent of users were from the other countries in the region.<http://www.idc.com>
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Taken from NUA INTERNET SURVEYS
Web: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/
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Newsbytes Asia: New Laws to Standardise
Thai Ecommerce
There are now more than 1 million Internet users in Thailand, according to Newsbytes Asia. This time last year there were 600,000 users in the country.Ecommerce in Thailand is set to boom with six new ecommerce related laws currently pending approval. All of the laws are based on the United Nations-recommended "Model Laws for Electronic Commerce" and will give online transactions the same status as offline deals.
Digital signatures, electronic fund transfers, data protection, computer crime and universal Internet access will also be covered under the new legislation.The Department of Business Economics of the Thai Commerce Ministry estimates that Thai ecommerce will worth THB25 billion (USD659.98 million) each year for the next two years. Ecommerce in 1998 in Thailand was worth THB22 billion (USD580.78 million).
<http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/00/145652.html>
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Taken from NUA INTERNET SURVEYS
Web: http://www.nua.ie/surveys/
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Forrester Research: Rosy Future Predicted for Interactive TV
Eighty million European households will be using interactive television to go online by 2005, according to a new report from Forrester Research.
There are currently 7 million households subscribing to "walled garden" digital television services in the region and this will double to 14 million by the end of 2000.The market should open up in the coming years, however, and Forrester predicts that more people will use television sets to go online than PCs by 2005. The new interactive services will appeal to consumers as they will largely be packaged as free add-ons to existing services.The report "Europe's iDTV Walls Come Down" comments that major industry players will have to rethink their business models as the 'walled garden' services become outdated. Consumers who have already subscribed to digital services will soon begin to demand open-standards set-top boxes.<http://www.forrester.com/ER/Press/Release/0,1769,259,FF.html>
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Taken from The Ifra Trend Report: No. 36 - Copyright 2000
by Ifra, all rights reserved
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THE COMMERCIAL VALUE OF CREDIBILITY
With the term "journalistic ethics" considered an oxymoron by much of the reading public, it's critical to reassure readers that the news they read hasn't been tainted by business interests. And when the medium is online, the need is even greater -- especially when the Web site is a startup without a credible print history. "New sites can't rely on the past reputation of an old-media parent, so they must create their own," says columnist Steve Outing. Reporting on a recent conference on online journalism, Outing discussed the reasons for an online news site to publish its credibility policy. "News organizations need to explain to their online users the relationships that they have -- with e-commerce companies, Internet companies they have investments in, etc. -- and how that relates to their editorial coverage," he says. For example, CNET's Web site includes an "Editorial and Disclosure Policy" describing CNET's business model and explaining the standards CNET reporters are expected to live by. While publishing such a policy isn't a cure-all, it can go a long way toward boosting the credibility of an online news site. (Editor & Publisher 22 Mar 2000)
http://www.mediainfo.com/ephome/news/newshtm/stop/st032200.htm
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Taken from The Ifra Trend Report: No. 36 - Copyright 2000 by Ifra, all rights reserved
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ARE NEWSPAPERS COMMITTING CULTURAL
SUICIDE?
In a harsh attack on newspapers' efforts to move into the
electronic age, First Amendment Center scholar Jon Katz charges that the industry has
spent the past decade using the Internet "as a pretext for committing something akin
to cultural suicide." It's not the emergence of the Internet that threatens
newspapers' survival, according to Katz, but their own unwillingness to embrace the
fundamental kinds of changes necessary to thrive in the digital economy. "Newspaper
writing, from columns to features, has gotten duller, not more vivid... Papers never
grasped that interactivity isn't about technology but attitude, not about the form in
which content gets delivered but the ways in which the content changes, and the increased
power that interactivity and personal computing give to consumers of information."
Katz points out that "the companies that have managed to profit most from the
information revolution are the ones that devote the most energy to maximizing customer
responsiveness" -- a trait he says is not embraced by most newspapers. Publishers, he
says, "have made it a sacred, even ethical, virtue to be disconnected from and
unresponsive to their customers." (Freedom Forum 22 Mar 2000)
http://www.freedomforum.org/news/2000/03/2000-03-22-13.asp
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Taken from Eduprise/Need-to-Know, 29 March
2000
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USING ONLINE EDUCATION
TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE SMALLER
The Partnership in Global Learning, a new project funded through a grant from Lucent Technologies Foundation, plans to foster an international exchange of educational materials for classrooms around the globe. The Partnership's first phase will involve universities in the U.S., Brazil and Mexico. "We are tapping the resources of universities around the world to produce the best content possible," says Elizabeth Lowe, project director. The universities will train teachers from selected high schools in the development of Web-based curriculum materials for business and science subjects. These fields have been chosen because of their importance to students who will work in an increasingly technological global economy. While some important details have yet to be worked out -- such as which language or languages the materials will use -- Lowe expects the project to be expanded to include other countries and college-level material. Ultimately, she says, "We could have high school students in [the U.S.] taking physics with students in Sao Paulo. That's the real vision." (New York Times 15 March 2000)
http://www10.nytimes.com:80/library/tech/00/03/cyber/education/15education.htm
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Taken from E-Access Bulletin - March 2000
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EMAIL THAT TALKS
A real-time voice discussion service which operates using ordinary email and computer microphones has been launched by US firm HearMe. The company claims that VoiceCONTACT is the first technology of its kind, and says it will remain free, although it plans to charge for upgrades with additional functionality.
VoiceCONTACT users must visit the HearMe website at http://www.hearme.com/products/voicecontact/download/
The user is then prompted with instructions on how to send a live voice e-mail discussion using ordinary PC microphones. HearMe sends the invitation and the recipient then clicks on an embedded link in the e-mail to join the conversation."With VoiceCONTACT, all you need to know is someone's email address in order to invite them to a voice conversation. That's what's so powerful. You don't need to know if they have particular software, a user name, just their email address," company spokesman Danielle Borel said. Although the service is not specifically designed for people with sight loss, HearMe says it could prove of great use to blind people. However there may currently be access problems for blind users in using the web site and typing e-mail addresses into the online form. It seems likely that a more accessible version will have to be designed before blind users can take full advantage.
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Taken from E-Access Bulletin - March 2000
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STAFFORDSHIRE UNIVERSITY PIONEERS RESEARCH INTO ACCESS PROBLEMS
Staffordshire University is investigating access by the blind and visually impaired to 'virtual learning environments' (VLEs) including internet-based education.
Staffordshire has pioneered the use of VLEs for its staff and students: in the 1998-99 academic year 3,500 students used the systems, and the figure is expected to jump to 6,000 this year.Virtual learning means resources can be accessed by students online in an organised manner. Students and tutors can search published material on a server and gather relevant items in a 'basket'. All users can communicate with each other using email and notice boards, and the use of content is tracked giving feedback to tutors. VLEs can also be used to improve central administration, assign work and track submitted work.
Mark Stiles, manager of the university's Learning Development Centre, told E-Access Bulletin that while Staffordshire has a good track record on access to information technology, feedback from some visually impaired students showed they were experiencing difficulties with the virtual learning environment.The study will look at difficulties faced by those in four categories of disability including the visually impaired. Stiles expects the study to be completed in the next few weeks, when the results will be published.
The Staffordshire project is one of more than a dozen across the UK supported by DISinHE, otherwise known by its snappy full title of the Central Clearing House for Information Technology for Accessibility and Disability in Higher Education. Several others of these projects are focused specifically on solving problems experienced by the blind and visually impaired.
Funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee of the UK Higher Education Funding Councils, DISinHE's overarching objective is "to make sure all information is available in some form or another to all people."
Established in 1998 as part of the Department of Applied Computing at the University of Dundee, DISinHE is focused on tackling five accessibility problems: excessive graphic portrayal of information; the requirement to use a mouse; poor structuring of content; excessive use of cutting edge technology which is not fully supported; and poor choice in output options. The organisation says the victims of these problems are most often disabled users who are visually impaired, dyslexic, have motor disability or are cognitively impaired. However, it says poor design affects everyone. Another study backed by DISinHE is one examining voice recognition software, at University College Worcester. This aims to develop effective training and usage guidelines for good practice in voice recognition which can be used throughout the university and elsewhere. Meanwhile City University is looking at the web for people with visual impairment. Study objectives include a review of software and other systems that assist those with sight loss to access the web.
For more information on DISinHE and the supporting studies see: www.disinhe.ac.uk
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PROFILED ORGANIZATIONS
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The African Virtual Library Initiative
Quarterly report No.1, March 2000
This is the report of the first quarter this year. It is a record of highlights of the progress towards collective mission of libraries in Kenya since last December. This report is prepared by the Office of the Coordinator, and distributed electronically to the stakeholders, the government agencies, aid agencies and international organizations with interest in information & communications technologies (ICT) development. The report is also posted in several listservs, including the Global Knowledge for Development and the African library listserv and on our website <www.avli.org>. It is the wish of the AVL-I to also make printed copies for distribution to libraries that are not communicable through email if we can get a sponsor to meet the cost of printing and distribution of the quarterly report.
Progress in library automation
In November 1999, the stakeholders of AVL-I resolved that all libraries would convert their catalogues to electronic format during the next one year. Since then, reports reaching us indicate a lot of activity on this front. Starting with the largest institutions, automation is in progress at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, University of Nairobi, Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library and Moi University Margaret Thatcher Library, all using different automation programmes. A number of smaller libraries have already placed their catalogues in electronic format using DBASE. In this category falls national polytechnics. The meeting encouraged organizations that have not done so to use CDS/ISIS, the UNESCO developed bibliographic database software, and reports reaching our office indicate that this is already happening at Kenyatta University, and other libraries. The Windows based CDS/ISIS, also known as WINISIS, is presently available free of charge to any library that wishes to use it. The AVL-I secretariat would assist any organization that does not have this software to get it to start the automation process.
The search for a common library software
The Working Group for Cataloguing and Library Automation is working round the clock to recommend the library automation software to be used in libraries in Kenya. The group has shortlisted four library programmes and is carrying out further investigations. The need to have a library automation system that Kenyans can have control over its future development is becoming a very important criteria, and may become the most critical factor, after all other considerations. Information about the software will be circulated as soon as the selection process is complete.
Retrospective conversion of library catalogues
It has already been established that nearly 1.3million catalogue records need to be converted retrospectively while 0.5million records will need to be converted to a suitable MARC format. This is pre-requisite to meeting the online status for libraries. Quotations received indicate that conversion will cost a minimum of US$0.5 per record. The AVL-I sends out a request to donor agencies to support this project to convert catalogues and provide access to local content fairly quickly. The AVL-I is coordinating the project for conversion.
The AVL-I may put in place the retrospective conversion facility soon if the offer from TLC holds. The offer is dependent on our ability to get a powerful computer (large hard-drive 9GB) for downloading CDs. We shall get the ITS for Windows software plus English and TheoMARC databases to enable us to start the conversion work, pending receiving donor support to pay for the databases. As soon as we get a donor for the required computers we should get this going within a short time. Any offers for the computer(s)?
Attaining full online status or the Y2K4 Goal
It is the expressed desire of all libraries in Kenya to attain full online status by the year 2004. For a library to attain full online status, a number of factors have been considered and some facilities to be put in place. AVL-I has prepared a questionnaire to establish the present online status of libraries. The questionnaire seeks to establish the present position or status as libraries progress towards the over-all goal. Please do furnish us with this information quickly to enable us to determine the success criteria. Libraries in Kenya should furnish this information to the Coordinator.
Agricultural Research Fund
The AVL-I has enjoined agricultural research and teaching institutions in the application for the ARF due in a few weeks. The application mainly seeks to provide support services for research and online access of agricultural information in East Africa. Egerton University, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture & Technology, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, KETRI, Maseno University College, Moi University, and institutions that train in agricultural sciences are likely to benefit if grant application succeeds.
Visit from IDRC, Canada
Ms. Marjorie Whalen, Service Manager, Research Information Management Service (RIMs) with IDRC Ottawa, visited AVL-I in February this year. It is anticipated that this visit would lead to better international understanding and a certain realization of the Y2K4 goal, and potential areas of collaboration between AVL-I and this important international research support organization.
Collaboration with University of California, Los Angeles
AVL-I and the Advanced Policy Institute of UCLA have applied for a grant from USIA to develop mechanisms for information technology transfer and to open new avenues of collaboration between the two organizations. The outcome of the project will benefit from community based content in both cities of Nairobi and Los Angeles. For AVL-I, it is an opportunity to implement its plans for community information centres while for API, it is to internationalize its experiences working with Los Angeles disadvantaged communities. Further joint projects are planned with UCLA and hopefully with other international partners.
Office for the AVL-I
The Kenya Institute of Management (KIM), the host for the AVL-I, has kindly donated an office on the 5th floor of Emperor Plaza for use by the AVL-I secretariat. The present programme coordinator Mr. William Kinyanjui is also due for sabbatical Leave from JKUAT effective April 2000 during which time he will be using this office to implement the projects shown above. The AVL-I plans to set up its communication and coordination centre in this building. The AVL-I is coordinating the implementation of the Y2K4 goal among over 100 institutions in Kenya alone from this office. An appeal is hereby made to donors and well wishers to support the establishment of this office by donating furniture, computers, Internet connection, photocopiers and vehicles for this work.
Publications
The AVL-I has completed its premier book, "Planning for Knowledge Development in Africa in the Age of the Internet". The book is a guide for implementing a national knowledge development agenda in a developing country. This book is useful to any developing country that is trying to come to terms with the application of Internet for knowledge development. The content development objective of Kenya Education Network is reflected in this book. The book is ready for distribution to the local and international market at a cost of US$40 per copy. The money obtained from the sale of the book will be used to support implementation of the AVL-I projects. Orders should be made prepaid to the African Virtual Library Initiative. Add US$5 for postage per copy if order is from outside Kenya.20 Coming soon
Meeting for resource sharing
The process to start considering information resource sharing among Kenyan libraries is about to begin. A meeting of representatives of stakeholders will be held in April to start the process. The working group for resource sharing and inter-library lending will be formed that day. Some of the issues to be discussed include sharing the cost of subscribing to journals and to international databases and indexes among the stakeholders. More on this when the date is fixed.
Workshop for Online access to Journal literature by EBSCO
This workshop will be held in April at the United States International University (USIU). More about this with formal invitation shortly.
Collaboration
Invitation to co-host seminars
The AVL-I takes this opportunity to invite international organizations to come and assist in preparing Kenyan librarians to adopt new technologies and move to the new century environment in information management. The AVL-I welcomes offers of co-hosting and sponsorship for these training programmes.
Training scholarships
Information personnel in Kenya need to be trained at the highest possible level to spearhead the information revolution in Africa. The AVL-I welcomes offers of scholarships and opportunities for high level training for the young Kenyan information management personnel. For more information contact the coordinator.
Contact
For offer of support or more information on anything in the report, please contact:
William G. Kinyanjui, Programme Coordinator
The African Virtual Library Initiative
PO Box 34729 Tel: 337406/226789
NAIROBI, Kenya
Feedback: wkinyanjui@jkuat.ac.ke or kimgt@form-net.com
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Taken from the Drum Beat - 45 – edited
by the Communication Initiative
http://www.comminit.com
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ABCDEspanol - Latin America - teaches reading,
writing and math to both school children and adults in order to motivate continued
learning, develop emotional intelligence, and generate a new role for teachers as
facilitators. A programme in Cartegena rewards students who have learned to read
through ABCDEspanol. New readers write their first letters to the local paper.
They then receive a free 3-month subscription to this paper as an incentive to continue
reading and learning. Contact Javier González jgq@col-online.com
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Taken from the Drum Beat - 45 – edited by the Communication Initiative
SAfAIDS - Southern
Africa - established in 1998 to facilitate better media understanding, communication
and coverage of HIV/AIDS issues. Their media messages were created out of
recommendations from a needs-assessment conducted in late 1998 in Zimbabwe, South Africa
and Zambia (pilot). Activities such as training workshops and the production of
"media information packs" on various themes surrounding HIV/AIDS are results of
this needs-assessment. Contact Aulora Stally aulora@safaids.org.zw
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Copyright © Eduventures.com, Inc. 2000
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Edunexo.com: A Portal with
Latin-American Flavor
By Adam Newman
Ever heard of Edunexo.com? If you're a native English speaker, the answer is probably no. However, if you're involved in education in Brazil, Argentina or Mexico, the answer might very well be different.
Edunexo.com is an Argentian-based education portal that aims to introduce a host of web-based content, courses and e-commerce opportunities to education communities across Latin America. The company's country-specific portal sites are targeted at a reported 130 million Latin American students between the ages of 6 and 24 and more than 6 million teachers. The company, which was formed in December, emerged from a business plan that co-founder Gabriel Sanchez-Zinny wrote while a master's degree candidate at Georgetown University.
"I had worked in education for five years and was familiar with the education issues and characteristics in Latin America," Sanchez-Zinny told Eduventures.com. "No one was combining education and the Internet on a regional level, so I seized the opportunity to become an entrepreneur and contribute to education in Latin America."
Sanchez-Zinny described the Edunexo.com offerings as a combination of educational products and services that will be rolled out in stages. The first component of the portal sites will consist of free content, including information about local schools, financial aid and scholarship opportunities, edutainment activities, and academic resources for students, parents and teachers. The company plans to form content alliances with education magazines, newspapers and publishers, as well as developing some of its own content.
"Our first step is to build our brand and grow our number of users in the various countries," said Sanchez-Zinny. "People in Latin America want free education services, so we will use our content to build credibility in these markets."
Following this first stage, the company will incorporate an online education component to its portal sites. Edunexo.com plans to offer postsecondary institutions web-based tools to put courses online and also aims to become a broker of online education courses for the Latin American education community. Sanchez-Zinny envisions that Edunexo.com will pursue alliances not only with local colleges and universities, but also with U.S. insititutions seeking a Latin American partner.
While Sanchez-Zinny has high hopes for these online education offerings, he acknowledges that challenges exist. "Culturally, Latin America is not yet prepared for online education," said Sanchez-Zinny. "Right now, it is difficult to convince universities to put their courses online."
The final piece of Edunexo.com's portal offering is a familiar one - e-commerce. Within the next few weeks, the company's web sites will offer a range of education products including textbooks, school supplies and test study guides. Eventually, the company hopes to expand its e-commerce offerings to include a variety of non-education products and services to students, parents and teachers.
Edunexo.com's multiple country, multiple audience strategy is part design, part necessity. The 130 million K-12 and university students and more than 6 million teachers in Latin America represent a market two times the size of that found in the United States. Additionally, while Latin America represented 3.1 percent of global Internet users - 4.1 million individuals - in 1999 according to eMarketer, that figure is projected to jump to 9.4 percent - or 26.6 million users - by 2002. Sanchez-Zinny believes that Edunexo.com's early launch and aggressive branding effort will confer a first mover advantage allowing the company to grab a sizable share of this market.
However, the market potential remains distinct from the market reality. Currently computers in schools remain rare, and the company has approached the Brazilian government about funding a program similar to the E-Rate program in the U.S. Moreover, no one audience segment (e.g., elementary, secondary, postsecondary) offers a large enough target market for Edunexo.com, so the company will serve all of them until it determines where best to allocate its effort and resources.
Despite these challenges, Edunexo.com is growing rapidly. The company has almost 40 employees located in its offices in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. The company has also partnered with a Spanish portal site, www.educanet.net, that will be re-launched as a Edunexo.com site later this week. And, after receiving $1 million in early-stage funding from three institutional investors, the company is preparing for a second round of financing to support future portal site roll-outs in Chile, Venezuela and Columbia.
Ultimately, however, Sanchez-Zinny hopes Edunexo.com becomes as well-known in the United States as he anticipates it will be in Latin America. "We want to be the Latin American brand for U.S. education sites. We would be a good entry point for U.S. companies, and it would be a 'win-win' situation for all involved."
To find out more about Edunexo.com, visit www.Edunexo.com
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I would like to introduce The Telecommunications and Computer Networks Group (TeNeT), a team of dedicated researchers working in the frontline areas of Telecommunications and Computer Networking, at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India. The guiding team is drawn from the faculties at the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science & Engineering, while over a hundred researchers, engineers and other technical staff support it. Currently, the group works in areas such as Networking, Digital Systems Architecture and Fibre Optics, and several emerging avenues like Network Management Systems and Integrated Voice/ Video Data Communications. It specially focuses on developing affordable products for developing countries.
Established a decade ago, with the objectives of developing economical solutions for the emerging era, pioneering academic research in this confluent field and nurturing a skilled manpower base in this vibrant branch, TeNeT collaborates with a number of like-minded R & D organisations, with many of whom it enjoys strategic alliances and tie-ups. In addition, the group also works with many small and medium-size industrial units. Thanks to such associations, TeNeT has successfully implemented many enterprising projects and introduced innovative products in the field of ICTS. In the years to come, the group hopes to grow into an R & D consortium, working closely with many companies in developing versatile, low-cost systems bringing about a revolution in the world of information and communication.
More details can be obtained at our Website www.tenet.res.in
Best regards,
Dr. Ashok Jhunjhunwala
ashok@tenet.res.in
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ONLINE RESOURCES
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From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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Bartleby.com
Relaunches With Five Major Reference Works http://www.bartleby.com/
On March 20 Bartleby.com, a premiere source for free online
literature, verse, and reference books, relaunched their Website and added five major
reference works. Users can now access complete electronic versions of the _Columbia
Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition_;_The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,
Third Edition_; _Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition_; _Simpson's Contemporary
Quotations_; and _The American Heritage Book of English Usage_. Each of these works may be
browsed by the table of contents or index or searched by keyword. Unlike most of
Bartleby's offerings, which are classic texts now out of copyright, these additions are
all recent editions, the oldest dating to 1988. The new Bartleby homepage is attractive
and easily navigated, offering pull-down menu access to its content in four categories:
Reference, Verse, Nonfiction, and Literature. Users can also conduct keyword searches
across all or selected areas of the site from the main page. [MD]
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From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000. http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
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Created and operated by Montgomery Kersell, this excellent
resource allows users to access very recent opinion and editorial pieces from
approximately 600 different English-language international sources. Indexed daily, the
database can be searched by keyword with numerous modifiers. Returns include a link to the
piece and a brief abstract. A sample search for "presidential campaign" produced
40 hits, while one for "Kashmir" returned 11 hits. In both cases, the pieces
linked to were very current, many from that day. Users can also keyword search topical
collections of columnists's pages, including Political & General, Business &
Finance, Technology, Arts & Leisure, Health, and Sports. Those looking for the opinion
page or letter to the editor columns for specific newspapers can browse a geographic
listing. Additional resources include a pair of opinion columns (Think Ahead and Think
Sideways) penned by Kersell himself. [MD]
----------------------------------------
Taken from Media Workshop Edu-Tech News
Digest -- March 27, 2000
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"E-Education, the Opposite of Equality"
Teresa L Ebert and Mas'ud Zavarzadeh. Professors at SUNY Albany and Syracuse University
Los Angeles Times,
http://www.latimes.com/news/comment/20000323/t000027413.html
March 23, 2000
Separate, but similar, op-ed pieces that challenge the
current trend toward online education. Myers, President of Sarah Lawrence College,
makes an important distinction between ideas and information, pointing out that liberal
arts colleges are not in the business of filling minds, but rather forming minds.
Ebert and Zavarzadeh go a littler deeper, questioning the societal effects of providing
more "training" than "education" to our citizens, as well as the true
motivation behind philanthropic gestures such as Michael Saylor's $100 million gift
towards the creation of a free online university. Both opinion pieces point out that that
learning is a dynamic process, not just the downloading of information, and online
education ventures should make that consideration more central to the development of
online courses.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Education Planet Newsletter
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Lesson Plan: Earth Science Lessons and Activities http://nesen.unl.edu/teacher/lesacttoc.html
Need some new ideas for your Earth Science units? This is a great resource for lesson plans and activities. Since these resources are grouped by topic and then grade level, information specific to your curriculum is easily located. Topics found here include: Astronomy, Climate Change, Drought, Geology, Mapping, Weather, Soils, and Water.
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I have created a
Recommended Reading List for "Distance Education and Online Learning" which
might be of interest to you. http://BooksToRead.com/e/et/de.htm
"Top Ten DE Books" by experts (under construction):http://www.bookstoread.com/e/et/top10de.htm
Best wishes,Badrul Khan
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Presentation of World
View Information System (WVIS) for Basic Education NGOs in Africa and South Asia
A user-friendly information system for local non governmental organisations (NGOs) involved in basic education in Africa and South Asia has been developed by World View Literacy Information Research (WVLIR). WVLIR's broad objectives are to reinforce evaluations and research among NGOs. Its founding members come from the market and opinion research industry. During the Annual Conference of European Society for Opinion and Market Research (ESOMAR) at Davos in September 1994, WVLIR's constituting meeting focused on providing information systems to basic education NGOs to initially share existing research.
WVLIR is poised to connect all individuals and organisations, involved in spreading literacy in the form of basic education and/or primary education.
World View Information System (WVIS) is a process based around Databases which integrates details about Organisations, Materials, Projects & Individuals on most aspects about literacy and basic education.
We are happy to announce WVIS Edition 1 for MS Access 97. Please download it from the internet on http://www.wvlir.com/wvis1.html or ask for its distributable CD-ROM version, available at a token price. We welcome further data, suggestions, critics from you to incorporate them in WVIS Edition 2 planned to be realized beginning of next year. Please contact our Delhi office, in case you find any difficulty in operating WVIS.
Best regards,
Kalyan Mitra
Database Coordinator
World View Delhi Office
F-2, Maharani Bagh
New Delhi – 110065
India
wvbo@del2.vsnl.net.in
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Telematics for African Development Consortium
P.O. Box 31822
Braamfontein
2017
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: +27 +11 403-2813
Fax: +27 +11 403-2814
neilshel@icon.co.za
www.saide.org.za
* To view an archive of previous updates
visit: www.saide.org.za/tad/archive.htm
* For resources on distance education and technology use in Southern Africa visit: www.saide.org.za/worldbank/Default.htm
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