Dear friends,

Included please find the last circular for 1998. I hope you have all enjoyed

receiving information during 1998, and look forward to communicating with

you all again early in 1999. For those of you fortunate enough to be taking

a holiday, enjoy the break!

Regards

Neil Butcher

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NEWS

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Open software wins in Mexican schools

By Leander Kahney

SAN FRANCISCO (Wired) - In another coup for the open-source software

movement, the Mexican government said that it plans to install the free

Linux operating system in 1 4 0 , 0 0 0 elementary- and middle-school

computer labs around the country.

Over the next five years, the government's Scholar Net program will furnish

Mexican students with access to the Web and email, as well as word

processors and spreadsheets, said Arturo Espinosa Aldama, the project's

leader.

"We decided to go with Linux because of the cost of using proprietary

software,'' said Espinosa, who is based at the National Autonomous

University of Mexico in Mexico City. ''Otherwise, it would have been too

expensive for all the software licenses.''

Open-source software is developed and improved collaboratively by thousands

of volunteer hackers around the world. Unlike a proprietary operating system

such as Windows, Linux developers and users have access to the system's

underlying software code and can modify that code under certain conditions.

Linux has grown increasingly popular among server administrators as an

inexpensive and flexible alternative to Windows NT. Partly because of

limited software availability, however, the OS hasn't yet taken off in

educational or business networks. Internal Microsoft memos were published on

the Net this week that reveal how seriously company officials view

open-source software as a threat to Windows.

Indeed, without Linux and other open-source software packages, such as

Netscape's Mozilla browser, Espinosa said the Scholar Net project would

likely be more restricted. He figured that it would have cost the equivalent

of at least $885 to install Windows 98, Microsoft Office and a server

running Windows NT in each school computer lab, he said.

Multiplying that cost over 1 4 0 , 0 0 0 labs, the price tag for software

alone on the project would have been about $ 1 2 4 million. So Espinosa

turned to Red Hat Software, which distributes Linux at a cost of $5 0 for a

pair of installation CDs and a manual.

Red Hat's version of Linux can be copied as many times as necessary at no

extra charge. It is also available as a free download off the Net.

Cost factors aside, Espinosa said Linux is more reliable, adaptable, and

efficient than commercial operating system software. These qualities will

allow him to use older, less expensive equipment. "We don't have a huge

budget. We are depending a lot on the equipment already in schools, so we

need to be kind of flexible. We don't want to upgrade a lot of hardware,''

he said.

"I think it was a shrewd choice on all levels,'' said Eric Raymond, an

open-source evangelist and author of the influential article "The Cathedral

and the Bazaar.'' The essay is said to have inspired Netscape execs to

release the source code for the company's Communicator Web browser last

March.

"It was probably the only thing they could have done, but there are

situations where poverty will force some good choices.... I expect this will

happen wherever the school system is poor.'' He added, "There's nothing

special about Mexico.''

Scholar Net plans to have labs installed at a rate of 2 0 , 0 0 0 to 3 5 , 0

0 0 thousand per year for the next five years. The program already has 2,000

labs set up using Windows software, but Espinosa said those schools will

soon switch to Linux.

The project is not without its share of challenges. Although the Linux

interface resembles a commercial operating system, it may be challenging for

school students to use. The project also faces a shortage of applications

and difficulties translating the programs into Spanish. But he's confident

he'll get help.

"When you ask how many people are working on Scholar Net, well, it's the

whole Linux community,'' Espinosa said.

In the United States, Oregon's Multnomah County will next month install 30

Linux servers in high schools-the most ambitious Linux project in American

schools to date, according to Paul Nelson, technology coordinator at the

Riverdale School District in Portland. Nelson is one of the leads of the

Linux in Schools Project.

Like Espinosa, Nelson said he would love to see Linux desktop machines but

doesn't think there is enough software available for the platform just yet.

"It's made huge inroads in the server market,'' Nelson said, and "the

desktop is next.''

Espinosa said there was little resistance to Linux from the Mexican

educational establishment, thanks to the attention the system has attracted

among the media. He predicted Mexican schools will become hotbeds of Linux

programmers. "It will let a lot of kids discover computers,'' he said. "Some

may become little hackers.'' (Reuters/Wired)

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ONLINE RESOURCES

"Creating Engagement in Computer-based Learning Environments" by Marshall G.

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An interesting article that might be of some relevance:

Educational Publishing and the World Wide Web - Ann Marion and Elizabeth

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NEW: Flexible and Engaging Materials for Effective Internet Training

ITrain is a set of Internet training materials available via the Web and via

email. The materials are designed for use in the so-called developing

countries but have much to offer for organisations and trainers around the

world. The materials combine a methodology based on participatory and

interactive learning; flexible course planning; customisation to meet

specific user needs and interests; and integration of gender and culture.

ITrain is a collection of Internet training materials for instructors and

students. The materials engage students in the learning process and support

instructors in the customisation and planning of the courses. The ITrain

manuals contain both leader-led and self-study materials. The materials have

been developed by the ITrain Collective, a multi-cultural group of Internet

trainers with work experiences from around the world. The objective has been

to produce a balanced set of training manuals for new and intermediate users

of the Internet as well as for new and experienced Internet instructors.

We invite you join the ITrain partnership to use the ITrain materials, to

develop new materials within the context of a partnership, and to provide

feedback on existing materials.

or write to itrain@unganisha.idrc.ca

Greetings,

Steve Song - project co-ordinator

Maja van der Velden - project consultant

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Some useful links (provided by Sol Efroni):

--- Renewing the progressive contract with posterity: On the social

--- Learning support in distributed learning environmen: The use of

--- Creating a new World of Learning Possibilities through Instructional

.asp

--- A survey of new media development and delivery software for

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

is an important step for us in that we realise that the development

challenges that face us in Southern Africa are to big for a single

organisation to make a fundamental difference. We need to work in

partnerships with one-another to address the needs of the poor and the

marginalised!

Please visit our Web Site and assess whether there exist any possibilities

for you and ourselves to collaborate for the sake of "enabling communities

through development assistance for them to become the masters of their own

destinies."

We look forward towards hearing from you.

Regards

Arie Bouwer

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The World Association for Online Education (WAOE) is a new educators'

organization dedicated to turning online education into a professional

discipline. WAOE is being incorporated as a non-profit organization in

California which nevertheless operates almost entirely online. Elected

officers hail from four regions of the world, east and west coast U.S. WAOE

is now open to all committed to pedagogical principles and interested in

networking with other online educators worldwide. Currently WAOE offers free

trial memberships at least through June 1999.

Educators concerned with online education in the broadest sense see their

institutions cutting deals and their scholarly judgement over the curriculum

undercut. Web-literate educators have their regional and disciplinary

organizations, but when they reach out to the wider world through the

Internet, they sense that the new medium holds great promise, but also that

essentials are lacking in comparison to the face-to-face medium. Wandering

from list to list, Website to Website, like so many nomadic masterless

samurai, what online educators have been missing is a real organization.

This need was realized at the Third Annual Teaching in the Community

Colleges Online Conference based at the University of Hawaii, particularly

the April 7th, 1998 Keynote Address by Professor Steve McCarty in Japan. As

a result of continuing online discussions, international Steering Committee

members have submitted Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws to the State of

California in Sacramento. California has already recognized WAOE as a

nonprofit, tax exempt organization, evidently approving bylaws stating that

WAOE will be fully operational in electronic media. Its acronym WAOE is thus

pronounced "Wowee!" WAOE plans to bring online educators together for mutual

support as well as to evaluate online courses and resources in any branch

of learning. With the cooperation of many institutions already, a minimum of

expenditures on material things, and the voluntaristic spirit of educators,

dues are waived for the time being, and expertise can continue to be

provided in lieu of dues. WAOE aims to be most global and accessible to

non-Westerners and non-native users of English, promoting multilingualism

and intercultural understanding. Focusing on online education since the

advent of Web-based approaches, WAOE is working to turn online education

into a new professional discipline. Please register your interest or

questions by e-mail to waoe@waoe.org or visit Websites including

TO JOIN the World Association for Online Education (WAOE), which is

currently free of charge, please fill out the membership form as explained

below. Among many WAOE activities there is a discussion list WAOE-VIEWS and

an announcements list WAOE-NEWS. Both are archived on the WWW, while members

have the option of joining both or, to receive a minimum of e-mail, just

WAOE-NEWS, as it is moderated.

and click on:Show Me The Membership Registration Forms

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Community Radio - Malawi - the Media Women's Association's radio station -

Dzimwe Community Radio Station - is on air. The coordinator is Ms. Patricia

Chipungu-Thodi fax 265 671257/353 e-mail address dgmbc@malawi.net

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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

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