ANNOUNCEMENTS
--- Ensemble Technology announcement
--- 1999 Internet and Educational Computing Conference
--- New Statesman New Media Awards

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NEWS

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A few years ago windup radios from BayGen and from Korean companies like

Sangean were attracting a lot of attention. Now it's time for computers. The

gossip for Macintosh users.

"A recent article posted at CNN.com confirms recent speculation that the

<Apple> Consumer Portable (codename P1) may include a "wind-up" power

source.

Essentially, this power source would be a concealable arm on the side of the

Portable's case, which could be spun by hand to generate power for the

Portable's Lithium Ion battery. The idea is that this Portable must be able

to run the Mac OS, but must also be able to sustain operation for an entire

school day (it is expected to be Apple's biggest hit in schools -- ever). To

provide both of these abilities without needing to be plugged in, Apple is

reportedly licensing the remarkably efficient wind-up technology from a

British company that invented it.

Several anonymous sources claiming to be privy to Apple's plans for the

webMate, the education-specific version of the P1 (apparently webMate and

macMate are the same machine; one is the education-tailored version, the

other designed more for the general public; the differences are not entirely

clear at present) suggested similar things earlier this week.

Update: Excerpted from the article [credit: CNN]:

The Freeplay radio has been awarded the BBC Design Award for Best Product

and Best Design. It's no wonder: A windup generator that could connect to

and power any battery operated device, anywhere, could significantly change

the lives of many people who don't have ready access to even simple

technology. It also has far-reaching implications for technological

development. There are plans to include windup technology in landmine

detectors, talking books and even the upcoming Apple consumer PowerBook,

code named WebMate. "The technology is there and can be adapted to any

product," says Philip Goodwin, an industrial designer at BayGen.

These both detail the technology itself -- and the latter suggests that

Apple has had this technology on the back burner for some time......"

ONLINE RESOURCES

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I have prepared a new presentation, "The wired Agora" for the Political

conference in Rome this Friday and Saturday.

My presentation which includes a bit of humor is available to view online or

The presentation highlights some of the exciting developments with the

Minnesota E-Democracy goes more local with online citizen participation.

Steven Clift

Minnesota E-Democracy

Democracies Online Newswire

Resources Allocated for School Web Sites: Are They Justified?

Gregory C. Geer

Abstract

This article explores the question of whether or not schools are making a

good investment in the establishment of web sites from an educational

management point-of-view. It approaches the question from the perspective of

welfare economics and argues in favor of using scarce educational resources

to build school web sites because of connections between constructivist

What Sample Size is "ENOUGH" In Internet Survey Research?

Dr. Robin Hill

Abstract

With more and more people connecting to the internat daily, determining

sufficient sample size for internet survey research is made awkward since it

is difficult to ascertain the size of population of interest. This article

shows that determining sample size for an e-survey is not a cut and dried

procedeure and an element of "informed judgement" and personal choice is

involved. The evidence suggests that there is not just one accepted method

of determining necessary sample size, and that sufficient sample is

dependant upon not only choice of methodology and the research question at

As well as details of programmes and organisations, there are some useful

publications and resources referenced through the site. One that caught my

attention was a new short book on 'Lifelong Qualifications: Developing

A correspondent also tells me that NIACE are keen to receive articles and

letters for inclusion in their monthly 'Adults Learning' magazine.

The ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education

(ERIC/EECE) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is pleased to

announce the publication of the first peer-reviewed, Internet-only journal

in the field of early childhood education.

"Early Childhood Research & Practice" contains articles, commentaries,

reviews, and important announcements that address the entire range of

current, practice-related issues. The journal emphasizes articles on

research and development related to children and parents, such as early

childhood curriculum, parent participation, teacher and caregiver

development and education, and policy.

The journal, which debuted in February, will publish two issues in 1999 and

plans to become a quarterly publication in 2000.

information, call the clearinghouse at 1-800-583-4135.

Getting gender onto the policy agenda

contributor(s): Nicola Swainson

03 March 1999

How far has knowledge about causes of gender disparities in education been

incorporated into the design or reform of government and donor policies? And

how have political and bureaucratic constraints affected specific reform

measures? University of Sussex research in Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe

tracked and compared steps taken by governments, donor agencies and NGOs to

Further information:

Nicola Swainson
60 Rugby Road
Brighton BN1 6ED
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1273 503259
Email: mailto:swainson@bennell.u-net.com

The culture trap: Reasons why girls drop out in Ghana

contributor(s): David Stephens - Institute of Education, University of

Sussex 03 February 1999

Do we always acknowledge the cultural framework within which educational

development occurs? And are we alert to the interplay between different

domains (the home, the school, the economy) where policymakers and policy

researchers focus their attention and seek to intervene for the better? Not

nearly enough, argues the report on a study that set out to explore reasons

why girls drop out of primary school in Ghana. The realities of school and

Further information:

David Stephens
Centre for International Education
Institute of Education
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9RG
UK
Tel: +44 (0)1273 678712
Fax: +44 (0)1273 678568
Email: mailto:d.g.stephens@sussex.ac.uk

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Ensemblé Technology announced its status as distributors of InterWise, the

Internet/Intranet-based, live and interactive distance learning solution for

corporate and educational organisations. InterWise is a software system for

delivering knowledge to a geographically dispersed workforce or group of

By using InterWise an organisation can provide training simultaneously to a

large number of geographically dispersed users, each working on a standard

PC in their native working environment. This Internet-based product creates

live virtual meeting rooms so that, at any time and from any place, a

"class" can work on a common virtual whiteboard, effectively use

audio-visual channels and interact fully and easily. Since the learning

session is live the instructor is able to get feedback on student

participation and level of understanding.

"Investing in staff training is vital for an organisation to grow and

encourage staff development", comment Ettie Takacs, chief executive officer,

Ensemblé Technology. "Unfortunately the costs involved in running an

effective training schedule are large, especially if you add looses in

productivity and the cost of travel and accommodation. InterWise removes

geographical constraints, reducing employee mobility costs and lost working

hours. By enabling a large number of people to participate simultaneously

it also generates savings in instructor salaries".

The InterWise software solution leverages an organisation’s existing

computer network by allowing any networked employee to take part in a

lesson. It is also fully scalable, allowing any number of students to join

and participate in the class. It is based on a client/server

state-of-the-art architecture that scales with the number of servers

deployed. The servers are managed and updated automatically, enabling load

balancing, high scalability, built-in fault tolerance, with ease of

management. InterWise server technology includes real-time audio and

video streaming as well as asynchronous data push, enabling effective low

bandwidth communication during a class.

Typical uses for InterWise Applications:

--- Employee or student training

--- Sales force training

--- Internal corporate communication

--- Providing a novel marketing channel for existing and potential clients

and partners

--- Maintaining and assimilating information within the organisation

--- Operating internal and external support centres

InterWise will perform best on the following minimum configuration:

--- Pentium 133 Mhz

--- Windows 95 or NT 4.x

--- 16 MB RAM

--- Network access/modem >/=28,800

--- 600x800 screen resolution (for student) or 1024x768 (for instructor)

--- 16 bit Sound Blaster compatible sound card, with speaker and microphone

ABOUT ENSEMBLÉ AND WANG GLOBAL

Ettie Takacs and Max Barlevy formed Ensemblé in October 1996. Wang Global

Africa acquired a 51% stake in Ensemblé in December 1997. Headquarters in

Billerica, Massachusetts, Wang Global is a leading international network and

desktop services and solutions company providing a full range of networked

technology services for today’s network-centric business environments. With

annualised revenues in excess of $3.0 billion, Wang Global designs,

installs, operates and maintains global computing and telecommunications

networks for many of the world’s largest multinational companies. Wang

Global’s services include systems architecture design, installation,

warranty, help desk, maintenance, software support, as well as enterprise

desktop and network management. Wang Global integration service provide

business solutions for the banking industry as well as federal and state

government agencies. Wang Global employs more than 21,000 professionals in

48 countries. Information about Wang Global and its service can be found on

For more information please contact :

Stephanie Townsend

Ensemblé

Tel: (011) 339 9063

E-mail : stephanie@ensemble.co.za

The Western Cape Schools Network presents the 1999 Internet and Educational

Computing Conference in association with SchoolNet

The Western Cape Schools' Network and SchoolNet SA are pleased to announce

the 1999 Internet & Educational Computing Conference to be held in Cape Town

from 29 September to 1 October 1999

The conference will cover the use of Information and Communication

Technologies in schools. Topics will include

* Web-based and multimedia teaching resources: design, evaluation and

curriculum integration

* Information Literacy: developing new competencies for the information age

* New innovations: the cutting edge of local and international educational

ICT use

* Technology issues: LANs, Internet access and connectivity, network

planning, implementation and support

* Special interest tracks, including special needs computing and

administrative and library computing

* Development and rollout issues: developing ICT use in all South Africa's

schools (access and equity)

The conference will consist of presentations, workshops, demonstrations and

exhibitions, targetted at all skill levels from newcomers to experts.

Presentations of particular interest to all delegates will be presented in

plenary sessions, and for the remaining sessions delegates will be able to

choose from a number of events running in parallel.

We need your input! If you'd like to present material to the conference in

any of the above formats, please contact the conference organizers at the

earliest opportunity, but no later than Friday 30 July, with a brief

description of your proposed presentation, target audience, and required

facilities.

Submissions should be sent by email to conf99@wcape.school.za, or by fax to

Cape Town (021) 683-8719.

Programme inquiries to Stephen Marquard (scm@schoolnet.org.za), (021)

683-8719 or 082 901 9768.

Registration opens on 1 May 1999.

New Statesman New Media Awards

The Electronic Town Hall Competition

Sponsored by: BBC Parliament, British Telecom, EDS, Telewest Communications,

Nortel Networks

The New Statesman, the weekly magazine for the influential, has launched an

exciting and innovative online competition designed to promote the best use

of new media in public life.

The competition will promote the possibilities offered by new media, such as

the Internet, public kiosks, call centres and new media projects, as tools

that can improve government efficiency, reduce social exclusion and enhance

public access to information and services.

This competition aims to:

- publicize the best and most exciting new media projects

- encourage central and local community participation in local and national

policy development

- reward those individuals and businesses that have succeeded in harnessing

new media to the best effect

- demonstrate the power of new media to go beyond facilitating debate, that

it may actively encourage civic participation

Make your nominations now!

CONTACTS/REQUESTS

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I'm researching an article on Web-to-Email technology (www4mail, Getweb,

Agora, etc.), and would like to hear from people in developing countries who

access the Web using this type of service. Your thoughts and experiences

Best regards,

Katherine Morrow

Communications Officer

(613) 236-6163 ext. 2398

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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