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<tt><font size=+2>World Association for Online Education</font></tt>
<br><b><tt><font size=+2>W E B</font></tt></b>
<br><tt><font size=+1>WAOE Electronic Bulletin</font></tt>
<br><tt>Volume 1, No. 11</tt>
<br><tt>August 31 1999</tt>
<p><b><blink><font color="#FF0A1A"><font size=+1>MEMBERSHIP DUES</font></font></blink></b>
<p>WAOE's Annual General Meeting in late June endorsed the following minute
from the Inaugural Directors' Meeting, held in April:
<blockquote>The Directors resolved that, commencing from the first of July
1999, the World Association for Online Education would introduce a membership
fee of $US10 per annum, payment of which will confer the status and privileges
of associate membership of the World Association for Online Education.
<br>It was also resolved to seek the advice of the Planning and Finance
Committee by not later than the end of April each year, in order to confirm
the level of fee and the policy and procedure on exemptions to be applied
from the next ensuing first of July.</blockquote>
WAOE's Bylaw 12, regarding membership, states:
<blockquote>SECTION 3. ADMISSION OF MEMBERS
<br>Applicants shall be admitted to membership on making application therefor
online at the corporate web
<br>site or in writing, and upon volunteering services or skills needed
by the corporation and upon payment of
<br>the first annual dues, as specified in the following sections of this
Bylaw.
<p>SECTION 4. FEES, DUES AND ASSESSMENTS
<p>(a) The annual dues payable to the corporation by members shall be in
such amount as may be
<br> determined from time to time by resolution
by the Board of Directors.
<p>(b) With permission of the President and Chair of the Board of Directors
and any other director on the Board,
<br> or with permission of the majority of the
Board of Directors, members may volunteer and perform duties and
<br> services needed by the corporation and shall
be exempt from paying annual dues in any year the member
<br> performs these duties and services. A description
of the duties and services to be performed and the terms
<br> of their performance shall be maintained with
the membership book and register, except that officers,
<br> appointed officers, active committee and workgroup
chairs, and employees of the corporation need only
<br> state their titles in the membership records.</blockquote>
The combined effect and force of these collectively adopted rules and decisions
of the Association are that, unless you effect renewal of membership for
1999/2000 by EITHER payment of the declared fee of $US10 OR waiver of the
fee on the grounds of service-in-lieu, excessive currency exchange/funds
transfer costs and/or severe financial hardship current your name must
be removed from WAOE's official lists. This action would necessarily
deny you the benefits of WAOE membership, including eligibility to
seek voting member status, participation in committees, OCREWs, projects
and other activities, access to the Association's WebBoard (its principal
discussion and collective decision-making forum), and distribution of the
WAOE Electronic Bulletin.
<p>Reflecting that the slow rate of membership renewals until now may be
caused at least in part by many members not realising the consequences
of failure to pay their dues or to seek waiver of dues, the <b><u>Planning
and Finance Committee has moved to extend the deadline to October 1</u></b>.
Basic advice on the options for making payments and on procedures for seeking
waiver is summarised below. Detailed information on the payment of
fees is available as part of the Orientation Course at <a href="http://www.waoe.org/orientation/fees.htm">http://www.waoe.org/orientation/fees.htm</a>.
<br>
<li>
The membership fee for 1999/2000 is $US10.</li>
<br>1 unit = $10 = one year WAOE membership
<br>2 units = $20 = two year WAOE membership
<br>3 units = $30 = three year WAOE membership
<br>Any amount over $30 will be taken to be a 3 year WAOE membership plus
a donation to WAOE.
<br>
<li>
There are two main methods of payment:</li>
<br>(1) Enrol in the WAOE Orientation Course being set up - and still undergoing
development - on the LearnOnline site,
<br><a href="http://noncredited.net/wileyccc/worasofonedo.html">http://noncredited.net/wileyccc/worasofonedo.html</a>,
courtesy of WAOE member John Spiers, and pay by VISA or Mastercard.
<p>(2) Snail mail a cheque or money order enclosing a slip stating your
name and address (if that is not on the check) and your email address (which
will
<br>be used to issue receipts)
<p>Please write "WAOE 99/00 Membership Registration fee " on the check
or money order at the bottom left or along the top.
<p>Cheques or money orders should be made out and forwarded according to
one of the following alternatives:
<p><u>World-wide</u>: Make out to <Jenna Seehafer, WAOE Treasurer> and
send to
<br>
Jenna Seehafer
<br>
432 K Street
<br>
Rio Linda, CA 95673-3419
<br>
USA
<p><u>Within Australia</u>: Make out to <David Wyatt, WAOE> and send
to
<br>
David Wyatt, WAOE
<br>
Box 1121, Blackwood Post Office
<br>
Blackwood SA 5051
<br>Currency equivalents - Australia:
<br>$AUS15 = one year WAOE membership
<br>$AUS30 = two year WAOE membership
<br>$AUS45 = three year WAOE membership
<br>Any amount over $AUS45 will be taken to be a 3 year WAOE membership
plus a donation to WAOE.
<p><u>Within Brazil</u>: contact Roberto Andrea Mueller <<a href="mailto:rmueller@mail.ufv.br">rmueller@mail.ufv.br</a>>
for assistance
<p><u>Within Japan</u>: follow the detailed instructions prepared by Steve
McCarty and posted under para 5 of the <a href="http://www.waoe.org/orientation/fees.htm">notice
about payment of dues</a>
<br>Currency equivalents - Japan:
<br>1250 yen = one year WAOE membership
<br>2500 yen = two year WAOE membership
<br>3750 yen = three year WAOE membership
<br>Any amount over 3750 yen will be taken to be a 3 year WAOE membership
plus a donation to WAOE
<br>
<li>
Waiver of fees may be approved on the grounds that you are providing service
to WAOE, that the costs of funds transfer or currency exchange would be
excessive, and/or that you are in a situation of severe financial hardship.
There is more information on the <a href="#Waiver1">policy</a> and <a href="#Waiver2">procedure</a>
in this issue of WEB.</li>
<br>Application should be made to the Membership Officer. For convenience,
the <a href="#Waiver2">advice about waiver</a> of fees includes an email
link and some standardised text you could use.
<br>
<li>
There is no online form for renewal of membership, pending further development
of our data-gathering procedures. If you have changed your email
address since initially registering to join WAOE, we will identify your
current address from the LearnOnline order form or on the slip
accompanying your payment by mail. If you wish to advise other changed
details, you should go to the Membership page of the WAOE Website, <a href="http://155.43.48.225:2020/cgi-bin/memprof5.pl">http://155.43.48.225:2020/cgi-bin/memprof5.pl</a>
and submit a new registration form.</li>
<br>
<li>
We request that renewing members pay their dues <b><u>by October 1 1999</u></b>.</li>
<br>
<p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Please email <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">David Wyatt</a>
for any clarification or additional information you may need.
<p>##############
<p><a NAME="Contents"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Contents</font></tt></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#New">Welcome to New Members</a></font></tt></b>
<br><tt><a href="#Orientation">Orientation Course</a></tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Profile">Memberās Profile</a></font></tt></b>
<br><tt><a href="#Karen">Barrie Jo Price</a></tt>
<br><b><i><tt><a href="#About_Profile">About Member's Profile</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Conference">Conference (Re)Call</a></font></tt></b>
<br><b><i><tt><a href="#Reports">Reports:</a></tt></i></b>
<br><a href="#Reports1">Outreach & Technical Assistance Network (OTAN)
Exchange</a>
<br><a href="#Reports2">Millenium Project</a>
<br><b><i><tt><a href="#Coming">Coming Events:</a></tt></i></b>
<br><a href="#Event1">New Forum - alt.education.distance.teaching</a>
<br><a href="#Event2">Vital '99</a>
<br><a href="#Event3">ALTAC (Applying Learning Technologies Across the
Curriculum)</a>
<br><b><i><tt><a href="#Feature">About Conference (Re)Call</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Ideas">WEB Ideas and Issues</a></font></tt></b>
<br><a href="#Ideas1">Online Education Standards - WAOE's Role</a>
<br><b><i><tt><a href="#What">About Web Ideas and Issues</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#News1">News Briefs</a></font></tt></b>
<br><a href="#News1">The Development of Virtual Education: A Global Perspective</a>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Policies">WAOE Policies and Procedures</a></font></tt></b>
<br><tt><a href="#Release">Release of Personal Information</a></tt>
<br><tt>Waiver of Membership Fees/Dues - <a href="#Waiver1">Policy </a>and
<a href="#Waiver2">Procedure</a></tt>
<br><tt><a href="#Change">Notifying Change of Email Address</a></tt>
<br><tt><a href="#Resign">How to unsubscribe or resign</a></tt>
<br><i><tt><a href="#About_Policies">About Waoe Policies and Procedures</a></tt></i>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Forth">Forthcoming Meetings</a></font></tt></b>
<br><tt>No items for this issue.</tt>
<br><i><tt><a href="#this">About this Section</a></tt></i>
<br><i><tt><a href="#Time">Time Conversion Site</a></tt></i>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Your_Say">Your Say</a></font></tt></b>
<br><a href="#Say1">Mike Warner appreciates ...</a>
<br><b><i><tt><a href="#Say">About Your Say</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#New_Links">New Links</a></font></tt></b>
<br><a href="#Link1">Electronic Collaboration: A Practical Guide for Educators</a>
<br><a href="#Link2">Degree.Net Central</a>
<br><a href="#Link3">CIT Infobits</a>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Feedback">Feedback</a></font></tt></b>
<br>No items for this issue
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#About">About WEB</a></font></tt></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#WAOE">About WAOE</a></font></tt></b>
<br><tt><a href="#Aims">WAOE's Objectives</a></tt>
<br><tt><a href="#Meaning">The Meaning and Exercise of Membership in WAOE</a></tt>
<br><tt><a href="#System">WAOE's Communications and Discussion System</a></tt>
<br><tt><a href="#WAOE_Committees">WAOE Committees and OCREWs</a></tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="#Links">WAOE Links</a></font></tt></b>
<p><tt>############</tt>
<p><a NAME="New"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Welcome to New Members</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>On behalf of all the existing members, the Board of Directors and
the members of the Coordinating Ring (WAOE's management executive) extend
a very warm welcome to members who have registered to join the Association
in the past few weeks. We look forward to your becoming active participants
in WAOE discussions and other activities.</tt>
<p><tt>As with any unfamiliar organisation, there must be a lot of questions
in the minds of recent joiners. The first place new members should
go to for answers, of course is the WAOE </tt><a href="#Orientation">Orientation
Course.</a><tt> As well, mostly through links to the Orientation
Course, this section of WEB will try to anticipate and answer one or two
of the questions new members might be pondering by providing some <a href="#Meaning">fundamental
information</a> in each issue.</tt>
<p><tt>New members - and existing members - might also explore the <a href="#Policies">WAOE
Policies and Procedures</a><b><font size=+1> </font></b>section of WEB
and the <a href="#WAOE">About WAOE</a> section.</tt>
<p><tt>If you have any question at all about the Association, send it to
the
<a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web Editor</a> so we can respond
to it in an appropriate section of WEB.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Orientation"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WAOE Orientation Course</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>Thanks to generous support from long-standing member John Spiers
and his<font color="#FF172A"> <a href="http://noncredited.net/wileyccc/">LearnOnline
</a></font>organisation,
and to the hard conceptualising and drafting work of Treasurer, Jenna Seehafer,
WAOE has now established an Orientation Course which will provide essential
information on a continual basis about the organisation and how it operates.
Your membership subscription automatically entitles you to access this
Course. In fact, as explained in the advice re Membership Renewal,
online enrolment in the Course is the means by which membership of WAOE
may be renewed for the 1999/2000 year, or new registrations may be effected.</tt>
<p><tt>One of the important benefits of this development is that it will
free WEB to concentrate more of its content on helping the communication
and community-bulding among members, and on raising major issues of concern
to online educators and to the objectives and running of WAOE itself.</tt>
<p><tt>Please note that the Web pages for the Orientation Course are still
under construction. Jenna and other WAOE Officers will add sections
and items - including several parts of WEB as it now looks - as time permits
and opportunity presents. You can go to the pages in progress either
through <font color="#FF172A"><a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/orient.htm">Orientation
Course</a></font>, or through the View Course link on the WAOE Orientation
Course <a href="http://noncredited.net/wileyccc/worasofonedo.html">enrolment
page</a>.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Profile"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Memberās Profile</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="Karen"></a><b><font size=+2>Barrie Jo Price</font></b>
<p>We asked Barrie to tell us more about himself and his work, and his
particular interest in being part of WAOE, after coming across the richness
of resources for online education to be found at the emTech Consulting
site which he and some colleagues look after. So, in his own words
... <i><a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web Editor</a></i>
<blockquote>I am Barrie Jo Price (<a href="mailto:bjprice@emTech.net">bjprice@emTech.net</a><a href="mailto:bjprice@emTech.net)">)</a>,
a professor of Instructional Technology at <a href="http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/it">The
University of Alabama</a> and a partner in <a href="http://www.emTech.net">emTech
Consulting</a>. I do consulting in staff development, working this year
in Chile, Peru, Spain, Italy, Russia, Poland, Morocco, Germany, and Mexico,
not to mention here in the U.S.A. as well. I also teach an online course
for The University of Maryland in their online masters degree programs.
<p>I have been involved in the application of technology to teaching and
learning since 1978. That year, one of my partners, Dr. George E.
Marsh II, and I were in San Jose, California doing joint research with
faculty at San Jose State University. In the course of our stay,
we discovered that our colleagues were using an Apple Computer to run their
data while we waited at the Computer Center for our "run"! We returned
to our institution with our own Apple Computer! We immediately began
trying to figure out ways to use it for teaching and learning, not just
for analyzing data.
<p>At the time, 1978, microcomputers were unique. Ours was one of
the first ones available on our college campus, and we began to work with
it as a way to address specific educational problems. However, the
microcomputer was disdained by many, who were invested in mainframes at
the time, and the micro seemed like a silly toy. In our field of
teacher education, there was no interest in the use of computers.
Of course, this would all change as time passed but in the beginning we
thought we could use the micro in ways to benefit children and teachers.
<p>In 1979 we were funded by The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation to examine
ways in which we could use the microcomputer to aid K-12 schools. Subsequently,
we were funded for four years to develop interactive multimedia courseware
in calculus, physics, trigonometry, and chemistry, to be used in rural
schools where there were no teachers for these classes. We used the
Apple, a CAVRI card, and SONY BETA for the video.... so you know we started
a LONG time ago!
<p>Our first approach was to develop software and video tape to teach science
and mathematics to students in rural areas in a form that today would rely
on videodisc or the Internet and would be called asynchronous learning.
We created lessons with 48K Apple computers, Betamax video players, and
controlled the system with a card installed in the computer, which enabled
the computer to control the video player. Students could see and hear video
presentations which were connected to specific problems and activities
generated in the software. Remember, this was 20 years ago and long
before the development of videodisc or general access to the Internet.
<p>The programs were used in several rural schools with students who were
so isolated that qualified teachers were unavailable. Despite the
primitive nature of the software, the programs were quite successful.
The students succeeded in learning the content of courses such as trigonometry
or physics that were otherwise unavailable to them. From that time
forward, we have worked on ways to use technology for teaching and learning,
moving obviously into what we now call distance education.
<p>With George and another colleague, Anna C. McFadden, I formed <a href="http://www.emTech.net">emTech
Consulting</a> in 1980, when we began to work with technology with an interest
in educational applications. Actually, emTech, which stands for emerging
technology, was the result of complications in blending our professional
interest as professors with technology in a university setting. A number
of problems were encountered in the culture of the university and the school
community. We were criticized for attempting to replace teachers
and most of our colleagues did not accept the notion of using technology
in this way. It is curious that these problems still exist in many
schools and universities today, even with the significant advances that
have been made in the uses of technology. We used to say, "A good
idea ahead of its time is a bad idea." Using stand-alone technology
for high school instruction 20 years ago was a good idea way ahead of its
time, and we paid a personal and professional price for our endeavors.
<p>Because of all of the struggles over the years, it was a real pleasure
to join WAOE. For the first time, I felt I was going to be able to connect
to others who had pioneered and were continuing to pioneer ( you can tell
the pioneers by the arrows in their backs!). It was even more appealing
because of the international nature of the group. There has been so much
accomplished outside of the USA in the area of distance learning, so it
makes sense for all of us to join forces through this organization.
Why reinvent the wheel?!!?
<p>I expect to be in contact through WAOE with many who are also
dealing with the unknown in terms of "the next technology" and its implications
within traditional organizations. This group is an ideal forum for
us to share our concerns, our knowledge, our unanswered questions, and
our visions. To do so with many other groups, especially within traditional,
brick-and-mortar institutions, is a waste of time; you spend all of your
time getting them on the same page you are on, so there's no time to truly
discuss. That need for professional, in-depth discussion is what
drew me to this group.
<p>My current research interests and activities include streaming audio
and video. We just bought REAL AUDIO/READ VIDEO and have it on our
own Sun server so we will be including streaming video in our fall courses.
We are also participating in a conference in Morocco in November using
streaming video to extend the impact of the conference to those who cannot
attend.
<p>I am looking forward to working within the group as we all struggle
not just to meet the present challenges but to also RECOGNIZE THE
NEW CHALLENGES COMING AND ANTICIPATE THEM!</blockquote>
For those readers especially interested in online higher education, here
are the addresses for some of the online courses Barrie offers for The
University of Alabama for my university:
<blockquote>Computer Education: <a href="http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/bct400">http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/bct400</a>
<br>Integration of Technology in Education and Training: <a href="http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/ail600">http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/ail600</a>
<br>Technology in the Social Context: <a href="http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/ael697">http://www.bamaed.ua.edu/ael697</a></blockquote>
<tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt> <br>
<tt>##############</tt>
<p><a NAME="About_Profile"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+1>About Member's Profile</font></tt></i></b>
<p><tt>In each issue of WEB a different member introduces him- or herself
and talks about experiences and interests in online education and training.
Drawing on the information and URLs provided on their registration forms,
the WEB Editor is targetting individual members who are doing especially
innovative and exciting things in online education with requests to provide
a brief profile.</tt>
<p><b><tt><u>But why wait to be asked?</u> All WEB readers are urged to
use the Memberās Profile to help flesh out the person behind the impersonal
email address youāre known by in WAOE. We are a member's organisation -
reMEMBER!! Just a short piece will do. As well as giving us some background
information, weād like you to tell colleagues why you joined WAOE, what
you hope to gain from your involvement, and what you would like to contribute.</tt></b>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt> <br>
<tt>##############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Conference"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Conference (Re)Call</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="Reports"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+2>Reports</font></tt></i></b>
<p><a NAME="Reports1"></a><b><font size=+2>Outreach & Technical Assistance
Network (OTAN) Exchange</font></b>
<p>(From the <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web Editor</a>)
<p>The OTAN Exchange is a forum for posting messages, asking questions,
and making general announcements relevant to the field of adult education.
It is not a place to make Commercial announcements about products are not
welcome, but participants often ask each other for practical suggestions
about available software, videos, textbooks, etc.
<p>OTAN Exchange is part of the OTAN Round Table, which also offers email
discussion groups and live chats to registered users. Registration
is free, and users set and confirm their own passwords for subsequent speedy
login. Once inside the Members Area, you'll find that a lot of the
information is geared to the California Department of Education (CDE),
particularly its Adult Education Office, and to various initatives in which
the CDE or the AEO is involved. While this somewhat limits the usefulness
of the site to non-Californians, judicious exploring uncovers some useful
advice and discussion broadly relevant and interesting to any educator
working with adults and especially to online educators.
<p>You should look for yourselves, of course, to make your own verification
of the value of OTAN. My guess is that, apart from joining the Exchange,
many WAOE members will want to get into the other interactive forums in
For Teachers/Teacher Discussions area. This offers opportunities
for networking and information-pooling and resource-sharing under the headings,
Classroom Activites, Lesson Plans, and Adult Ed & Technology Vendors.
<p>There are also links to Special Topic Workgroups operated by a variety
of agencies for their members or specialized topics. Some of
these areas are public and some are private. Public workgroups include
Adults with Disabilities (aimed at teachers and coordinators), the Distance
Learning Project (for sharing ideas about distance learning), and a number
of mall School Initiatives of the CDE. Private workgroups include
Adult Education Leadership (a staff development program for new administrators
in adult schools), the Literacy Network of Greater Los Angeles, and Greater
Learning Acquired by Distance Learning Innovation. Just how the two
categories differ from each other is not made clear. Access to workgopups
in either category is a matter of sending an email message to the Workgroup
Manager, whose address is given alongside the workgroup title and brief
description. On the face of it, the private groups seem to be narrowly
confined to specific areas of California, or particular groups recognised
by and working with the CDE.
<p> Online resources pitched at "instruction" (OTAN's term) include
English as a Second Language, Interactive Online Instruction, Literacy
(National and International), and Professional Education. Internet
in the classroom features a different curriculum area and three or four
relevant sites each month, providing downloadable resources for teaching.
<p>It was rather difficult threading one's way through the many different
parts of this site, calling for much patient re-sizing and refreshing and
enlarging of frames to see various items clearly and completely.
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Reports2"></a><b><font size=+2>The Millenium Project</font></b>
<p><i>WEB thanks Arun Tripathi's<a href="http://www.onelist.com/community/distancelearning">distancelearning</a>discussion
group for bringing this interactivesite to our attention.</i>
<p>The declared purpose of the Millennium Project is "to engage the community
at large, educators and policy makers, researchers and learners, in the
U.S. and throughout the world, in an ongoing, mediated discussion of the
evolving role of technology in education. In doing so, we hope to create
an atmosphere in which all voices, representing the widest range of experience
and perspective, can be heard. The ultimate success will depend on you,
the participants, who have the power to create a rich resource to help
inform the policies and practices of education in the next millennium."
<p>The core of the site - and source of probably its greatest relevance
and interest to WAOE members - is the <a href="http://millennium.aed.org/discussion1.shtml">discussion
forums.</a> This page is more tightly organised than is common for
discussion groups on the Web. Currently there are five topics:
<blockquote>Technology and Teacher Professional Development
<br>Technology Efficacy
<br>Distance Learning in Higher Education
<br>Technology and Educational Reform
<br>Technology as a Cognitive Tool</blockquote>
and each topic is organised into five parts:
<blockquote>About (an brief overview of the topic and the presentation)
<br>Discuss! (reverse threaded listserve)
<br>Expert Perspective (a short, sharp paper by an acknowledged authority
on the topic)
<br>Expert Biography (bio notes and relevant links)
<br>Related Resources (link(s) to one or more supplementary papers or discussions)</blockquote>
Participation levels in some sections of the site are disappointingly low,
in spite of the inventiveness they show. The Q and A Exchange Board,
intended to provide quick answers to urgent questions, has no entry later
than November 1998. Similarly the Weekly Quick Poll, which invites
a vote on a few responses to a question drawn from a current development
in public policy or some other aspect of online education or distance learning,
has links to material about the topic, and provides a form for emailing
comments. And neither the Online nor the Offline Resources for, say,
the Distance Learning topic on the Library page are quite as recent as
they might be, although the listings include some major contributors to
the field as well as some intereseting but more off-beat items.
<p>The site also displays a lighter touch - which may or may not appeal,
of course - with competitions for the best Webliography or calls for stories
from the field. All in all a good place to spend some of your Web
time, and deserving of greater support than it seems to be getting in certain
respects.
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Coming"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+2>Coming Events</font></tt></i></b>
<p><a NAME="Event1"></a><b><font size=+2>alt.education.distance.teaching</font></b>
<p>Very recently, Kim Young anounced to the IFETS discussion group the
formation of a new newsgroup forum. Here's the main text of that
notice:
<blockquote>Hi, folks:</blockquote>
<blockquote>You are cordially invited to join <alt.education.distance.teaching>
- a new newsgroup forum for distance education students and professionals.
Please ask your newsadmin/ISP to activate this newsgroup for you - if it
does not show on your NG list.
<p>You may read/post to <alt.education.distance.teaching> via deja <<a href="http://www.deja.com/home_ps.shtml">http://www.deja.com/home_ps.shtml</a>>.
<p><alt.distance.education.teaching> charter:
<br>This group's main function is to deal with all issues affecting persons
and organs involved in providing distance education (DE) - facilitators,
admins, service/product providers, etc. The discussion topics include online
methodology, faculty pays, visiting/exchange faculty relationship, job
openings, legal and political issues affecting DE, DE class-room problems
and solutions, unusual DE situations and so on. Constructive critiques
of and suggestions for DE teaching from the DE students - past, present
and future - are welcome.
<p>This group is unmoderated and open to all DE faculty, admins, students,
service/product providers and other parties interested in promoting DE
providers' welfare and professionalism.
<p>Young Kim, Ph.D.
<br>U of Phoenix Faculty Online
<br><a href="http://www.kimsoft.com/dista.htm">http://www.kimsoft.com/dista.htm</a></blockquote>
<tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<p><a NAME="Event2"></a><b><font size=+2>VITAL '99</font></b>
<p>The Vitual Interactive Training and Learning conference is a global
virtual event, designed to facilitate collaboration among interactive training
and learning practitioners and educators from around the world. It
will run from September 27 to October 15 1999, with a focus on issues in
the design, development and effective use of Interactive Training and Learning
programs delivered online. The event will feature three interactive
keynote addresses led by Wayne Hodgins, Richard Karash, and Paula Briki
respectivley, and six learning session workshops led by some of today's
leading thinkers in the field - Tim Kilby, Kord Kutchins, Maggie Martinez,
Robin Mason, Patti Shank and Harvi Singh - plus a large contingent of authors
who will be discussing the books they have written. plus a virtual exhibition
hall where participants can meet the exhibitors, learn about products and
services, experiment with the latest web based training tools, and participate
in real time demonstrations. There's also a virtual cafe, an online
bookstore, and a reference center.
<p>Detailed information and online registration are available now at <a href="http://www.trainingplace.com/vital99/">http://www.trainingplace.com/vital99/</a>
. Or you can email <a href="mailto:russwill@trainingplace.com">Russ
Williams</a>.
<p>This event is included in Conference (Re)Call because it meets the prime
criterion that it will be conducted entirely online and so maximise its
openness to online and distance learning educators around the world.
The VITAL '99 site makes a virtue of this:
<blockquote>Attending VITAL '99 requires no travel! Registration for VITAL
'99 provides you with the opportunity to interact with a diverse worldwide
audience of your peers and some of the leading thought leaders and practitioners
in the industry. Plus, the event archive will be available online
for 6 weeks after the event ends, so you may review the event information
at your own pace.</blockquote>
Why, then, flying in the face of this ringing commitment to accessibility.
do the organisers charge $US 299 for registration prior to September 7,
and $399 after that. Compare those hot prices with $350 to register
by September 7 ($375 thereafter) for the <a href="http://www.aln.org/alnconf99/">Fifth
International Asynchronous Learning Networks Conference</a> which will
be held October 8 - 10 at the elegant Inn and Conference Center of the
University of Maryland University College, where the registration fee covers
all sessions and materials; Friday evening reception, dinner, and entertainment;
Saturday and Sunday breakfast, luncheon, and coffee breaks; parking; and
shuttle service between the meeting and accomodation venues.
<p>It seems there may be more than just educational concerns that WAOE
needs to address in developing standards for online education!
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<p><a NAME="Event3"></a><b><font size=+2>ALTAC (Applying Learning Technologies
Across the Curriculum)</font></b>
<p>At £25 (about $US40) for a year's subscription, <a href="http://www.altac.org.uk">ALTAC</a>
might also seem more than a little highly priced to WAOE members.
This organisation, supported by the <a href="http://www.scet.com">Scottish
Council for Educational Technology</a> and the <a href="http://www.sfeu.ac.uk">Scottish
Further Education Unit</a>, ALTAC organises seminars, workshops and
<br>conferences for practitioners in education, with a particular focus
on the successful intgegration of information and communication technologies
into the curriculum. There is a newsletter, and a Members Room for
networking and discussion. This year ALTAC will conduct a one-day
conference, Delivering Lifelong Learning with Information and Communications
Technology, at the Lauder Business Centre in Dunfermline, Scotland, on
October 7. Leading experts from Britain and abroad will cover themes
such as: heightening the educational experience through the use of the
new learning technologies; Scottish University for Industry and its programme;
opening up learning for the community. There will in addition be a range
of workshops featuring ICT in the curriculum, support services from existing
agencies, local authority centres and case studies including an international
co-operative project and a SME-Educational partnership. An exhibition will
also be part of the day and feature products from a range of firms and
organisations with an interest in the field of computer-based training.
<p>Registration for this event, including lunch, will cost £70 ($US112)
for members, and £80 ($US128) for non-members who register before
7 September and £85 ($US137) after that.
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<h2>
<a NAME="Feature"></a><i><tt><font size=+1>About Conference (Re)Call</font></tt></i></h2>
<tt>The Conference (Re)Call column aims mainly to provide feedback from
members on the new knowledge or other value they gained from attending
a recent conference or other event to do with one aspect or another of
online education. It also includes a Coming Events section, advertising
relevant conferences, seminars, workshops or other forums which members
will be able to attend at little or no cost. This section will concentrate
mainly on online events, because that is WAOEās special interest, and because
the idea is to promote opportunities which are more or less equally available
to WAOE members no matter what part of the world they live in.</tt>
<p><tt>The success of Conference (Re)Call therefore depends very heavily
on input from members. WAOE officers are already out there reporting on
events theyāve attended and spotting others to come. Weād like to see all
other members doing likewise. You will see from the items in this issue
that reports donāt need to be lengthy or detailed, let alone polished.
We think the segment will work best on the simple premise that whatever
any one member found worthwhile in attending an online education event,
or attractive about an event in the offing is likely to benefit and interest
other members. So, letās keep those reports and notices coming in to the
<a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">WEB
Editor</a>.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt><font size=-1>################</font></tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Ideas"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WEB Ideas and Issues</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="Ideas1"></a><b><font size=+2>Online Education Standards - WAOE's
Role</font></b>
<p>A lively discussion has opened up on WAOE-Views about the need for standards
governing online education and the role that WAOE should play in their
development and implementation. For the benefit of those many members
who have STILL not subscribed to our unmoderated discussion listserve,
a core contribution to the discussion is reproduced below. It comes
form Treasurer Jenna Seehafer, but in her capacity as Convenor of the <tt>Educational
Standards Online Course and Resource Evaluation Workgroup (OCREW): <a href="http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm">http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm</a></tt>.
<br>
<blockquote>One "product" that WAOE needs, and needs soon to meet its own
goals, is a statement of online educational standards for measuring the
quality and effectiveness of online education. These standards, at
first, would be general enough and universal enough (ideally) to apply
to any level of education and any subject. Educators could then define
additional online standards appropriate to their intended students' ages
and their particular field of instruction. My suggestions about where
to begin this process are neither complete, nor are they stated as they
would be in the final proposed standards. At this point, I am interested
in how much we agree on these assumptions and categories of measurement
as a group.
<p><b><font size=+1>Do members of WAOE have any objections to or comments
about the following beginning assumptions?</font></b>
<blockquote>
<li>
"WAOE's Educational Standards" should reflect the experiences, expertise,
and wisdom of educators who are concerned about the quality of education
and the usefulness of online and computer-mediated methods.</li>
<br>
<li>
Online education differs inherently from traditional f-2-f courses of study.</li>
<br>
<li>
Standards for classroom teaching may not apply or even be comparable with
online teaching and learning.</li>
<br>
<li>
The quality of online education should be measured against online educational
standards rather than traditional educational standards.</li>
</blockquote>
<b><font size=+1>Do members have objections to or comments about using
any of the following categories for measuring the effectiveness and quality
of online education?</font></b>
<blockquote>
<li>
the degree to which the course of study is online</li>
<br>
<li>
how assessable the online course of study is to the world community of
learners</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the learning experience is learner-centered rather
than teacher-centered</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the learning experience is interactive</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the learning experience is self-correcting</li>
<br>
<li>
the clarity of educational goals for each unit or course</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which students achieve those goals</li>
<br>
<li>
the appropriateness of assessment tools</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the the online course of study conforms to the technology
available to the intended students</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the online course of study addresses the needs of students
with various preferred learning styles</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the online course of study accommodates the needs of
students with disabilities</li>
<br>
<li>
the level of frustration students experience in using the online course
of study</li>
<br>
<li>
the level of individual support for students--both educational and technical</li>
<br>
<li>
how often and how personally instructors respond to student questions and
to assignments computers cannot correct (yet)</li>
<br>
<li>
the degree to which the online educational materials comply with WWW Consortium
standards for web materials</li>
</blockquote>
I hope to hear discussion and constructive arguments about any or all of
these points or perhaps suggestions for additional assumptions or
<br>measures (but please no flames).</blockquote>
If you have not yet subscribed to WAOE-Views, <tt>go to <a href="mailto:majordomo@waoe.org">majordomo@waoe.org</a>
and, without using a subject heading, send the text <subscribe waoe-views>.</tt>
<p>Once you've subscribed, or if you are already subscribed to WAOE-Views,
you can catch up with the discussion via the eGroups <a href="http://www.egroups.com/list/waoe-views/">archive</a>,
and join the discussion by sending your message to <tt><a href="mailto:waoe-views@waoe.org">waoe-views@waoe.org</a></tt>.
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="What"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+1>About WEB Ideas and Issues</font></tt></i></b>
<p><tt>The issues and other matters raised in this section of WEB are intended
to derive from membersā concerns and suggestions.</tt>
<p><tt>Input to WAOE-Views during the recent Annual General Meeting showed
us that members are looking for opportunities to engage with important
issues and ideas affecting the Web-based delivery of teaching and learning,
but also that we need to do more to spell out to our members details of
the organisational procedures through which they will get to know more
frequently and reliably what goals the Association is pursuing, what action
is being taken to realise these goals, and - most importantly - how members
may make the most effective contributions to WAOE.</tt>
<p><tt>As a result, a new column, <a href="#Policies">WAOE Policies and
Procedures</a>, has been split off from WEB Ideas and Issues. This
will free the WEB Ideas and Issues column to be taken up more and more
by topics of interest arising from the thinking of the members at large
about their own professional practice in online education, and the role
that WAOE as a whole and the sub-groups in which members are most actively
engaged might play in lifting the standards and quality of Web-based teaching
and learning.</tt>
<p><tt>If you have a concern to express, an idea to suggest, a question
to raise, a point to make about online education in general and about WAOE's
work in relation to online education in particular, write a short item
for the WEB Ideas and Issues column and send it to the
<a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">WEB
Editor</a>. On a smaller, less formal scale, you might prefer
to air your views first of all in the <a href="#Say">Your Say</a> section
of WEB. Depending on the nature and volume of early responses to
the Your Say item, matters raised may spark an article in the Web Ideas
and Issues section of WEB, a free-ranging discussion on WAOE-Views, or
a structured debate or online chat via the WAOE WebBoard.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Briefs"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>News Briefs</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="News1"></a><b><font size=+2>The Development of Virtual Education:
A Global Perspective</font></b>
<p>This is a study of current trends in the virtual delivery of education
published by The Commonwealth of Learning (COL), 1999 (ISBN: 1-895369-74-60.
<blockquote>The term "virtual education" is something that is heard with
increasing frequency now as the use of information and communication technologies
(ICTs) becomes ever more present in the conduct of open and distance education.
To examine the degree to which the "virtual institution" has really arrived,
The Commonwealth of Learning, with funding from the British Department
for International Development, commissioned an international group of experts
to look at this phenomenon and provide a snapshot report.
<p>While it is clear that the application of ICTs to the practice of open
and distance learning is growing rapidly, the study team determined that
the concept of truly virtual education is still more rhetorical than real.
<p>The report provides a detailed look at the differences in this development
around the world through a series of regionally-based papers and concludes
with a number of suggestions for policy makers and education leaders regarding
the development of models for virtual learning.</blockquote>
The entire report is available on-line on <a href="http://www.col.org/virtualed">COL's
web site</a> in Acrobat (.PDF) format, or each chapter can be downloaded
individually. COL's planned next steps in this ongoing project include
creating a facility for ongoing discussion and updating of subject matter
through COL's web site.
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt><font size=-1>################</font></tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Policies"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WAOE Policies and Procedures</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="Release"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Release of Personal Information</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>You might recall that the top of the registration form in the Membership
pages of the <a href="http://www.waoe.org">WAOE Website</a> contains the
statement, "This information will be stored in the WAOE database, and will
not be made publically available without your prior consent."
This gives a clear indication of our commitment to respect members' privacy
and to maintain strictly the confidentiality of personal details provided
through the registration process. Unfortunately, however, it would
be a nearly impossible task to apply the statement literally at the
individual level of membership.</tt>
<p><tt>No addresses or other personal information about members will be
released to persons or organisations outside WAOE. However, to make
the various parts of WAOE functional, it is essential that Officers are
able to communicate freely with members, and members are able to contact
each other. This necessitates the distribution of personal information
within the organisation, but normally only names and email addresses will
be required. It would obviously be a wasteful and unmanageable burden
for the members of WAOE's <a href="#Ring">Coordinating Ring</a> to have
to seek permission on an individual basis for the release of some 900 members'
names and email addresses. Therefore, we need to obtain permission
in a more efficient way for lists containing your first and last names
and your email address to be distributed to members of the Ring, in the
first instance, and thereafter to the Committees or OCREWs in which you
have expressed an interest; to project, discussion and other groups that
are started from time to time; and to members of WAOE at large. All
other information in the membership database will be kept confidential,
accessible only by the <a href="#Ring">Coordinating Ring</a>, as WAOE's
executive management body.</tt>
<p><tt>We are (still) in the process of finalising a new registration form
which will automatically authorise the release of names and email addresses
according to the policy described above. Until that form comes into
use as part of our totally re-organised registration, database management
and fee-payment procedures for the new 1999/2000 financial year and beyond,
we need to take a simple collective approach to securing the authorised
release of limited personal information within the Association.</tt>
<p><tt>This article constitutes a notice to all members of WAOE requesting
the release of personal information within the Association, normally limited
to members' names and email addresses. If, after reading the notice,
you have an objection to these details being made known or distributed
to other officers and members of WAOE than the Directors and the Coordinating
Ring, please advise the <a href="#David">Membership Officer</a> immediately.
If you do so object, the Membership Officer will need to discuss
with you some other appropriate way or ways in which you will be able to
participate fully in the main activities of WAOE. Any suggestion
you can make when sending your message of objection would be very welcome.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Waiver1"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Waiver of Membership Fees/Dues
- Policy</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>WAOE has adopted the following policy on waiver of/exemption from
payment of membership fees/dues for the 1999/2000 period. This statement
is summarised from the official Minutes of the Planning and Finance Committee
for April 1999. If you wish to read the original resolution as it
was subsequently adopted by the Board of Directors, go to<font color="#FF172A"><a href="http://www2.ec.erau.edu:8080/read?558,24">http://www2.ec.erau.edu:8080/read?558,24</a></font>(If
you cannot get to this page, go to the<font color="#FF172A"><a href="http://www2.ec.erau.edu:8080/~waoe">WAOE
WebBoard</a> </font>and login by entering the first part of your email
address (before @), and enter the password "waoe," without the quotes.
If you stil have difficulty, contact the WebBoard Manager,<font color="#FF172A"><a href="mailto:mwarner@embryriddle.k12.az.us">Mike
Warner</a></font>.)</tt>
<blockquote><tt>All members of WAOE are expected to pay the $US10 membership
fee or dues from July 1 1999, unless they have applied for and received
waiver. There are no provisions for waiver of fees or dues to be
applied automatically by or on behalf of the WAOE Board of Directors; all
waivers must be applied for by individual members.</tt>
<p><tt>Members may initiate requests to the Membership Officer for waiver
of fees on one or more of the following grounds:</tt>
<blockquote>
<li>
<tt>They are providing service to the Association (eg convening a Committee
or OCREW or managing a project);</tt></li>
<li>
<tt>The costs of funds transfer or currency exchange would be excessive
in relation to the fee amount of $US10 *;</tt></li>
<li>
<tt>They are in a situation of severe financial hardship.</tt></li>
</blockquote>
<tt>* As an alternative to seeking waiver of fees on the basis of excessive
funds transfer or currency exchange costs, members may apply to have this
expenditure applied to any future costs they might incur for participation
in WAOE activities over the next two years (eg the online professional
development course being developed by Nick Bowskill).</tt>
<p><tt>Normally, applications will be considered by the Membership Officer
in terms of the policy as summarised here, and in consultation, if necessary,
with the Treasurer or with the full Board of Directors.</tt>
<p><tt>WAOE will accept at face value any member's statement of hardship
or excessive transfer/conversion fees, and we will make a standardized
reply emphasizing that the service-in-lieu will be the sole recourse for
any future application for waiver of fees. All service-in-lieu requests
will be confirmed by the applicable Committee Chair or OCREW Convener or
WAOE Coordinating Ring member.</tt>
<p><tt>In the event that a member's initial application for waiver of fees
or dues is not accepted, the member will have the right to seek a review
of his/her application by the full Board of Directors. Such members
will be advised of this right and the process to be followed as the occasion
arises.</tt></blockquote>
******************
<p><a NAME="Waiver2"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Waiver of Membership Fees/Dues
- Procedure</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>To apply for waiver of fees/dues, send an email message to the<font color="#FF172A"><a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Membership
Officer</a></font>.</tt>
<p><tt>For convenience, applicants may copy/cut and paste the following
text into their email message:</tt>
<blockquote><tt>I wish to apply for waiver of the WAOE membership fee/dues
for the 1999/2000 period.</tt>
<p><tt>My application is based on the following ground(s):</tt>
<blockquote>
<li>
<tt>I am providing service to the Association;</tt></li>
<li>
<tt>The costs of funds transfer or currency exchange would be excessive;</tt></li>
<li>
<tt>I am in a situation of severe financial hardship.</tt></li>
</blockquote>
<tt><b><u>Please strike through whichever ground(s) are NOT applicable</u></b>.</tt>
<p><tt>In support of my application I wish to present the following information:</tt>
<p><tt><u><b>Please insert an appropriate statement</b>, keeping it as
brief as possible</u>.</tt></blockquote>
<tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Change"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Notifying Change of Email
Address</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>It can sometimes be a real headache keeping track of members who
change their email addresses, or who occasionally use a different email
address for corresponding with us than the one through which they registered
and which therefore is listed on the official database. Such changes
or differences of address account for at least some of the "permanent fatal
errors" that get reported with each large-scale mailing that goes out to
members. No doubt time wasted in contact the members concerned double-checking
WAOE's membership records and various mailing lists is greater now - while
such details are captured and maintained on an essentially manual basis
- than they will be once our systems become fully automated. However,
it seem very probable that effective communication within WAOE will <u>always</u>
be reliant to a significant extent on the willingness of members themselves
to keep us informed of their whereabouts.</tt>
<p><tt>As soon as we are able to attend to this matter among the various
priorities for action to improve the database and query system, an electronic
form for notifying changes of email address will be provided on the WAOE
Website and in each issue of WEB. In the meantime, we request members
who change their contact details to take the initiative and trouble to
notify us as soon as possible.</tt>
<p><tt><b><u>Procedure</u></b>: Send an untitled email message to the <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Membership
Officer</a> containing the text (without the quotes): "I wish to advise
that I have changed by email address. My new email address is <
insert details >."</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Resign"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>How to Unsubscribe from Listserves
or Resign from WAOE</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>For a quick check-list of the procedures for getting off WAOE's
listserves or the mailing list for WEB, or for resigning from the Association
altogether, go to the <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/orient3.htm">WAOE's
Communications page</a> of the WAOE Orientation Course. Scroll down
to the heading "How to Unsubscribe from Listserves or Resign from WAOE,"
or use the link in the frame on the left hand side of the page.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="About_Policies"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+1>About WAOE Policies
and Procedures</font></tt></i></b>
<p><tt>In this still early formative period for WAOE, it is probably inevitable
that items for information and discussion put out by WAOE's elected and
appointed Officers will predominate in our information venues and discussion
forums, because we are all concerned to help members understand and reflect
on what the Association is about and to encourage them to be active in
its work. In past issues of the bulletin, there has been a tendency
- in the absence of another column better suited to that purpose - for
managerial matters to take up a larger share of the space under the WEB
Ideas and Issues heading than they should. This has tended to squeeze
out other topics of broader interest to online educators which might have
appeared there, and perhaps even discouraged members from contributing
to discussion of those topics, or raising topics of their own.</tt>
<p><tt>As WAOE grows, we will dedicate space in the WAOE Policies and Procedures
column to updating information about WAOE as an organisation, and encouraging
the active involvement of members in our online meetings, Committees and
OCREWs, discussion forums, projects, special events etc and to take all
other opportunities that present themselves for making a contribution to
WAOE.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Forth"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Forthcoming Meetings</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>No items for this issue.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="this"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+1>About this Section</font></tt></i></b>
<p><tt>Each issue, this section of WEB will include information about meetings
of WAOE committees, OCREWs and other groups that are coming up within the
ensuing fortnight. All members of WAOE - both associate and voting members
- are welcome to attend these meetings and contribute to discussion. Of
course, only the duly elected or otherwise designated members of WAOE's
organisational committees may take part in any formal voting on matters
for decision.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Time"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+1>Time conversion site</font></tt></i></b>
<p><tt>To help arrange synchronous meetings, WAOE uses
<a href="http://155.43.48.225:2020/timew.html">World
Time Zone in JavaScript</a>.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Your_Say"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Your Say</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="Say1"></a><b><font size=+2>Mike Warner appreciates ...</font></b>
<blockquote><tt>I would like to publicly acknowledge the tremendous work
David Wyatt, WEB Editor and WAOE Membership Chairperson, and Jenna Seehafer,
WAOE Treasurer, have expended over the last few months as WAOE has progressed
with the Membership Reregistration Process. In an organization that thrives
on the goodwill and spirit of volunteerism of its members, there can be
no greater gift than the unsung efforts of members such as these.
We are truly fortunate to have their service.</tt></blockquote>
<tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Say"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+2>About Your Say</font></tt></i></b>
<br><tt>The idea of this section of WEB is to offer a specific forum where
members can ask questions or raise concerns or make comments about any
aspect of the organisation and running of WAOE itself. So, if anything
is bothering you - or even if you'd like to pay us a compliment! - send
an email to the <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">WEB Editor</a>.
If the message is printable ;-)), it will appear in the next available
number. And, depending upon the responses generated, it may help
to start up a thread of discussion on the WAOE WebBoard.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="New_Links"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>NEW LINKS</font></tt></b>
<p><a NAME="Link1"></a><b><font size=+2>Electronic Collaboration: A Practical
Guide for Educators</font></b>
<p>This is a guide designed for teachers, school leaders, curriculum experts,
technical specialists, and anyone else interested in the emerging information
and telecommunications technologies. The guide is also intended to
show those outside the education field?business executives, museum curators,
<br>parents, and the community at large?the value of educational electronic
collaboration. This may make its pitch a little simple for some WAOE
members, but this is more than made up for by the commonsense and eminently
do-able suggestions offered about making effective use of the Internet
and and other technologies to enhance teaching. And by the many resources
identified, some of which will certainly be followed up in later issues
of WEB. Here is the overview of the guide in its authors' own words:
<blockquote>You can be involved in electronic collaboration in many ways,
from participating, to setting up a collaborative environment, to moderating
a discussion. This guide tells you about:
<br>Ways to collaborate electronically (Chapter 2)
<br>Designing and implementing a collaborative project (Chapter 3)
<br>Becoming an effective online moderator (Chapter 3)
<br>Choosing appropriate tools to support a collaboration (Chapter 4)
<p>Weāve also included a list of resources to help you explore the possibilities
of electronic collaboration on your own and to assist you in getting the
latest information about tools and collaborative projects (Chapter 5).
This guide provides information about many forms of electronic collaboration,
but focuses on discussion groups, as they are the most common online collaborative
activity.</blockquote>
The guide stems from the Northeast and Islands Regional Educational Laboratory
At Brown University (LAB). which is one in a network of ten regional laboratories,
each with its own specialised focus, funded by the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement of the US Department of Education. The purpose
of LAB is to promote school improvement through the collaboration of researchers
with schools and their communities.
<p>The guide can be read online at <a href="http://www.lab.brown.edu/public/ocsc/collaboration.guide/index.shtml">http://www.lab.brown.edu/public/ocsc/collaboration.guide/index.shtml</a>.
Alternatively, you can download a PDF version from this Web page, and there's
a copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 available if you need it.
<p><tt>**********************</tt>
<p><a NAME="Link2"></a><b><font size=+2>Degree.Net Central</font></b>
<p><a href="http://www.degree.net/">Degree.net</a> describes itself as
a "newly revamped website ... designed to be a one-stop resource for anyone
interested in education. While our primary focus is degrees at a
distance, we intend to offer complete information on every postsecondary
school in the world, traditional or nontraditional, accredited or not."
The site has a number of useful features, including:
<li>
Guides: an ongoing series of targeted guides which zeros in on topics of
particular interest: MBAs by distance learning, demystifying accreditation,
checking out a school, how to tell if an accreditation agency is on the
level, glossary of terms, a reading list ...</li>
<li>
Schools: Links to over 400 accredited schools that offer distance-learning
programs, as well as a list of unaccredited schools</li>
<li>
Links: a wealth of distance-learning-related links, allowing you to research
and browse everything from academic papers to study hints, corporate training
to informal discussions.</li>
<br>
<p>
<br>
<br>
<p><tt>**********************</tt>
<p><a NAME="Link3"></a><b><font size=+2>CIT Infobits</font></b>
<p>CIT Infobits is an electronic service of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill Academic and Technology Networks' Center for Instructional
Technology. Each month the CIT's Information Resources Consultant
monitors and selects from a number of information technology and instructional
technology sources that come to her attention and provides brief notes
for electronic dissemination to educators. WEB is indebted to Erin
Bale's monthly newsletter for the Note Learning Technologies Network for
the following enthusiastic description of the service:
<blockquote>My e-mailbox is jammed full of CIT INFOBITS mailings: not because
it is a high-volume list (indeed, it is a once-monthly, one-way mailing),
but because INFOBITS is so consistently useful that I cannot bear to throw
it out. ... This is a top-notch newsletter: unfailingly professional, precise,
and packed with information of timely interest. Typical items include
news of online utilities, summaries of studies and reports in distance
and online education, compilations of resources, and announcements of conferences
and new publications.</blockquote>
Here's just a sample of items from the last four months' issues, well representing
the range of topics covered:
<br>
<li>
CIT Infobits August 1999</li>
<blockquote>Report on Virtual Education around the World
<br>Full-Text Assessment and Evaluation Library Online
<br>New Government Information Resource
<br>CIT Information Resource Guides Updated</blockquote>
<li>
CIT Infobits July 1999</li>
<blockquote>New Online Journal on Computer-Enhanced Learning
<br>Learning Technology Newsletter
<br>Making Websites Accessible
<br>International WWW Conference Papers Online</blockquote>
<li>
CIT Infobits June 1999</li>
<blockquote>Study on Distance Learning Programs in Higher Education
<br>Designing Web Pages for Sight Impaired Users
<br>Currents in Electronic Literacy</blockquote>
<li>
CIT Infobits May 1999</li>
<blockquote>Students Rate Faculty by their Web Pages
<br>New Services from Eric Clearinghouse on Higher Education
<br>Wired for Books
<br>Technology and Culture Publications
<br>Technology in Adult and Vocational Education</blockquote>
To subscribe to CIT Infobits, send email to <a href="mailto:listserv@unc.edu">listserv@unc.edu</a>
with the following message: SUBSCRIBE INFOBITS [your firstname yourlastname]
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>##############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Feedback"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Feedback</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>No items in this issue.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="About"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>About WEB</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>The WAOE Electronic Bulletin (WEB) is the official newsletter of
the World Association for Online Education. WEB will raise issues
relevant to the conduct and development of the Association, convey important
information to WAOE members, encourage active participation in the affairs
of the Association, and provide a forum for members to make a contribution.</tt>
<p><tt>WEB will be posted every two weeks or so to a mirror Website - URL
<a href="http://www.waoe.org/web/index.htm">http://www.waoe.org/web/index.htm</a>
(although the address or the links to the site may cane from time to time).
At the time of publication each member will be sent an email message stating
the URL and listing the contents of the current issue. Those few
members who are unable to access WEB via the Website, or who prefer to
receive the bulletin via email, will be sent each issue both as an email
message and as an attached file in html format.</tt>
<p><tt>If you missed an issue and would like to look back, WEB is now <a href="http://waoe.org/webvol1/htm">archived</a>
on the WAOE Website.</tt>
<p><tt>Members are still expected to subscribe to WAOE-News (see <a href="#Links">WAOE
Links</a>), because that listserve will continue to operate as the medium
for official announcements, which you may expect to become more frequent
as WAOE develops. WEB will adopt a more comprehensive, detailed and
newsy approach to providing items of useful and interesting information
to members than is appropriate via WAOE-News. In particular, it will
act as a gateway to the various and growing number of sites and locations
within WAOE where exciting things are happening.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="WAOE"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>About WAOE</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>The World Association for Online Education (WAOE) is a nonprofit
public benefit corporation, incorporated in the State of California, USA.
WAOE is organised for charitable purposes and not for the private gain
of any person.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>##############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Aims"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WAOE's Objectives</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>See the <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/orient2.htm">WAOE's
Objectives and Associated Documents</a> page of the WAOE Orientation Course.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>##############</tt>
<p><a NAME="Meaning"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>The Meaning and Exercise
of Membership in WAOE</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>WAOE is incorporated in the State of California as a non-profit
and public benefit membersā organisation. The membership owns it.
We want all members to be active in the Association in all the ways and
to the greatest extent that they wish to or can manage to be involved.</tt>
<p><tt>And because we are an incorporated professional <u>organisation</u>
- as well as a globally spread association of professionals - there are
various policies, rules and procedures that we are obliged to follow in
order to maintain our official standing under Californian law. Observance
of these requirements is an all the more sensitive matter for us because
we are engaged in the delicate process of securing recognition as a tax-exempt
organisation for the purposes of receiving grants, sponsorships and donations.
Some of the most important expectations of and obligations on our members
are summarised below.</tt>
<p><tt>No doubt, many members will not be especially interested in the
details of the conduct of WAOE's affairs according to our legal obligations,
and certainly our hope is that this bulletin and other WAOE elements and
activies will always, ultimately, strike the balance of focus in favour
of matters concerning the best professional practice of online education
rather than somewhat dry questions of organisational policy and procedure.
However, WAOE <u>is</u> an organisation, a legal entity - and necessarily
so in order to be able to fulfil its objectives. In this still very
early period in our establishment and growth, we are inevitably pre-occupied
with such questions - which are not necessarily dry to every intellectual
taste, of course, nor lacking in their own intrinsic interest. Please
bear with us and look to where we are headed, and not just at the sometimes
painstaking and tedious little steps we have to take along the road!</tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1>Becoming a Member</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>If you're reading this article, you've already joined, of course.
This means you have filled out and submitted the registration form found
through the Membership link on the home page of the <a href="http://www.waoe.org">WAOE
Website</a>. And, from September 1999 onwards, it will also mean
that you have paid the annual subscription fee of $US10 (we are asking
for renewing members to pay the fee by September 1).</tt>
<p><tt>At this stage, there are only two categories of membership of WAOE:
associate members and voting members. For more information, have
a look at <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/bylaw.htm#a12">Article
12</a> of the <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/bylaw.htm">Bylaws</a>
for more information. Also, our <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/corpfaq.htm">Incorporation
FAQ</a> page maintained by Treasurer, <a href="#Jenna">Jenna Seehafer</a>,
sets the rights and responsibilities of members within the context of Californian
law. (Jenna is responsible, with help from Parliamentarian Mike Warner
on the organisation and conduct of meetings in particular, for liaison
with Californian authorities and for ensuring we observe all legal requirements
in our policies and procedures.)</tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1>Associate Membership</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>Registration and payment of the fee automatically makes you an
associate member of WAOE. This basically means you can do or read
or join anything and everything that WAOE has to offer, except stand for
office, nominate other eligible members for office, or vote in our constitutional
forums or occasional ballots on issues of policy. As an associate
member, you will receive an email notice when the WAOE Electronic Bulletin
(WEB) appears on its Web site every two to three weeks, along with a list
of the contents of the current issue. You'll have access to JOE,
our refereed Journal of Online Education, and you'll be able to join any
of the Committees or one or other or more of the Online Course and Resource
Evaluation Workgroups (OCREWs) that are currently active.</tt>
<p><tt>In fact, as we become more established in our ways of operating
we'll push our constitutional expectation that every associate member should
belong to at least one OCREW or similar group as a minimum commitment to
active participation in the Association's affairs.</tt>
<p><tt>All associate members are expected to subscribe to the announcement
listserve, <a href="#News">WAOE-News</a>, as a matter of course.</tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1>Voting Membership</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>Voting members are those associate members who have formally identified
themselves as people who wish to participate in the governance of the Association.
They would attend formal meetings of the Association, make nominations
and cast votes in general elections for WAOE, and participate in the ballots
through which key decisions affecting WAOE are taken. Voting members
are the "members" referred to in the WAOE Bylaws in compliance with the
requirements of Californian incorporation law, which recognises voting
members only, as we define them. Thus, only voting members
may be included in the quorum for formal meetings of WAOE such as the recent
Annual General Meeting, and have their votes counted on motions proposed
or in ballots conducted during such meetings or other official events.</tt>
<p><tt>An associate member may become a voting member by the simple
act of sending an email message to the <a href="#David">Membership Officer</a>
(officially titled the Chair of the Membership Committee) - stating that
he/she wishes to be recognised as a voting member. Fo convenience,
you could just copy/paste the following text into that message: "I wish
to be recognised as a voting member of WAOE" (without the quotes).
No additional fee payment is required.</tt>
<p><tt>Conversion of membership becomes effective within 10 days after
the request is received. Under this rule, the eligibility of voting
members to be included in the quorum count for any formal meeting or ballot
is declared and announced 10 days prior to the notified starting time for
that meeting or ballot.</tt>
<p><tt>Once conferred, voting-member status will continue for as long as
each designated voting member wishes to retain that level of participation
in WAOE.</tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1>Relinquishing Voting Membership</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>Voting members may revert to non-voting status (ie associate members)
simply by writing a letter or email to WAOE's <a href="#Steve">President
</a>or
<a href="#Brian">Executive
Secretary </a>explaining their intention to become less active in WAOE
and their wish to end their membership or to convert it to an associate
membership.</tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1>Annual Renewal of Membership</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>Both associate and voting members are required to renew their membership
between July 1 and July 30 of each year, commencing in 1999. The conditions
of and procedures for renewal are decided annually by the Directors on
advice from the Planning and Finance Committee at its April meeting, and
advised to members shortly afterwards. Failing to renew membership,
including payment of (or waiver from) any subscription fee, will be understood
as resignation from WAOE membership (WAOE <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/bylaw.htm">Bylaws</a>,
<a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/bylaw.htm#a12">Article
12</a>, Section 9).</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="System"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WAOE's Communications and
Discussion System</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>The principal legal, structural and organisational way in which
our objectives are realised is through <a href="#Meaning">The Meaning and
Exercise of Membership in WAOE</a>.</tt>
<p><tt>Less formally, perhaps, but no less crucially in their own ways,
WAOE maintains a system of listserves and discussion groups as our means
of establishing and maintaining communication between the management of
the organisation and the membership and between members themselves and
encouraging active participation in discussions, forums, projects and so
on. This system is described in the <a href="http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/orient3.htm">WAOE's
Communications</a> page of the Orientation Course.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><a NAME="WAOE_Committees"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WAOE Committees and
OCREWs</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>When you filled in the membership registration form, you identified
which of the various Committees and Online Course and Resource Evaluation
Workgroups (OCREWs) you are interested in. This article is concerned
with providing members with more information about these major components
of the structure and organisation of WAOE, but it will concentrate mainly
on OCREWs. The article is based to some extent on an item about OCREWs
originally included in WEB Volume 1, Number 2 (March 28 1999).</tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1>Committees</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>The purposes of the various Committees and how these might work
towards the fulfilment of WAOE's <a href="#Aims">objectives</a> is perhaps
fairly readily understood from their titles and composition, as they appear
on the membership registration form:</tt>
<blockquote><tt>Membership Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Finance Committee (now the Planning and Finance Committee)</tt>
<br><tt>Dissemination Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Records Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Web Design Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Online Educator Development Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Affiliate Liaison Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Research & Publication Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Online Academic Conferences Committee</tt>
<br><tt>Online Parliamentary Procedures Committee</tt></blockquote>
<tt>At this stage, with the notable exception of the Planning and Finance
Committee (which meets monthly) and the Online Educator Development Committee,
none of these bodies is active, and not even the exceptions are in fact
completely established and operational as yet, with a full complement of
members networking to discuss issues and proposals relevant to each Committee's
brief, and making recommendations to the Coordinating Ring and the Board
of Directors. There are several probable reasons for this:</tt>
<br>
<li>
<tt>The list of Committees derives from a constitution drafted before WAOE
become incorporated and held its inaugural elections. Now that we
are learning from experience what kind of internal structure and organisation
will best suit the Association's needs, some aspects of the putative committee
system may well be adapted, coalesced or even abandoned. We think
it would be wise not to consolidate too soon a mode of operation that in
the long run may not prove the best for us.</tt></li>
<br>
<li>
<tt>To make WAOE's structure and organisation operationally effective requires
the development of a quite sophisticated database of the names and addresses
of the members who expressed interest in different Committees and OCREWs
at the time of registration, and a system for generating mailing lists
and searching connection among sub-group members and between different
components WAOE that will facilitate communication, discussion, networking,
conferencing, voting and all other activities required to make the Association
work. Database development has long been a major priority for
management action, but it has also been thwarted by inadequate resources
and by a variety of practical difficulties in the way of coming up with
the most appropriate combination of server facilities, database design,
technology services, hardware and software compatibility among different
operating systems and software. However, it seems likely that significant
headway will soon be made through the Board of Directors' Meeting.</tt></li>
<br>
<li>
<tt>WAOE has barely got off the ground. We have only just conducted
our first Annual General Meeting and our second meeting of the Board of
Directors, and our first global celebration of cultural differences was
held just in February (the second of these members' events is proceeding
now, as a follow-on from the AGM). Partly because of the sheer organisational
challenge of making these things happen according both to constitutional
requirements and as smoothly as we can, the energies of the Board of Directors
and the Coordinating Ring have been highly focused in those directions.
It will be time to turn our full attention to other more specific aspects
of WAOE's operations when we begin to distinguish the forest from the trees!</tt></li>
<p><br><b><tt><font size=+1>Online Course and Resource Evaluation Workgroups
(OCREWs)</font></tt></b>
<br><tt>According to the <a href="http://www.kagawa-jc.ac.jp/~steve_mc/WAOE-founding.html">Archive
of Founding Documents</a>, OCREWs could be described, at least in intention,
as the heart and soul of the Association. (Extending the metaphor,
Committees might be thought of as the bones and sinews.) OCREWs provide
the main locations and focal points for members to contribute in practical
ways to the enhancement of online education as a professional discipline.
And that's WAOE's core business.</tt>
<p><tt>In conception, OCREWs comprise groups of members interested in particular
aspects of online education and training who meet and work together online
- sharing ideas and information, discussing issues, making representations
to relevant agencies and other forums, pooling resources, and so on.
And in doing all this, such groups will make the strongest possible and
most useful contribution to realising the central purpose of WAOE.
This is because the contribution will be coming from professionals across
the complex and rapidly developing field of online education and training
who are directly testing and extending the possibilities of the field as
they confront the problems posed by their online students and clients,
experiment with workable solutions to them, and share what they learn with
colleagues around the world.</tt>
<p><tt>Although OCREWs are given a defined place in WAOEās structure and
organisation, and a list of them appears on the memberās registration form,
there are no set ways by which their role can be carried out. The
groups are being set up which are not listed on the registration form (though
they may cover some of the territory) - the <a href="#Jenna">Education
Standards OCREW</a>, and the <a href="#Robert">Educational Software and
Courseware OCREW</a>, the <a href="#Kate">Industry and Academia OCREW</a>
- and an invitation by Mihkel Pilv for members to join a "learning by teaching
OCREW initiative" stands on the home page of the <a href="http://www.waoe.org/">WAOE
Website</a>.</tt>
<p><tt>You could use the lists of the <a href="#Directors">Directors </a>and
the members of the <a href="#Ring">Coordinating Ring</a> to find out more
about a particular structural group or an initiative which interests you
- better still, to make contact with a view to joining an OCREW or other
body - or perhaps to suss out how members who have started groups went
about it and what agenda and processes they are establishing. Vice-President
<a href="#Mihkel">Mihkel
Pilv </a>carries particular responsiblity for encouraging and supporting
OCREWs and other action groups. He will be glad to answer any queries
you may have.</tt>
<p><tt>Members of the Coordinating Ring, WAOE's elected management executive,
are looking at ways of revising the registration form to better reflect
the flexibility that actually exists in the formation and operation of
these vital groups. As a result, the current request to check an
OCREW box will be replaced by a more open-ended invitation to identify
interest in various aspects of online education and training, perhaps using
a checklist with scope for members to add their own topics.</tt>
<p><tt>Although we plan to improve the information-gathering mechanism,
notional commitments to particular OCREWs already suggested through the
registration process already provide a useful basis for clustering members
into potential participants for WAOE officers and others starting up new
groups to contact in exploratory ways. In a still broader approach,
personal contact with members could be used, as time permits, to tease
out more specific information about what they are interested in, as well
as what they hope to gain from joining WAOE, and how they would like the
organisation to run.</tt>
<p><tt>To an extent, the same organisational priorities and difficulties
that have slowed implementation of the committee system have inhibited
the formation of OCREWs, particularly the delays in setting up electronic
communications among members linked to a comprehensive and relational database.
However, OCREWs by their nature and intent are not so constrained, in structural
and organisational terms, as designated Committees. The W in the
acronym stands for Workgroup, after all, and there is great flexibility
in the number and kind of OCREWs that could be set up, as the presently
active groups amply illustrate. In fact, working groups of members
that get established need not necessarily be called OCREWs at all.
They might be project teams, for example, or action research groups, or
discussion forums with specialised agenda like Web access for people with
disabilities.</tt>
<p><tt>The most important point to make about the specific action and discussion
groups that come into operation - whatever they may be called - is that,
like everything else in WAOE, they both belong to and depend on the membership.
The field of online education and training is wide open for effecting vital
changes and improvements, and WAOE needs the active participation and thoughtful
contributions of its members in order to carry out its part in this vital
work.</tt>
<p><tt>All that is required to get an OCREW or other group started is for
a member to devise and promote a specific purpose for having a group and
then to enlist at least three other members to join him or her in the enterprise.
That's exactly how both the Education Standards and Industry and Academia
OCREWs began. <a href="#Views">WAOE-Views</a> or the <a href="#Say">Your
Say</a> section of WEB could be used to canvass interest and recruit like-minded
colleagues. The next step is to announce the formation of the group
to the Vice-President, <a href="#Mihkel">Mihkel Pilv</a>, who will give
all the advice and assistance he can.</tt>
<p><tt>So, itās over to you. The agenda is yours. Its your
Association. Go to it!</tt>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<br>
<p><a NAME="Links"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WAOE Links</font></tt></b>
<p><b><tt>This section lists URLs for key Websites within WAOE itself,
and other URLs related to online education which have been identified by
members.</tt></b>
<p><b><i><tt><font size=+1>WAOE Organisation and Communication Sites</font></tt></i></b>
<br>
<li>
<tt>WAOE Home Page: <a href="http://www.waoe.org/default.htm">http://www.waoe.org/default.htm</a></tt></li>
<li>
<a NAME="News"></a><tt>WAOE-News: To subscribe, go to
<a href="mailto:majordomo@uidaho.edu">majordomo@uidaho.edu</a>.
Without a subject heading, send the text <subscribe waoe-news></tt></li>
<li>
<a NAME="Views"></a><tt>WAOE-Views: To subscribe, go to <a href="mailto:majordomo@waoe.org">majordomo@waoe.org</a>.
Without a subject heading, send the text <subscribe waoe-views>. To
contribute, send email to <a href="mailto:waoe-views@waoe.org">waoe-views@waoe.org</a></tt></li>
<li>
<a NAME="Board"></a><tt>WAOE WebBoard: <a href="http://www2.ec.erau.edu:8080/~waoe">http://www2.ec.erau.edu:8080/~waoe</a>
Log-in by using the first part of your email address (before @) and the
password <waoe>. If you have difficulty getting onto the Board, write
to Mike Warner <a href="mailto:mwarner@embryriddle.k12.az.us">mwarner@embryriddle.k12.az.us</a>.</tt></li>
<br><tt>WAOE Journal: <a href="http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/waoej.html">http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/waoe/waoej.html</a></tt>
<p><tt>**********************</tt>
<br><b><i><tt><font size=+1>WAOE Committees, OCREWs and Other Groups</font></tt></i></b>
<br>
<li>
<tt>Online Educator Development Committee: <a href="http://ifets.gmd.de/waoe/oedc/">http://ifets.gmd.de/waoe/oedc/</a></tt></li>
<li>
<tt>Planning and Finance Committee: <a href="http://www.waoe.org/pl-fin-committee.htm">http://www.waoe.org/pl-fin-committee.htm</a></tt></li>
<li>
<tt>Web Design Committee: email Robert Luke (Chairperson)
<a href="mailto: robert.luke@uleth.ca">robert.luke@uleth.ca</a></tt></li>
<li>
<tt>Academic Outcomes Assessment Online Course and Resource Evaluation
Workgroup (OCREW): email Jenna Seehafer at <a href="mailto: seehafer@csus.edu">seehafer@csus.edu</a></tt></li>
<li>
<tt>Educational Standards Online Course and Resource Evaluation Workgroup
(OCREW): <a href="http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm">http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm</a></tt></li>
<li>
<tt>Industry and Academia Online Course and Resource Evaluation Workgroup
(OCREW): <a href="http://ifets.gmd.de/waoe/oedc/academic_non_academic.html">http://ifets.gmd.de/waoe/oedc/academic_non_academic.html</a></tt></li>
<br>
<p>
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<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<p><tt><a href="#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br><tt>#############</tt>
<p><b><tt>Copyright © World Association for Online Education</tt></b>
<br><tt>Copyright in the contents of this Bulletin is held by the World
Association for Online Education (WAOE), incorporated in the State of California,
United States of America, as a non-profit, public-benefit organisation.
For enquiries, contact WAOE at <a href="mailto:waoe@waoe.org">waoe@waoe.org</a></tt>
<p><tt>#######################################################################</tt>
<p><tt>End of WEB Vol 1, No 11, August 31 1999.</tt>
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