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<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<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. 13</tt> <br>
<tt>October 31 1999</tt>
<p><a name="Contents"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Contents</font></tt></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/#FromEditor">From the Web Editor</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<a href="/web/vol2no3/index.htm#Special3">Virtual Universities</a> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no13/index.htm#Question">How many internet mail list subscribers
does it take to change a light bulb?</a>
<p><b><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol2no3/index.htm#Special">Special News Items</a>
</font></b><blink><font color="#FF115D">NEW!!</font></blink> <br>
<a href="/web/vol2no3/index.htm#Special1">Carlton Scott WAOE Fellowships</a>
<br>
<a href="/web/vol2no1/index.htm#Special2">Congratulations to Brian Donohue-Lynch
... and Mike Holmwood</a>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/#New">Welcome to New Members</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Orientation">Orientation Course</a></tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Profile">Memberâs Profile</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol2no3/index.htm#Member">David Wyatt</a></tt> <br>
<b><i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#About_Profile">About Member's
Profile</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Conference">Conference
(Re)Call</a></font></tt></b> <br>
<b><i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Reports">Reports:</a></tt></i></b>
<br>
<a href="#Reports#1">Community Learning Networks Online Forum</a> <br>
<a href="#Reports#2">Synchronous Internet Training Listserv</a> <br>
<a href="#Reports#3">MIT's Media-in-Transition Conference</a> <br>
<b><i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Coming">Coming Events:</a></tt></i></b>
<br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/recall.htm#Event2">IFETS Online Discussion: November
1-12</a> <blink><font color="#FF1119">URGENT!!</font></blink> <br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol2no2/index.htm#Events2">Distance Education Association
of New Zealand (DEANZ) Conference</a></tt> <br>
<b><i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Feature">About Conference (Re)Call</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Your_Say">Your Say</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Say1">WAOE dues a good investment</a>
<br>
<b><i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Say">About Your Say</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#New_Links">New Links</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Link1">LessonPro.Net</a> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Link2">Library of Congress Catalogue
Online</a> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Link3">Alertbox: Ten Good Deeds in Web
Design</a>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Ideas">WEB Ideas and
Issues</a></font></tt></b> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Ideas1">Internet Industry Association
(Australia): Draft Code of Practice</a> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Ideas2">Electronic Privacy Information
Centre on Filters and Freedom</a> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Ideas3">Intellectual Property Rights
on the Internet</a> <br>
<b><i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#What">About Web Ideas and Issues</a></tt></i></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#News1">News Briefs</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#News1">On the Horizon: September-October
Issue</a> <br>
<a href="/web/vol1no10/index.htm#News2">theNode.org</a>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Policies">WAOE Policies
and Procedures</a></font></tt></b> <br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Release">Release of Personal Information</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>Waiver of Membership Fees/Dues - <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Waiver1">Policy
</a>and <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Waiver2">Procedure</a></tt> <br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Change">Notifying Change of Email
Address</a></tt> <br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Resign">How to unsubscribe or resign</a></tt>
<br>
<i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#About_Policies">About Waoe
Policies and Procedures</a></tt></i>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Forth">Forthcoming
Meetings</a></font></tt></b> <br>
<tt>No items for this issue.</tt> <br>
<i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#this">About this Section</a></tt></i>
<br>
<i><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Time">Time Conversion Site</a></tt></i>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Feedback">Feedback</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
No items for this issue
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#About">About WEB</a></font></tt></b>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#WAOE">About WAOE</a></font></tt></b>
<br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Aims">WAOE's Objectives</a></tt>
<br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Meaning">The Meaning and Exercise
of Membership in WAOE</a></tt> <br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#System">WAOE's Communications and
Discussion System</a></tt> <br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#WAOE_Committees">WAOE Committees
and OCREWs</a></tt>
<p><b><tt><font size=+1><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Links">WAOE Links</a></font></tt></b>
<p><tt>############</tt>
<p><a name="FromEditor"></a><b><font size=+2>From the WEB Editor</font></b>
<p>By force of circumstances rather than intention, WEB once again comes out on
a sort of monthly instread of bi-monthly schedule for which we apologise.
The shift is expected to be merely temporary and short-lived. November
will be a key month for the Coordinating Ring to look at ways of consolidating
networking among members, and the development of some major initiatives. Resumption
of the normal publication arrangements for WEB will be part of this work.
<p>Production of WEB has inevitably taken a bit of a back seat in the three
weeks plus that have elapsed since the September issue and the
close of the call for membership renewals on October 1, while I and
other members of the Coordinating Ring have been much preoccupied with
discussions about strategic directions for WAOE. These discussions
have been prompted by the fact that the constraints on our operating
budget and the reduction of our committed membership base are both more
severe than we anticipated, following a disappointing response to the
drive for dues. This issue of WEB, on the other hand, reflects
positive responses that we are already making - for example, the <a href="/web/vol2no3/index.htm#Special1">Carlton
Scott Fellowships</a>.
<p><a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">David Wyatt</a>, WAOE Membership Officer
and WEB Editor
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a name="Special3"></a><b><font size=+2>Virtual Universities</font></b>
<p>How many WAOE members have received unsolicited posts like the following?
<blockquote>UNIVERSITY DIPLOMAS <br>
Obtain a prosperous future, money earning power, and the admiration of all.
<br>
Diplomas from prestigious non-accredited universities based on your present
knowledge and life experience. <br>
No required tests, classes, books, or interviews. <br>
Bachelors, masters, MBA, and doctorate (PhD) diplomas available in the field
of your choice. <br>
No one is turned down. <br>
Confidentiality assured. <br>
CALL NOW to receive your diploma within days!!! <br>
Call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, including Sundays and holidays.</blockquote>
On the face of it (I haven't called ... yet), this looks like a more than usually
in-your-face example of what John Bear** calls the "less than wonderfuls" among
institutions offering degrees via the Internet. Recent years - months, weeks,
or days, even! - have seen a burgeoning of such institutions, calling themselves
(with perhaps (?) unconscious irony) virtual universities. Just how "virtual"
can you get!
<p>** John Bear and Mariah Bear are the authors of <u>Bear's Guide to Earning
Degrees Nontraditionally</u>, now in its 13th edition. More information
about this publication and John's work more generally is supposed to be available
at <a href="http://www.degree.net">http://www.degree.net</a>, but I couldn't
reach this site the few times I tried. John is a frequent contributor
to the newsgroup alt.education.distance which, among other preoccupations, maintains
an ongoing review of questionable practices in online and distance learning.
<p>There is growing interest in cyberspace in defining and/or challenging the
merits or otherwise of virtual universities or similar online providers of higher
education. For example, the Chronicle of Higher Education <a href="http://chronicle.com/colloquy/99/online/online.htm">Colloquy</a>
is currently running a debate and discussion centred around widely divergent
opinions expressed in two articles on accreditation of online universities.
One argues that virtual universities "raise the specter of a higher-education
system that is nothing more than a collection of marketable commodities."
The other defends accreditation of these institutions, but asserts that critics
of them are not concerned primarily with the quality of education offered by
on-line universities, but with the possibility of "reduced faculty control over
the design, teaching, and evaluation of curricula at distance-education institutions."
Another example is the <a href="http://telecampus.edu/learners/unaccredited.shtml">warning</a>
put out recently by the Telecampus site urging prospective clients of online
higher education to be careful about taking courses from a large number of listed
organisations.
<p>So, what has this got to do with WEB and WAOE? Well, a recently joined
member, Adelaide-based George Brown, has approached the Coordinating Ring to
seek support for the work he is doing to alert educational authorities in Australia
and elsewhere to the dubiousness of the proclaimed credentials of a number of
organisations offering degrees via distance learning in general and the Internet
in particular. George is also a frequent contributor to the newsgroup
alt.education.distance, and he maintains an information site on Virtual Universities
in Australia at <a href="http://www.cobweb.com.au/~agbrown/home.htm">http://www.cobweb.com.au/~agbrown/home.htm</a>.
<p>The professionalisation and continuing improvement of online education is,
of course, WAOE's essential purpose. Developing and sustaining standards
of good practice in delivery of courses, and access to them, is a central commitment
of the Association, and the <a href="http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm">Educational
Standards OCREW</a> has already been established to undertake responsible analysis
of the issues affecting recognition of online course providers. As a vital
first step in creating a policy platform from which WAOE could identify basic
standards for online and computer mediated instruction, and so mount unassailable
attacks on bogus practitioners, WAOE members are urged to join the <a href="http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm">Educational
Standards OCREW</a>, or contribute to its work in other ways. For example,
you could: <br>
<ul>
<li> Send in your comments to help re-vitalise and bring to conclusion the discussion
on standards which started up on the WAOE-Views listserv a month back, but
which has fallen silent. This discussion focused on a seminal
<a href="http://www.waoe.org/web/vol1no11/ideas.htm">draft statement</a> of
online educational standards for measuring the quality and effectiveness of
online education, contributed by Jenna Seehafer and repeated in WEB, Volume
1, Number 11.</li>
<li> Be on the lookout for relevant statements about the issues in other organisations
of which you are a member, or listservs, discussion groups, newsgroups etc
to which you subscribe - and pass these on.</li>
<li> Forward your opinions about the best and worst online courses or units
of instruction you have come across, and your grounds for holding those opinions.</li>
<li> Recommend to WAOE colleagues the best online degree or certificate programs
in operation, or nominate programs to be avoided - again, stating your reasons
for holding these personal views.</li>
<li> Take up the convening or another vital role in the <a href="http://www.waoe.org/edst_ocrew.htm">Educational
Standards OCREW</a>, by emailing Treasurer <a href="mailto:seehafer@CSUS.EDU">Jenna
Seehafer</a>, who presently heads this group, but who would like to pass on
this responsibility while remaining an active member.</li>
</ul>
<p><br>
WEB intends to play a useful part in this work. Until arrangements
for efficient networking of the ESOCREW are in place, discussion of
the group's agenda will continue to take place on <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Views">WAOE-Views.</a>
However, this listserv is still greatly undersubscribed, and WEB offers
a regular outlet for passing on major items of information and debate
to the membership at large. As well, the <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Conference">Conference
(Re)Call</a> section provides a ready forum for members to report events
they have attended or heard about where important policy matters were
discussed, or good ideas were presented about online education practice.
Coming Events, within that section, promotes various conferences and
other activities - as far as possible, conducted online events and free
or low-cost - which members can attend, and we are always looking for
members to alert us to events to include which target issues and concerns
most relevant to WAOE's objectives.
<p>Please use email to the <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web Editor</a>
as the channel for passing on all items of interest. In a more focused
way - depending upon such contributions, of course - the next and subsequent
issues of WEB will include a Virtual University Watch column, or something like
that (perhaps Caveat Emptor?), specifially aimed at passing on advice about
obviously bogus operators. Once the key question of adopting a policy
on standards as settled, through the work of the ESOCREW, WAOE will be in a
position to set about endorsing online courses - credit and noncredit - to potential
clients on the basis of their recognised quality, and recommending action by
responsible agencies on organisations which are debasing standards ort exploiting
the lack of them. At that hopefully not too future time, WEB will also
report these activities on a regular basis.
<p>No doubt, all of us feel that more immediate and more drastic action should
be taken against operators like the author of the post at the start of this
piece. WAOE is committed to doing so, but the Association must first of
all establish its foundation and authority for action. We'll need your
input.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a name="Question"></a><b><font size=+2>How many internet mail list subscribers
does it take to change a light bulb?</font></b>
<p>Just to lighten things up a little! With thanks to scotartt <scot@systemx.autonomous.org>,
passed on by the <a href="mailto:mediamentor-subscribe@egroups.com.">Media Mentor</a>
list.
<p><b><u>Q:</u></b> How many internet mail list subscribers does it take
to change a light bulb?
<p><b><u>A:</u></b> 1,331
<p>1 to change the light bulb and to post to the list that the light bulb has
been changed14 to share similar experiences of changing lightbulbs and how the
light bulb could have been changed differently. <br>
7 to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs. <br>
27 to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.
<br>
53 to flame the spell checkers <br>
156 to write to the list administrator complaining about the light bulb discussion
and its inappropriateness to this mail list. <br>
41 to correct spelling in the spelling/grammar flames. <br>
109 to post that this list is not about light bulbs and to please take this
email exchange to alt.lite.bulb <br>
203 to demand that cross posting to alt.grammar, alt.spelling and alt.punctuation
about changing light bulbs be stopped. <br>
111 to defend the posting to this list saying that we are all use light bulbs
and therefore the posts **are** relevant to this mail list. <br>
306 to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy
the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this <br>
technique, and what brands are faulty. <br>
27 to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs <br>
14 to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly, and to post corrected URLs.
<br>
3 to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this list
which makes light bulbs relevant to this list. <br>
33 to concatenate all posts to date, then quote them including all headers and
footers, and then add "Me Too." <br>
12 to post to the list that they are unsubscribing because they cannot handle
the light bulb controversy. <br>
19 to quote the "Me Too's" to say, "Me Three." <br>
4 to suggest that posters request the light bulb FAQ. <br>
1 to propose new alt.change.lite.bulb newsgroup. <br>
47 to say this is just what alt.physic.cold_fusion was meant for, leave it here.
<br>
143 votes for alt.lite.bulb.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a name="Special"></a><b><font size=+2>Special News Items</font></b>
<p><a name="Special1"></a><b><font size=+2>Carlton Scott WAOE Scholarships</font></b>
<p>The following notice was posted recently to WAOE-News and WAOE-Views by
President Steve McCarty. Apologies to those members who
have seen it already because they have subscribed to the listserves.
Those who haven't know <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Links">what to
do!</a> <i><a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web Editor</a></i>
<blockquote>Announcing a new World Association for Online Education (WAOE) policy:</blockquote>
<blockquote><font size=+1>Carlton Scott WAOE Fellowships</font> <br>
A multicultural policy administered by the late educator's colleague Karen O'Connor,
business technology department head at Selkirk College in Canada.
<p><u>Rationale</u> <br>
A British Columbia accident felled Carlton Scott in his prime as an educator
with a passion for online learning. He was a founding WAOE member and would
have wished that the opportunity for WAOE participation be opened as widely
as possible. Among WAOE aims stated in the Bylaws, WAOE promotes multiculturalism
and access to online educational technology. This policy provides a
chance to honor Carlton's memory while contributing to the broadening of the
online teaching profession.
<p><u>Implementation</u> <br>
WAOE officers are privileged to offer dues-waived WAOE memberships as defined
in WAOE Bylaws and policies, until June 30th of the following year, particularly
to non-Westerners, non-native users of English, and those who have contributed
services to WAOE or whose membership would reflect well on WAOE's professional
standing. Each WAOE Coordinating Ring member would be requested to invite
three to five such individuals, except that each WAOE elected Director would
be requested to invite three to ten such individuals. Those invited
would need only respond in the affirmative, and would be expected to fulfil
the obligations and privileges of WAOE membership.
<p><u>Background</u> <br>
WAOE has 18 officers in 8 countries, including 5 elected directors.
WAOE is a virtual association with a conduit to the physical world through
California law as a non-profit public benefit corporation. The Bylaws
<http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/seehaferj/waoe/bylaw.htm> include 22 Objectives
and Purposes of relevance to distance education since the advent of Web-based
approaches. The full list is at: <http://leahi.kcc.hawaii.edu/org/occ/logs/1185.html>.
Directly relevant to this new policy are the sections on multiculturalism
and the widest possible access to educational technology. There is a
Multilingual WAOE Project in progress, and the aim of the new policy is for
WAOE to be multicultural in its very organizational practices. For while participants
may already apply for dues waivers, we recognize cultural and other reasons
that inhibit individuals from requesting such a favor. WAOE officers are thus
empowered and honored to invite a wide range of individuals described in the
above policy. Officers are also open to specific recommendations.
New active members are most welcome, and we further intend to actively recognize
service to the organization in lieu of dues.
</blockquote>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt> <br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a name="Special2"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Congratulations to Brian Donohue-Lynch
... and Mike Holmwood</font></tt></b>
<p>WAOE Executive Secretary Brian Donohue-Lynch has been designated Connecticut
Professor of the Year. Congratulations from us all!
<p>Brian writes:
<blockquote>"I know that one part of what was evaluated was my connection with
our WAOE efforts. I will be sure that in anything I am asked to talk about
(in local press, in our state [college] system, etc.) WAOE will certainly be
on my lips!"</blockquote>
It is particularly appropriate to repeat here the personal congratulations to
Brian from Mike Holmwood via WAOE-Views:
<blockquote>"Congratulations Brian ... I know how much hard work an award such
as this means.... last year I was presented with the Canadian Community College
Professor of the Year award. In Canada CASE jointly with the Canadian
Council for the Advancement of Education gives out one award for teaching excellence
for a University Professor and one for a Community College Professor [last year
was the first year that this award was given in Canada].... we do not as yet
have provincial awards.
<p>My work in online education was certainly a component in the decision to
select me for the award [I have taught first year Biology online for three
years].
<p>My membership in WAOE has proven to be invaluable and I believe that anyone
teaching online needs to be a member of WAOE as it gives one an over-arching
view of the on-line world .. a view essential for anyone instructing on the
internet."
</blockquote>
What an honour and privilege to have two such distinguished online educators in
our Association.
<p>The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) began the Professors
of the Year program in 1981 in response to a challenge by Thomas B. McCabe,
former CEO of Scott Paper and an outstanding alumni volunteer and supporter
of education, for CASE and its members to recognize teachers <br>
like those at his alma mater Swarthmore College, who had inspired him to become
an active volunteer and donor. CASE started organizing competitions in
various states in 1985 and established an award for faculty at Canadian institutions
in 1986. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching began hosting
the final round of judging in 1981.
<p>The primary characteristic the judges consider is an extraordinary dedication
to undergraduate teaching, which should be demonstrated by excellence in the
following areas:
<ul>
<li> Impact on and involvement with undergraduate students;</li>
<li> Scholarly approach to teaching, and learning;</li>
<li> Contributions to undergraduate education in the institution, community,
and profession; and</li>
<li> Support from colleagues and current and former undergraduate students.</li>
</ul>
<p><br>
For more information about the awards, go to <a href="http://www.case.org/awards/poystate.htm">http://www.case.org/awards/poystate.htm</a>
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Meaning">fundamental information</a>
in each issue.</tt>
<p><tt>New members - and existing members - might also explore the <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Policies">WAOE
Policies and Procedures</a><b><font size=+1> </font></b>section of WEB
and the <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<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.
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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a name="Profile"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Memberâs Profile</font></tt></b>
<p><a name="Member"></a><b><font size=+2>David Wyatt, WAOE Director and Membership
Officer</font></b>
<p>I must say, not being an online practitioner as such, that I sometimes wonder
what I'm doing in the thick of supporting an organisation dedicated to the establishment
and continuing improvement of online education as a profession. Things
can get a bit hairy at times (to use an Aussie colloquialism), especially when
my limited technical expertise gets violently challenged by the occasional (?!)
vagaries of browsers and other software. But then I reflect that significant
parts of my background in Australian higher education teaching and management,
and in running projects concerned with flexible delivery and staff development
in the vocational education and training, have brought me into close contact
with most of the issues in the field WAOE seeks to serve. Commitments
to access and equity in education, to quality in teaching and learning practice
and to lasting value in outcomes for students are not - or should not be - confined
to specific professional areas.
<p>Appointed as a lecturer in English to a new teachers college in 1967 - early
in the burgeoning years of higher education in Australia, which ended all too
soon in the mid-1970s - I soon began contributing to the administrative side
of the institution, focusing in particular on academic advisement, recognition
of prior learning, development and accreditation of courses and liaison with
the relevant professions and the wider community. Over time, this work
led to leadership roles in these areas and I went on from there to senior management.
The so-called advanced education institutions (institutes of technology and
teachers colleges, mainly) I worked in until the late 1980s, when mergers and
other forms of rationalisation (read cost-cutting) collapsed them into what
is laughably called the "unified national system" (of universities), were at
the forefront of post-secondary education. They were innovative, not to
say adventurous and experimental, in their approaches to program content, design
and delivery, but at the same time strongly committed to the principle of accountability
for the quality and value of their work and its outcomes - to students,
prospective employers of the students, professional authorities, and the wider
community, as well as to governments, of course.
<p>An especially challening, and rewarding, application of my professional interests
and concerns was - and still is - the management of effective access, teaching
and learning delivery and support programs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders in such higher education fields as teacher education, nursing, management,
and liberal studies.
<p>Leaving the university sector in mid-1994 to take up consulting and educational
project management as a career, I already had under my belt a project that created
a professional development package for workplace education practitioners and
another for adult literacy teachers. Both adopted flexible learning approaches,
but it was still early days in Australia for Web-based training, and the project
teams stopped short of using electronic communications. Even in the subsequent
development of a national plan for the flexible delivery of adult literacy and
numeracy and English as a second language programs, and another for the professional
development of practitioners in those fields, the funding agencies, professional
spokespersons and community representatives involved still showed some distrust
of information technology in general and online education in particular, which
somewhat limited the usefulness of these products. Nevertheless, I have
no doubt that everything I contribute to WAOE derives very largely from this
past experience in higher education and in vocational education projects.
<p>My first practical engagement with the possibilities of online education came
in 1995 -1996, when I managed a project which made real headway on using the
Internet to conduct a self-paced, interactive teaching development program for
academic staff across the three universities in South Australia. Unfortunately,
the experience was too short-lived, as the project got funding for only six
productive months - too brief a period to realise all its potential. The
site set up by the "SATURN" project - the South Australian Three Universities
Resources Network - still exists at <a href="http://saturn.flinders.edu.au/">http://saturn.flinders.edu.au/</a>,
if anyone wants to take a look at what we attempted, and how far we got.
Follow the Postgraduate Education and the Teaching and Learning links from the
home page.
<p>Involvement with SATURN led directly to participation in several online conferences
and some f2f workshops exploring new approaches to education and training at
several levels and in different fields, using information technology and telecommunications.
And so eventually to the Teaching in the Community Colleges online conference
in 1998, which gave birth to WAOE. As an elected Director of the Association,
I have particular responsibility for managing the membership recruitment processes,
including the development of a database and network/communications system.
Needless to say, I undertake this role with major input and assistance from
other officers and members who possess far more technical knowhow than
I do, for all that I'm now probably on the fastest learning curve ever in my
whole professional life! Editing WEB is an important contribution, as
I see it, to the ongoing communication between the management of the Association
and its members.
<p>I also try to stay in touch with longstanding interests in educational access
and quality by getting involved in relevant projects and other activities of
WAOE. An example is my participation - representing WAOE with responsibility
for managing international links and consultations - in the team which made
a recent application for a Learning Anywhere Anytime Program grant (in the USA)
to develop guidelines for delivering online education to people with visual
impairments. This was not successful in 1999, but reviewers' feedback
strongly encourages making another attempt next year.
<p>Currently in my project management work, I am responsible for the evaluation
of a pilot program installing Internet-ready computers and providing skills
training in two Indigenous communities in rural South Australia. In less
than five very part-time months, this small-scale initiative has seen community
members leap from almost total unfamiliarity with telecommunications, let alone
the Internet, to confident surfing of links to similar communities across the
world, handling official business by email, settin up electronic banking, and
planning for creating Websites and for taking more specialised training in Web-based
research, electronic commerce and financial management. It is now hoped
that the outstanding success of the pilot will lead to a further, bigger grant
in 2000, which would extend installation and training to several more Indigenous
communities and support consultations and investigations aimed at creating an
implementation strategy for reaching all remaining communities over the subsequent
two or three years.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<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><tt><u>But why wait to be asked?</u> All WEB readers are urged to use the Memberâs
Profile to help flesh out the person behind the impersonal email address youâre
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, weâd
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>
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
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<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="Reports#1"></a><b><font size=+2>Community Learning Networks Online
Forum</font></b>
<p>The working definition of Community Learning Networks offered on the
<a href="http://olt-bta.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/CLN/index.html">CLN site</a> is ãcommunity-
controlled structures and systems aimed at furthering community development
and enhancing the lives of their constituencies by supporting and encouraging
lifelong learning.ä Key CLN components are:
<ul>
<li> the use of technologies as tools to support and enable learning and networking;</li>
<li> a strong community participation or community control at the local level;
and</li>
<li> the promotion of individual and community development.</li>
</ul>
<p><br>
Sponsored by the Office of Learning Technologies, Human Resources Development
(Canada), <a href="http://olt-bta.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/CLN/CLNforumRAC/board.html">CLN
Online Forum</a> provides a moderated, bilingual (French/English), interactive,
24/7 service for people interested in the development and ongoing support of
learning which:
<ul>
<li> promotes discussion, sharing, and active collaboration</li>
<li> provides a responsive resource for those seeking assistance and information</li>
<li> is driven by the participants, as a real grassroots initiative.</li>
</ul>
<p><br>
"Service" is a good descriptive word for the Forum. Within the several
key discussion topics are already available -
<ul>
<li> Technology and Learning</li>
<li> Remote and Rural Access</li>
<li> Funding and Sustainability</li>
<li> Developing a Business Case for CLN funding</li>
<li> General Announcements</li>
<li> Issues (a catch-all to generate new discussion threads)</li>
</ul>
<br>
- visitors will find a great deal of down-to-earth advice from practitioners,
links to substantial discussion papers and other presentations, portals to free
or low-cost courses, and a simple, very user-friendly public posting area.
<p>For more information contact the moderator, Doug Knight, at <a href="mailto:dknight@telusplanet.net">dknight@telusplanet.net</a>.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<p><a name="Reports#2"></a><b><font size=+2>Synchronous Internet Training Listserv</font></b>
<p>Arun Tripathi recently sent it this notice about a new discussion group
focused on synchronous online learning.
<p>The Synchronous Internet Training list ('synctrain') is a moderated discussion
list created to serve trainers, educators, and other people interested in Live
Online Learning. This list is sponsored by InSyncTraining Synergy, and
is moderated by Jennifer Hofmann, a Virtual Classroom Designer. Discussions
take place on product information, synchronous training techniques, Internet
pedagogy, and supporting multimedia. Announcements regarding job openings,
conferences, and classes relevant to the subject area are also posted.
<p>In order to send mail to the list, you need to address your message to:
<a href="mailto:synctrain@listbot.com">synctrain@listbot.com</a>.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<p><a name="Reports#3"></a><b><font size=+2>MIT's Media-in-Transition Conference</font></b>
<p>Julia Keefer (<a href="mailto:jk12@is3.nyu.edu">jk12@is3.nyu.edu</a>), Editor
of JOE, WAOE's online journal, writes:
<p>I want to report that MIT's Media-in-Transition conference went very well.
It was a high-powered 3 day conference with eminent professors and industry
professionals from MIT, Harvard, Europe, Australia, the East, California etc.
Most of the focus was on the political, sociological and aesthetic aspects of
media transition but I was on a TRANSFORMING TEACHING panel the last day where
I presented my paper CYBERPERFORMANCE AS AN ACADEMIC RITUAL. We
spent some time discussing online teaching strategies and cultural diversity,
at which point I talked about JOE and the WORLD ASSOCIATION FOR ONLINE EDUCATION--how
we started and what are objectives are. During the closing panel on multidisciplinary
studies, I also talked about my experiences in this field.
<p>My work was very well received and I was impressed with the diversity, range
and excellence of the presentations. MIT is making a sincere effort to
really understand and establish interdisciplinary studies. Some traditional
professors have a hard time adapting to the new media but MIT itself is the
home of the AGELESS MIND, geeks who play forever. It's inspiring the way
some of these brilliant programmers like John Maebe can continually create with
the imagination of a teenage genius and the methodology of the most meticulous,
mature professor. It is time to join the best of traditional academe with
cutting edge learning strategies that have been developing for years in cyberspace.
<p>Eventually I hope to use JOE as a way of bringing the two worlds together.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
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<p><a name="Coming"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+2>Coming Events</font></tt></i></b>
<p><a name="Event2"></a><b><font size=+2>IFETS Online Discussion: November 1-12</font></b>
<p>The next fromal onoine discussion of the International Forum of Educational
Technology & Society (IFETS) will be conducted between November 1 and 12.
Discussion will be both moderated and sumarised by Wendy Lowe, Instructional
Designer with Oracle, Canada. The theme is "Transactional distance
theory as a foundation for developing innovative and reactive instruction."
<p>Wendy's re-discussion paper is available at the Forum website: <a href="http://ifets.gmd.de/">http://ifets.gmd.de/</a>.
(Please follow the link 'discussion schedule' -> 'Current/next discussion',
<br>
and click on the discussion title.) Some of the issues to be discussed
are:
<ul>
<li> If, in decreasing transactional distance, we provide strategies to increase
dialogue and adapt or decrease the structure of the instructional material,
is there a point at which the dialogue takes over and the original learning
objectives are compromised?</li>
<li> Are we back to discussing whether constructed learning is of first importance?</li>
<li> What about content that must be learned in order to satisfy some criteria?</li>
</ul>
<br>
<p>
<p>To participate in the discussion fill out the registration form at <a href="http://ifets.gmd.de/">http://ifets.gmd.de/</a>
and subscribe to the discussion list as explained at: <a href="http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html">http://ifets.gmd.de/maillist.html</a>.
<p>The International Forum of Educational Technology and Society (IFETS) is a
sub-group of IEEE Learning Technology Task Force. The forum aims to bring
together the developers of educational systems, and the educators who implement
and manage such systems.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<p><a name="Events2"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>Distance Education Association of
New Zealand (DEANZ) Conference</font></tt></b>
<p><tt>Chris Jesshope has asked us to post the following notice:</tt>
<blockquote><tt>Distance Education Association of New Zealand (DEANZ) Conference</tt>
<p><tt>Conference theme:</tt> <br>
<tt>Supporting the Learner through open, flexible and distance strategies:
Issues for Pacific Rim Countries</tt>
<p><tt>Dates: 27-29 April 2000</tt> <br>
<tt>Venue: St. Margaret's College Dunedin, New Zealand</tt>
<p><tt>Call for abstracts: 1 December 1999</tt> <br>
<tt>Call for papers: 1 March 2000</tt> <br>
<tt>Format: posters, 20 or 45 minute papers, 90 minute workshops</tt>
<p><tt><u>Main Issues for presenters to address</u> :</tt>
<p><tt>Infrastructure for open, distance and flexible learning:</tt> <br>
<tt>* Establishment issues for ODF in traditional settings</tt> <br>
<tt>* Convergence of on and off site teaching</tt> <br>
<tt>* Quality Assurance</tt> <br>
<tt>* Information literacy</tt> <br>
<tt>* Support issues for learners, teachers, tutors, librarians,</tt> <br>
<tt>technicians and providers</tt>
<p><tt>Global issues for open, distance and flexible learning:</tt> <br>
<tt>* Equity and access issues</tt> <br>
<tt>* Teaching for diversity</tt> <br>
<tt>* Expansion of the knowledge economy</tt> <br>
<tt>* Internationalisation and globalisation</tt>
<p><tt>Theories of open, distance and flexible learning</tt> <br>
<tt>* Changing paradigms</tt> <br>
<tt>* Re-conceptualising teaching and learning</tt> <br>
<tt>* Changing student learning outcomes through ODF</tt>
<p><tt>For further information, please contact the programme coordinator:</tt>
<p><tt>Dr Claire McLachlan-Smith</tt> <br>
<tt>University of Auckland</tt> <br>
<tt>New Zealand</tt> <br>
<tt>email: <a href="mailto:c.mclachlansmith@auckland.ac.nz">c.mclachlansmith@auckland.ac.nz</a></tt>
</blockquote>
<p><br>
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<tt><font size=-1>################</font></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 WAOEâs 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 theyâve
attended and spotting others to come. Weâd like to see all other members doing
likewise. You will see from the items in this issue that reports donât 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, letâs keep those reports
and notices coming in to the <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">WEB Editor</a>.</tt>
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<tt><font size=-1>################</font></tt>
<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>WAOE dues a good investment</font></b>
<p>"The September issue of WEB focused on WAOE's dues structure. To some
members, the word "dues" may have a negative impact. However, few (if
<br>
any) professional organizations charge only $10 per year for membership.
I feel that my $10 will be well invested."
<p>Mary Ellen Nourse <br>
WAOE Publicity Chair
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
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<p><a name="Say"></a><b><i><tt><font size=+2>About Your Say</font></tt></i></b>
<p><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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<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>LessonPro.Net</font></b>
<p>Would any member be interested in taking a closer look at this site and providing
a review for the Conference (Re)Call section? Here's its promotional blurb:
<p><a href="http://www.lessonpro.net">LessonPro.Net</a> is a free program provided
by E-tutor Virtual Learning that allows teachers to tap into the exciting possibilities
of using the Internet in education. LessonPro gives educators a way to
create online lessons with a user-friendly, fill-in-the-blank template.
By registering with LessonPro, teachers can store their lessons on the Internet,
allowing students to access the materials with a lesson ID and password.
The dynamic nature of our lesson format can integrate resources on the World
Wide Web through hotlinks to educational references, interactive sites and informational
resources, all embedded within each lesson.
<p>The site provides K-12 educators with a format for creating teaching, activities
and lessons for use over the Internet. The free program is entirely accessible
through the Internet. There is no need to learn complicated HTML programming
and coding. The easy-to-use format guides the teacher through each part
of the lesson. Lessons are ready for Internet access the minute they are
completed and sent to our host server. Teachers, students and parents
can access lessons at any time, via their web browsers. The LessonPro
format includes nine parts:
<ul>
<li> Introduction</li>
<li> Goals and Objectives</li>
<li> Resources</li>
<li> Vocabulary</li>
<li> Lesson Problem</li>
<li> Study Guide</li>
<li> Activity Page</li>
<li> Extended Learning</li>
<li> Quiz</li>
</ul>
<p><br>
<tt>*****************************</tt>
<p><a name="Link2"></a><b><font size=+2>Library of Congress Catalogue Online</font></b>
<p>The new Library of Congress Catalog went online on August 31. Quoting
from the site itself, "The new Library of Congress Online Catalog is a database
of approximately 12 million records representing books, serials, computer files,
manuscripts, cartographic materials, music, sound recordings, and visual materials
in the Library's collections. The Online Catalog also provides references,
notes, circulation status, and information about materials still in the acquisitions
stage." For more details, see the About page at: <a href="http://catalog.loc.gov/libinfo.htm">http://catalog.loc.gov/libinfo.htm</a>.
<p><tt>******************************</tt> <br>
<a name="Link3"></a><b><font size=+2>Alertbox: Ten Good Deeds in Web Design</font></b>
<p>Jakob Nielsen's discusion of "ten design elements that would increase the usability
of virtually all websites if only they were employed more widely, " in the latest
issue of his Alertbox newsletter is well worth a visit in
itself. Plus it serves to introduce surfers to this always interesting
source of stimulating ideas and often challenging opinions. Go to <a href="http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991003.html">http://www.useit.com/alertbox/991003.html</a>
for some useful practical tips on Web presentation, and branch out from there
to browse the other Alertbox columns in the current series and in the archives.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
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<tt>##############</tt>
<p><a name="Ideas"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>WEB Ideas and Issues</font></tt></b>
<p>As always, if any member feels stirred by the snippets on controversial issues
offered here, please feel free to use Your Say to make a comment, or kickstart
a discussion on WAOE-Views. <i><a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web
Editor</a></i>
<p><a name="Ideas1"></a><b><font size=+2>Internet Industry Association (Australia):
Draft Code of Practice</font></b>
<p>The following is an extract from the <a href="http://www.onlineaustralia.net.au/index.cfm">Online
Australia</a> bulletin for September 6. It ties in with continuing controversy
over the Commonwealth Government's insistence that Internet Service Providers
accept liability for the monitoring of Website to prevent pornographic material
coming into the view of minors.
<blockquote>The Australian Internet Industry Association (IIA) has unveiled its
draft code for Internet service and content hosting providers.
<p>The code addresses parts of the Broadcasting Services (Online Services) Act
(BSA) - if the industry signs up to it there will be no need for the Australian
Broadcasting Authority (ABA) to develop its own.
<p>The IIA's code will require ISPs to provide Internet users with information
and links to filtering software and other access control methods which they
can use to censor and control online content in their own homes. Internet
access accounts should not be provided to persons under the age of 18.
<p>ISPs will not be required to meet the cost of the provision of software -
which will be met by filtering software companies, who must update and distribute
their software with the URLs of restricted material when alerted to it by
the ABA.
<p>In return for making content control solutions available the ABA will not
require ISPs to block or monitor any material on the Internet. Serious illegal
content will be reported by the ABA to the relevant police authorities in
the country it is hosted.
<p>"The approach can be reduced to four words ... 'industry facilitated user
empowerment'," said Peter Coroneos, the IIA's executive director.
<p>Other provisions address consumer reluctance to go or buy online - spam,
privacy, copyright and fair trading. Some of these aspects were hashed out
with the assistance of the Australian Consumers Association.
<p>The code will be administered by an independent council and businesses who
sign up will be entitled to display a compliance symbol on their Web site.
<p>The Code will undergo changes from submissions over the next month. It is
available on the IIA's Web site at <a href="http://www.iia.net.au">http://www.iia.net.au</a>.
</blockquote>
So, how do members think the important issue of preventing or controlling the
distribution of pornography over the Internet should be handled?
<p>******************************
<p><a name="Ideas2"></a><b><font size=+2>Electronic Privacy Information Centre
on Filters and Freedom</font></b>
<p>Here's a different approach from that of Australian officialdom to
the question of monitoring the content of the Internet. I picked
it up on September 9 from George(s) Lessard's <a href="/web/vol1no13/index.htm#Mentor">MediaMentor</a>
listserv.
<blockquote>The Electronic Privacy Information Center (<a href="http://www.epic.org">EPIC</a>)
in Washington, D.C. has released a new collection of critiques and studies that
analyze the potential problems of Internet filtering and rating systems.
"Filters and Freedom: Free Speech Perspectives on Internet Content Controls"
warns that the adoption of software to limit the availability of material online
may jeopardize free expression and facilitate governmental censorship.
<p>The EPIC publication includes articles by leading advocates of free speech
on the Internet, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic
Frontiers Australia, Peacefire, Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties (UK), the
Censorware Project, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, the
Global Internet Liberty Campaign, the Internet Free Expression Alliance, and
the National Coalition Against Censorship.
<p>Copies of the report will be distributed to participants of the Internet
Content Summit in Munich this week, where 300 Net industry executives, government
officials, legal scholars, and consumer advocates are joining to discuss proposals
for controlling content on the Internet. The most controversial policy
centers upon the implementation of a world-wide system of self-rating.
<p>EPIC General Counsel David Sobel, who is attending the conference in Munich,
said it is imperative to examine the arguments presented in "Filters and Freedom"
before determining an approach for Internet regulation. "These views
must be considered carefully if we are to preserve freedom of expression in
the online world," Mr. Sobel said.
<p>"Filters and Freedom: Free Speech Perspectives on Internet Content Controls,"
David Sobel, ed. (EPIC 1999, 182 pages, softcover, ISBN: 1-893044-06-8, $20.00)
<a href="http://www.epic.org/filters&freedom/">http://www.epic.org/filters&freedom/</a>.
</blockquote>
<a name="Mentor"></a>To Subscribe to MediaMentor via e-mail, send an empty message
(no signature files or e-business cards) to <a href="mailto:mediamentor-subscribe@egroups.com">mediamentor-subscribe@egroups.com</a>.
Be brave, stay calm, watch for the signs. List owner George(s) Lessard's
URL is <a href="http://members.tripod.com/~media002">http://members.tripod.com/~media002</a>.
Please visit to learn more about him and his digital distance education work.
<p>*******************************
<p><a name="Ideas3"></a><b><font size=+2>Intellectual Property Rights on the Internet</font></b>
<p>Debate is becoming more urgent, in the United States and elsewhere, about
another, no less significant issue affecting the practice of online
education. This item is also picked up from <a href="/web/vol1no13/index.htm#Mentor">MediaMentor</a>.
<blockquote>Issue: Intellectual Property <br>
Congress has much on its table with respect to copyright and the Internet.
The issue extends far beyond the scientific community, affecting millions of
stockbrokers, librarians, real estate agents and publishers -- anyone who makes
a living collecting information. Today, such compilations or databases
go largely unprotected by copyright laws that safeguard the interests of the
authors and publishers of creative works. The database owners fear they
will lose profits if outsiders can freely copy their information as it costs
them tremendous amounts of money to collect and enter such data. On the
other hand, companies such as Yahoo! fear they could be run into the ground
if they can't easily trade works. The debate is essentially between people
who collect raw data and people who distribute it. Real estate agents,
for example, gather information about which apartments are available.
Their concern is that an online publisher could see their listings in the window
of an agency, copy them, and put them up on a Web site -- all perfectly legal
under current federal law.
<p>Lexis keeps vast collections of court decisions. They might be faced
with a competing on-line publisher who decides to use Lexis data to launch
a Website of all court decisions from Massachusetts -- also perfectly legal
under copyright law. "Why would anyone spend $2 million to create a
database if it's not going to be protected?'' said David Mirchin, of SilverPlatter
Information, a database publisher in Norton, Massachusetts. Companies
such as AT&T and universities such as Brandeis in Massachusetts want legislation
that would not restrict people from copying databases unless they plan to
use the information in a directly competitive way. Behind the push for
stricter copyright regulations are Reed Elsevier, owner of Lexis-Nexis and
of Cahners Publishing of Newton, Massachusetts, the American Medical Association
and the National Association of Realtors. [SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR:
Boston Globe <a href="http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/075686.htm">http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/075686.htm</a>]
</blockquote>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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 membersâ 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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<p><a name="Briefs"></a><b><tt><font size=+2>News Briefs</font></tt></b>
<p><a name="News1"></a><b><font size=+2>On the Horizon: September-October Issue</font></b>
<p>Go to the September/October issue of On the Horizon, "a print and Web-based
periodical that focuses on signals of change on the <br>
horizon that can affect educational organizations," at <a href="http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/">http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/</a>.
In this issue: <br>
<ul>
<li> Space: The Final Frontier</li>
</ul>
<br>
Donald M. Norris, President, Strategic Initiatives, Inc, surveys several campuses
experimenting with multifunctional and fused-use facilities, as well as some urban
centers recreating our concepts of museums, zoos, and public areas. For
anyone interested in the physical ramifications of technology, this article tells
where to look for new innovations. <br>
<ul>
<li> Information Technology in Higher Education: The "Global Academic Village"
and Intellectual Standardization</li>
</ul>
<br>
Phil Agre, Department of Information Studies University of California, Los Angeles,
discusses a trend toward "ontological standardization": organizations now have
to communicate with each other using the same systems, so they seek to use the
same models in reinventing themselves. For example, schools have to standardize
their use of terms like "course" and "teacher" for prospective students making
global comparisons. Agre observes that such standardization can pose threats
to the uniqueness possessed by many educational institutions and reminds educators
to preserve their schools' identities as they incorporate new systems. <br>
<ul>
<li> Electronic Networking in the Future: An Interview with Judith V. Boettcher,
Part II</li>
</ul>
<br>
Judith V. Boettcher is the Executive Director of the Corporation for Research
and Education Networking. Rather than using the same old classroom techniques
with new technology, she calls for educators to develop approaches specifically
for the Web ... and tells us how. <br>
<ul>
<li> On the Tenure of University Presidents</li>
</ul>
<br>
Arthur Padilla and Sujit Ghosh, College of Management, North Carolina State University
<br>
Educators concerned about the balance of stability and innovation in their institutions
will want to consider this analysis of the factors affecting the turnover at the
top. <br>
<ul>
<li> Democracy and the Academy</li>
</ul>
<br>
Laurence R. Marcus, Professor in Educational Leadership, Rowan University, believes
educational politics should emphasize the balance between <br>
accountability and autonomy that must be maintained for debates over the democratization
of the academy to be fairly adjudged.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt><font size=-1>################</font></tt>
<p><a name="News2"></a><b><font size=+2>theNode.org</font></b>
<p>Here is another site that a member might like to review and report on for the
benefit of WAOE colleagues. <a href="mailto:dwyatt@camtech.net.au">Web
Editor</a>
<p>"The Node is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of its new service, theNode.org,
on 18 October 1999. This is an international community of instructors,
trainers, designers and administrators with a professional interest in teaching
with technology. Services will support users in developing and sustaining
effective education and training practices and in exploring new ways to use
technologies to support their learning objectives.
<p>"Through theNode.org, we will continue to develop our freely-available resources
to help you choose, use and evaluate learning technologies. We will add
extensive new resources for members to assist them directly in teaching and
training through technology."
<p>For more information, the prospectus at <<a href="http://thenode.org/membership/prospectus.html">http://thenode.org/membership/prospectus.html</a>>.
Information on how to join theNode.org is available at <br>
<a href="http://thenode.org/membership/">http://thenode.org/membership/</a>.
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt><font size=-1>################</font></tt>
<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="/vol1no10/index.htm#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="/vol1no10/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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 membersâ 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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Steve">President
</a>or <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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>
<ul>
<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>
</ul>
<br>
<ul>
<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>
</ul>
<br>
<ul>
<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>
</ul>
<p><br>
******************************
<p><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 WAOEâs structure and organisation,
and a list of them appears on the memberâs 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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Jenna">Education
Standards OCREW</a>, and the <a href="/index.htm#Robert">Educational
Software and Courseware OCREW</a>, the <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Directors">Directors
</a>and the members of the <a href="/vol1no10/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Views">WAOE-Views</a>
or the <a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Mihkel">Mihkel Pilv</a>, who will give
all the advice and assistance he can.</tt>
<p><tt>So, itâs over to you. The agenda is yours. Its your Association.
Go to it!</tt>
<p><tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#Contents">Back to Contents</a></tt>
<br>
<tt>#############</tt>
<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>
<ul>
<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>
</ul>
<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>
<ul>
<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>
</ul>
<p><br>
<tt><a href="/web/vol1no12/index.htm#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 13, October 31 1999.</tt> <br>
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