_ .......................................................... __ __ __ __ __ __ web's eye view | | /| / /| | /| / /| | /| / / April 18, 2000 | |/ |/ / | |/ |/ / | |/ |/ / Maricopa Center for |__/|__/ |__/|__/ |__/|__/ Learning & Instruction .......................................................... http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/eye/ .......................................................... The freshest bag of URLs is ready for pickup at http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/eye/bag/curr.html Help us refill by dropping interesting sites into: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/eye/bag/drop.html EdCetera Online =============== Maricopa's Publication goes webby! "Our goal is to produce this online publication every six weeks. In upcoming issues, we expect to examine and adjust format, writing, and more in order to develop the best product possible." http://www.dist.maricopa.edu/edcetera/online/index.htm Ocotillo Retreat 2000 ===================== All Maricopa faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate in this year's retreat, May 16 at Estrella Mountain Community College and May 17 at Mesa Community College. http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/retreat00/ This year, in a brand new format, we have a wide array of showcases of faculty and student technology projects, breakout sessions on topical issues, and general sessions covering the Social Aspects of Computing Spaces and District Strategic Planning for Technology. http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/retreat00/agenda.html But there is more! We have at least 8 vendor (friends.com) on hnad including Academic Systems, Blackboard, WebCT, Anlon, Prentice-Hall, McGraw-Hill, Lippincott, and CourseMetric. Make your plans early and RSVP at: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ocotillo/retreat00/rsvp.html Cancel/Reset Alertbox ===================== The Alertbox for April 16 is now online at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000416.html Most Web forms would have improved usability if the Reset button was removed. Cancel buttons are also often of little value on the Web. News from EDUPAGE ================= JUST-IN-TIME LEARNING By offering substantial time and money savings, as well as the most current content, e-learning training programs are becoming increasingly popular with corporations trying to keep their staff knowledgeable about industry developments. The electronic, just-in-time learning market is expected to reach $11.4 billion in 2003, up from over $1 billion last year, according to International Data (IDC). IBM, which offers its employees and business partners satellite- and Web-based e-learning programs, estimates that it saved $200 million last year in internal training costs, says IBM's Rick Horton. The Web-based Sales Compass application and 10-channel global satellite system keep IBM sales personnel, business partners, and other employees supplied with the latest information on customers, industry trends, and technology developments. Although online learning will not likely replace traditional classroom-based training, it does offer advantages in some instances, particularly in the IT industry, where all training is "essentially perishable," says IDC analyst Cushing Anderson. (Computerworld, 3 April 2000) REPORT URGES CHANGE IN MALE-DOMINATED CULTURE OF COMPUTING The American Association of University Women (AAUW) planned to release a study on Monday urging changes in high-tech culture to make the field more appealing to girls and women. Female high school students now represent just 17 percent of those taking the Advanced Placement test for college credit, the report says. Furthermore, the study says women account for only 28 percent of the bachelor's degrees in computer science, and just 20 percent of IT workers. Female students are not interested in the computer culture they associate with violent software games and adolescent males, says Sherry Turkle, MIT sociology professor and cochair of the commission that wrote the report. The commission suggests that girls should be encouraged to use technology at an early age through computer clubs and other activities. The study says boys are more likely than girls to have their own computers and to attend computer camps, and even the time boys spend playing computer games makes them more comfortable with technology. Increasing female interest in technology could help ease the shortage of high-tech workers and close the wage gap between men and women, the study says. (Knight Ridder, 10 April 2000) http://www.aauw.org/2000/techsavvy.html QUESTIA'S AIM: THE BIG DATABASE ON CAMPUS Internet startup Questia Media plans to tap the college student market by providing an online database that allows easy access to liberal-arts references commonly used to write papers. The company will establish a site later in the year that will allow students to search 50,000 online and annotated titles, and will expand to 250,000 titles within three years. Troy Williams, the company's founder, believes the service will become a critical tool for students writing papers, theses, and doctoral dissertations, who need easy access to popular titles. Students seem willing to pay for the service, Williams says, noting that the company might charge a monthly fee or a one-time fee for students racing to finish papers at the last minute. Questia will offer personal online storage, allowing users to store bookmarked pages as well as drafts of their own writing. With 12.3 million U.S. undergraduates and 1.7 million graduate students, Williams believes his potential market is huge. More than 70 publishers have agreed to provide online rights to their materials. (Wall Street Journal, 13 April 2000) http://www.questia.com/