_ .......................................................... __ __ __ __ __ __ web's eye view | | /| / /| | /| / /| | /| / / June 28, 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 From AlertBox ============= The Alertbox for May 28 is now online at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000528.html Since 1995, the readership of the Alertbox has grown by 4,800%. Most of the 105 old usability columns remain valid to this day since people change more slowly than the technology. But the Alertbox has encountered some setbacks as well. The Alertbox for June 11 is now online at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000611.html The Internet is undoing the industrial revolution's emphasis on mass-produced products; now everybody can get exactly what they want. But designing the product you want is hard, and current design interfaces are not good enough for novice designers (i.e., all normal customers). The Alertbox for June 25 is now online at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20000625.html Microsoft's .NET strategy is a brilliant counter-move that reduces the Justice Department's proposed penalty to a victory in the previous war. Integrating the user experience at the network level opens the door to new and exciting services while diminishing the importance of traditional isolated websites. News from EDUPAGE ================= WEB BOOKSELLER PLANS TO OFFER FREE COLLEGE COURSES Barnes & Noble.com is developing an online college campus with free distance-learning courses. To spur the venture, the giant bookseller is purchasing a minority stake in notHarvard.com, which provides e-commerce sites with distance-learning software packages. Although most courses will be based on books offered at Barnes & Noble.com, purchasing Barnes & Noble books will not be required. Barnes & Noble University will provide students with an online mailbox, a notebook, and a calendar. Some classes will be seminars lasting a single day, while others could last up to 12 weeks. Courses will not be held at pre-determined times. Instead, students will contact their professors by e-mail and access coursework or readings online at any time. (Wall Street Journal, 30 May 2000) 10 PERCENT OF STUDENTS MAY SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ONLINE, STUDY SUGGESTS Students can experience faltering grades, decreased class attendance, sleep deprivation, and social isolation as a result of excessive Internet use, according to a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute study. The 10 percent of the sample study that are classified as being Internet dependent spend an average of 229 minutes a day online for nonacademic pursuits, as compared with 73 minutes a day by others. The Internet addicts in the study are predominantly male, computer-science majors. The fact that the research was administered through paper surveys in class may have eliminated some severe addicts who did not attend class so they could stay online. Colleges' augmentation of Internet access capabilities and promotion of computer use may make the situation worse in the future, according to researcher Kevin J. Anderson. Anderson recommends that colleges set Internet usage thresholds and possibly intervene when those thresholds are reached. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 5 June 2000) DIVERSITY DRIVES MARKET'S DEVELOPMENT UNext.com, FT Knowledge, University Access, and Pensare are leaders in the field of online education, which is altering the way education is provided. Each company has a different approach to education over the Internet, but all agree that the market is expanding quickly and that a profit can be made. UNext.com is forming partnerships with academic institutions worldwide, including Columbia Business School and the London School of Economics. UNext utilizes content provided by professors from partner schools to develop learning exercises. FT Knowledge is working with business schools from around the world, such as Wharton and the University of Michigan Business School; however its focus is on providing an e-learning environment for the partner schools to develop business education programs that can be accessed on any computer. Meanwhile, University Access works solely on the corporate market, delivering content from prominent business schools and faculty online. Pensare developed a software technology platform and hosting service that provides customers with easy access to the technology. The company is forming alliances with business schools, including a recent partnership with Duke, and is integrating performance tools into its online courses. (Financial Times--Business Education, 23 May 2000) A COLLEGE LEADS THE WAY IN REQUIRING ONLINE APPLICATIONS West Virginia Wesleyan is the first college to require undergraduate applications to be filled out and submitted online. Beyond the application requirement, the school provides laptop computers to all students and intends to have wireless Internet access available by fall. Supplemental application material, such as transcripts and teacher recommendations, will still be accepted on paper sent in the mail. Requiring online applications should not prevent anyone from applying, school officials say. Students will be given access to the laptops of admissions counselors visiting high schools or they can use computers available in churches, public libraries, and schools. The application will only take about half an hour for most students to fill out, and does not require essays. Still, some are concerned that disabled individuals will be excluded. The college's president said alternatives would be found for students unable to apply online due to disabilities. A few graduate schools also require applications to be submitted online. (New York Times, 25 May 2000) CLINTON WANTS TEACHERS SCHOOLED ON COMPUTERS, INTERNET President Clinton, in a recent interview with Access magazine, predicts that within the next five to 10 years Internet penetration levels will be as high as present-day telephone penetration rates. Clinton also says that teachers must be trained in computer use in order to help ensure that all Americans have access to the Internet. Clinton says he is pushing to double the amount of funding available for teacher training. (Associated Press, 23 June 2000)