_ .......................................................... __ __ __ __ __ __ web's eye view | | /| / /| | /| / /| | /| / / June 19, 2001 | |/ |/ / | |/ |/ / | |/ |/ / 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 Alert Box... ============ Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for June 10 is now online at: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20010610.html Forcing users to browse PDF files decreases usability by around 300% compared with HTML pages. You should only use PDF for documents that users are likely to print. In those cases, following six basic guidelines will help you minimize usability problems. NEW REPORT: 230 Tips for Better User Testing Intended for people who already know how to run a user test, this list of practical tips and tricks will improve your companyâs return on investment in usability by honing your methodology. http://www.nngroup.com/reports/tips/usertest From EDUPAGE... =============== HY ARE SO FEW BITING AT BLUETOOTH? Bluetooth wireless technology has yet to gain widespread interest, despite its demonstrated ability to create cord-free, short-range communication among handhelds, cell phones, and other personal devices. Analysts say price is a major reason that Bluetooth has not caught on. A Bluetooth card recently unveiled by Palm that allows wireless communications in a 30-foot range between Palm m500 and m505 handhelds will cost $150. Other Bluetooth add-ons now in development will have similar costs. Analysts say those costs are simply too much greater than the cost of the cords that otherwise are required to connect these devices. The main reason for the high costs is the expense of producing chips for Bluetooth devices--these chips cost between $27 and $50. Analyst Alan Reiter said the cost for chips should have dropped to $5 by now, and analyst firm Meta said failure to reduce chip cost has forced it to push back its estimate, from 2002 to 2004, of when Bluetooth devices will be ubiquitous. (Computerworld Online, 12 June 2001) WEB-ACCESSIBILITY DEADLINE LOOMS FOR FEDS--SCHOOLS NEXT? An amendment to the Rehabilitation Act, which requires federal agencies to make their technology accessible to the disabled, will take effect June 21. Association for the Blind technology consultant Ross Doerr said the law is a likely precursor to similar regulations on the state level that will affect school districts. Under the mandate, new federal technology acquisitions and current Web sites must be fully accessible to the hearing or sight impaired. For example, images must be accompanied with text that can be translated by a text-reader, and multimedia content must be augmented with synchronized audio. Many federal agencies have bought software to help them automate this upgrade process. Doerr suggested that educators might want to contact their state education departments to get a head start on incorporating accessibility issues into their curricula (eSchool News Online, 5 June 2001) WEB SITE TRACKS STATEWIDE VIRTUAL UNIVERSITY PROJECTS The Instructional Telecommunications Council reports that at least 35 states provide distance education through an online, virtual university or by other means. The council provides a list of these distance education networks on its Web site. The council's executive director, Christine Dalziel, said the states that do provide distance education do so in numerous ways; most offer a list online of available courses, while some have built statewide networks. "A lot of colleges are really rushing to put courses together, and they're afraid of the competition from other states," Dalziel said. "That's really what's driving it in a lot of cases: fear." Dalziel reported that most collaborative distance-education programs operate within state boundaries. She said states vary in how they make distance-education credits transferable among institutions within the state. Michigan, for example, has gone out of its way to let students transfer credits, while other states put the burden on students to learn whether their credits can be applied elsewhere. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 13 June 2001) UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON TO OFFER FREE ONLINE SHORT COURSES The University of Washington has announced plans to offer abbreviated versions of its courses online at no charge. The online courses will cover a wide range of topics, from jazz history to business writing, with each designed to take about two hours to complete. "We wanted it to be long enough to be a meaningful experience and not so short that it would just be a teaser," explained Bill Corrigan, the university's director of distance-learning design. The courses will also serve a marketing purpose, as university officials hope that those who take the abbreviated versions will be intrigued enough to sign up for the full versions. The University of Washington's announcement follows the news earlier this year that MIT would provide its course materials online at no charge. (Chronicle of Higher Education Online, 6 June 2001)