RATIONALE FOR SUBMITTING IBM Higher Education

The best overview of the reasons for including IBM’s Higher Education website is contained in their own words: "The mission of IBM Education is to help you fundamentally transform education." (IBM higher education home page, 1998). IBM’s website is proof that they are setting standards in computing technology for distance learning. For the multimedia Project Leader, there is much to utilize on this site. The article, The Great Equalizer, describes a new initiative from Wisconsin that fuses technology with education; and Leaving the Paper Trail Behind is an excellent journey into a paperless society. The current website (May, 1998) reviews Student-Driven Systems, Institutions Can Learn – Just Like People, and The Leadership of Learning Organizations. (IBM, Multiversity, 1998).

In Internet 2, the reader learns that IBM has committed over $3.5 million in support for higher education institutions. Internet2 is a project joining higher education, government, and industry with a common goal of advancing the next step of Internet networking and applications development. IBM’s contributions will include advanced technologies and services. (IBM, Internet 2, 1998). This article embodies the reason for including this website in this review.
 


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IBM, Inc. (1998). IBM Higher Education Home Page. IBM Corporation: company as
author. [Online]. Available: http://www.hied.ibm.com/
 
One of the basic premises of the new distance learning modes has to do with On-Demand Learning. IBM’s site gives an excellent view of the need for change. A section called On-Demand Learning Defined discusses modes of instruction, content in an On-Demand Learning environment, and the technology infrastructure of such an environment. By suspending the need for instructors to be involved in certain aspects of the instruction process, On-Demand Learning allows for new competencies. (IBM, On-Demand Learning, 1997).

There was ONE article on IBM’s website, which should be MUST reading by the design team. In shaping new learning products, there is one very paramount topic that the design team must keep in mind. Not only for their audience, but for themselves as highly skilled workers, it must be realized that reskilling has become a keyword in all industries. It is estimated that the active life of any technical degree today is only about five years. The pace of knowledge advancement requires constant updating. Reskilling is becoming a requirement for workers. The American Society for Training and Development has projected that, by the year 2000, 75% of the current workforce will need to be retrained – just to keep up. On-Demand Learning allows for "just-in-time" access in digital formats, which ensure the timeliness of today’s rapidly changing information. The decision-making process of rule-oriented bureaucracy must give way to informed judgment – with an ability to self-inform and self-correct. Variety, quality, timeliness, and responsiveness are central aspects of "information age" productivity. This contrasts with productivity in the bureaucratic model, which is heavily oriented toward processes, procedures, and outputs rather than outcomes. (Kvavik, 1998).

Technology is the great equalizer in education. It gives every student – whether poor or wealthy, whether living in a rural area or an urban center – access to the best teachers, the best information, and the best education possible. But technology is not an end in itself. Its value is in the exciting educational opportunities it brings to students at all levels. Today’s changing business environment requires re-examining traditional educational delivery systems in order to prepare our work force for the challenges of the next century. Courses over the Web can have the collaborative, interactive, and creative feel of a real classroom and can incorporate multimedia applications, making the educational experience for students all the more abundant. (Thompson, 1998).

 

RATIONALE FOR SUBMITTING KidsHealth.org

The primary reason for including the KidsHealth.org website, by The Nemours Foundation, is that it represents perhaps the best aggregation of learning products for persons over a variety of age levels that this writer has found anywhere on the Web. It is an example of expert information for families about children’s health, but the learning applications go much further than just aiming at educating individuals. The products are for use by families – perhaps the best "collaborative" environment possible – or at least beginning the procedure at a grassroots level. The website is in itself a collaborative effort, created by the pediatric medical experts at The Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children, The Nemours Children’s Clinics, and other children’s health facilities, nationwide. (KidsHealth.org home page, 1998).

KidsHealth is devoted to the health of children and teens. Of particular interest to a design team that is working with learning applications, this site has accurate, up-to-date information about growth, food and fitness, childhood infections, immunizations, lab tests, medical and surgical conditions, and the latest treatments. It is laden with ideal topics for future learning products, and stands as an excellent model for the Project Leader to utilize with the multimedia team. One can find health games, How The Body Works, animations, the KidsVote health poll, Health Tip of the Day, Overviews for Parents, Kids, and Professionals, and an introduction to The Nemours Foundation Florida Facilities and Delaware Facilities. It also has a concise review of one very excellent learning tool: The Nemours Guide to Children’s Health Care Media – An interactive database of award-winning health care videos. (KidsHealth.org index, 1998).

Nemours Children’s Clinics et al. (1998). KidsHealth.org home page. NJ and FL:
Nemours and associated companies as author(s).. [Online]. Available: http://kidshealth.org/
 
This website is so loaded with professionally created learning applications, that it takes many hours to study and review. The interesting benefit for this writer was the plethora of subject matter and the easy interface as one moved from learning environments geared toward children, to those for adults – both parents and professionals in many fields. This interface with various users was especially evident in the learning applications for children, where extremely serious subject matter is dealt with, without "talking down" to children. For instance the section, Feelings and Changes deals with the fact that everybody has feelings. "Whether you feel happy, scared, angry, jealous, sad, silly, or confused, these are all natural emotions. Everybody has a body, too – and it’s always growing and changing! This section has articles about your feelings – like why people sometimes feel sad or how it feels when someone dies – and about your changing body, like what puberty means." (KidsHealth.org, Kids Section, 1998).

The Food and Fitness section entices children to ponder what minerals are, and why exercise is good for humans. This section has not only has articles about food and fitness, but an excellent selection of great recipes. So, the learning application not only deals with scientific evidence, but gives utilizable information for implementing this knowledge in everyday meals.

There is a learning application called My Health. It asks if the child ever wonders how medicines work, or what it means when someone has epilepsy. Pertinent to a growing number of children with this diagnosis, it asks, "How does it feel to have dyslexia?" This section has articles all about different conditions, and there are stories about different kids. "Get the scoop on glasses, or read a story about scoliosis. Check out a list of weird medical words and find out what they mean." (KidsHealth.org, Kids Section, 1998).

The Parents Section is an equally well-constructed site of easily usable learning environments. It deals deeply with concerns of parents, and detailed reviews are given in subjects such as behavior, emotions and development, a baby’s development, childhood infections, divorce organizations and support groups, U.S. Poison Control Centers, healthy kids, asthma and allergies, bones and muscles, brain and nervous system, emergencies, pain, sleep, nutrition and fitness, and safety. (KidsHealth.org, Parents Section, 1998). Although these tools fall mostly in the category of Reference Tools, the learning applications are extremely well done.

Neil Izenberg, M.D., a Board-Certified Pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, is Director of the Nemours Center for Children’s Health Media (of The Nemours Foundation). "Dr. Izenberg’s focus is the creation of high-quality education media for families, children, and professionals about children’s health care. The Center creates nationally distributed video programs about health care, produces the KidsHealth.org web site, publishes medical guides (STAT!CARDS), and explores the ever-changing world of communications technology and medicine. Izenberg is Editor-in-Chief of KidsHealth.org." (KidsHealth.org, Neil Izenberg, 1998)

RATIONALE FOR SUBMITTING Knowledge Network Explorer (Pacific Bell)

"I believe that with the World Wide Web and all the accompanying features of the Internet, teachers have a tool that will promote the best in cognitive and affective learning, expand the role of teachers to the mentorship that Socrates modeled, and diminish the walls that keep us in isolation. Isn’t it nice to be teaching at the beginning of the golden age?" (March, 1998).

Welcome to the Knowledge Network Explorer! Argos Award Winner, Digital High School, California Teleconnec Fund Workshops. This is the official website of the Pacific Bell initiative, Education First, and of Pacific Bell’s umbrella program to benefit education – Knowledge Network. The KnowledgeNetwork Explorer presents valuable Internet access and videoconferencing information and applications for educators, librarians, and others who would like to know more about issues affecting California schools and libraries. (Pacific Bell, Welcome, 1998).

Pacific Bell. (1998). Welcome to the Knowledge Network Explorer!. San Diego, CA:
SDSU Design Team. [Online]. Available: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/index.html
 
As part of the Education First Initiative, Pacific Bell has funded three fellowships at San Diego State University’s Department of Educational Technology in the College of Education. The SDSU/Pacific Bell Fellows (also known as the "Applications Design Team") are creating Internet and videoconferencing applications for K-12 schools, community colleges, and public libraries. Wired Learning shares compelling projects, lessons, activities, and tools developed to support learning. Design Team Applications are learning products created by the SDSU Design Team.

Some of the presentations given by the fellows have been (Follow the timeline (dates) of these presentations):
 

• Desktop Videoconferencing: How Will You Use It? has been presented numerous times, including the 1997 ISDN World Conference, to provide awareness of the flexibility and variety of uses of videoconferencing. It is clear that this team of designers has been on the cutting edge of advanced technologies in education
• Welcome to the Classroom of Tomorrow, (1996)
• Videoconferencing for Learning, (1996)
• Videoconferencing Overview (1996)
• Wired Learning: ISDN Applications for Classrooms and Libraries, (1996)
• Free ISDN Circuits Bring Science Online (1996)
• Traditional Education vs. Webducation, (1995)
• Using Compressed Video for Distance Learning is a practical article for teachers interested in using videoconferencing for instruction. It was published in the Fall 1995 issue of The Distance Educator newsletter. (Pacific Bell, Publications, 1998)
 
An affiliation with the SDSU design team could be very beneficial to a local multimedia department, and one that should be considered by the Project Leader. At the very least, an appropriate request for SDSU’s newsletter, Applications Update, should be made. This will allow the team leader to keep abreast of new and emerging applications from the SDSU Design Team. (Pacific Bell, Wired learning, 1998). SDSU’s affiliation with the Blue Web’n Website should be noted. Some of their excellent content categories are – Arts, Architecture, and Crafts – to Speaking, Writing, Foreign Language, American Sign Language, and English as a Second Language – to Higher Education, Education Alternatives, and Reform. (Pacific Bell, Blue Web’n, 1998).

What’s on the Web? – Sorting Strands of the World Wide Web for Educators, by Tom March, is a MUST read for the multimedia instructional design team. It describes the different types of educationally useful Web sites found on the Internet and provides links to exemplars of each. March is a Pacific Bell Education First Fellow and part-time instructor at San Diego State University. March explores the aspects of the wide variety of information and human connection that is afforded students and teachers who have access to the Internet. This article was written as a starting point for teachers who want to integrate the Internet into curricula. His premise is that by classifying and defining aspects of the Internet that are useful to teachers, all of us in distance learning can begin to intelligently synthesize the aspects that serve our learning goals. Seven types of applications are categorized and examples provided: Enrichments, Lessons/Online Tutorials, Tools, References, Resources, Projects, and Activities, as well as A Brief Definition of Applications. (March, 1998).

The Education First Design Team Applications page describes and links to online curriculum and resources created by the Education First Applications Design Team. Their mission is to support meaningful technology-infusion that encourages a yearning for learning.

Many of their applications deal with subjects concerning Life in Our America – How well do you know your community? These are some of their models:
 

• "Black History Past & Present – This Website allows students of African-American history to sample aspects of the subject with a wide variety of Internet-based activities.
• "Nonprofit Prophets: A Web-Based Community-Action Project – In this project, student teams identify social or environmental problems in their own or the global community and create a shared Web site with an actual nonprofit organization.
• "Grant Opportunity Resources – This resource for educators in search of dollars includes special search engines, information about print and electronic sources, and links to other frequently updated grant resources.
• "Videoconferencing for Learning – This resource helps teachers and librarians use two-way video effectively.
• "Filamentality (newly revised version 2.0) – How do you get started integrating the wealth of the Web into your learning environment? Filamentality is an interactive Website that guides you through creating five different types of Web pages and then posts it on the Internet! Try making a Hotlist, Multimedia Scrapbook, Subject Sampler, Treasure Hunt, or WebQuest." (Pacific Bell, Education first: Design team, 1998).

RATIONALE FOR SUBMITTING Lucent Technologies – CEDL

As with all five of the corporate models included in this review, excellence in creation and utilization of distance learning formats are of primary concern when developing an instructional design team. These sites serve as exemplars, both within global industry standards, and also within specific guidelines for this technological industry. The Lucent Technologies Center for Excellence in Distance Learning (CEDL) is such a model. Their website is included in this overview because their strong focus in instructional design is the corporate community. They ask,

Lucent Technologies. (1998). Center for Excellence in Distance Learning (CEDL). CO
and NJ: CEDL Design Team. [Online]. Available: http://www.lucent.com/cedl/
 
Spanning the Distance: Training for the Distance Learning Environment. Presented by: Lucent Technologies, Indiana University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Extension. In today’s Information Age, learning can no longer be confined within the four walls of a classroom. The traditional instructor, armed with a textbook, is no longer the sole source of education experience. Information resources are everywhere, often separated from the learner by time and distance. Distance Learning defines the process of connecting learners wherever they are with remote resources. Three high powered workshops and an implementation guidebook will provide the skills and knowledge needed to build successful Distance Learning programs, manage Distance Learning systems, and deliver the training and education required by employees or students: Basic Distance Learning Design & Delivery Workshop, Creating Teaching Strategies for Interactive Videoconferencing, Institute for Leadership in Distance Education, and Distance Learning: A Guide to System Planning and Implementation. (Lucent, Spanning, 1998).

RATIONALE FOR SUBMITTING Microsoft In Education

One of the strongest reasons for including Microsoft in this review is also the very reason that this company has been in the news so often lately – Microsoft’s pervasive presence in the marketplace automatically demands that persons involved in any arena of computing have an excellent grasp of the software. It is this author’s opinion that one of the primary reasons for the legal problems for Microsoft of recent months is that they have achieved such a high level of excellence in products, and that is why they hold such a market share. The rest of it has to do with human emotion and the more negative aspects of business acumen. REGARDLESS of any of these issues, the fact remains that Microsoft offers superior products. A visit to their website confirms that they also have developed preeminence in distance learning theory and practice.

The site is aptly named Microsoft in Higher Education – here, some of the offerings are Notebook Universities: Creating a Technology-Intensive Learning Environment On Campus, The IT Work Force Shortage, 3-D games that students created in a CS course, and UT Business school sets ambitious new standards for student use of a Laptops Initiative, made in cooperation with Microsoft, Dell, and Cisco Systems. (MS in higher ed, the technology source, 1998). These are not lightweight subjects, not in the general arena of computing and not in the specific area of distance learning. They ARE subjects of intense importance to the Project Leader in a multimedia design team setting. Such sections as The Connected Learning Community, The 21st Century Campus, A Learning Revolution, Learning for a Lifetime, Higher Education’s Technology Challenges, The Microsoft Vision, and Microsoft’s Commitment give further topics for study and assimilation to the team. At Microsoft, we believe that technology makes many things happen, but it is education that makes everything possible. (MS, the connected learning community, 1998). What this writer found to be appropriately apt is that their motto holds true straight across the board, from educating those of us in the development career areas, as well as the end user – students involved in distance learning.

A final rationale for including this website is found in Microsoft’s breakdown of subject matter, and explanations of issues DIRECTLY involved in distance learning. Their section called Microsoft in Online Learning provides intense study material for a design team in the topics of collaboration, the virtual classroom, streaming media, large-scale online learning services, partners in Distance Learning FAQ, and CASO’s Internet University, as well as an article named, Is Online Learning for Me? Microsoft definitely provides solutions along the entire continuum of online learning. The products can support individual faculty, complete departments, and entire institutions, with easy-to-use, intuitive interfaces. It is imperative to realize, as Project Leader, that ambitious ideas can be implemented without overly sophisticated technical knowledge – and it can be done in an amazingly short period of time. (Microsoft in online learning, 1998). This is an important toolset for the multimedia team.

Microsoft Corporation. (1998). Microsoft in education: home page. Redmond, WA:
Microsoft Design Team. [Online]. Available: http://www.microsoft.com/education/
 
Part of this amazing website is the Microsoft K-12 Connection. Current site offerings include An Educated Look at Windows – where millions of educators, students, and administrators are enhancing learning and boosting the effectiveness of their educational institutions, with the use of technology. The site offers a section on Videoconferencing, appropriately called, Reach Out and See Someone. They also offer a section called Challenge Grants – it is an interesting and very pertinent article that addresses the fact that professional development is the major focus for the next round of Technology Innovation: This literally will change the face of the future of all involved in instructional design. Microsoft aptly notes that WE will be the innovators and inventors. (Microsoft in K-12 education, 1998). As workers in this arena, we should recognize efforts by such companies as Microsoft, when they are so obviously committed to supporting a Connected Learning Community. They are, as instructional designers are – working with schools who are overcoming obstacles and building those connected learning communities. Their section on Anytime/Anywhere Learning – A Vision for Learning with Laptops, gives an excellent review of the vision, the case studies, and the solutions for schools who are integrating laptops into the learning process for Anywhere/Anytime Learning. (MS, Vision in K-12, 1998). Furthermore, even for communities not ready to make the leap of faith for providing laptops or even desktop computers for every student – perusing this website will solidify the commitments already strongly made by a design team, a community, or a learning institution.

Collection of graphics, HTML coding & layout, creation of links for Figures List and References,
done by L. C. Boyd. All graphics are properties and © of the pertinent websites, individuals, or
companies, and may be found at the corresponding links.

©1998 Leanne C. Boyd