by Greg Kearsley // Vision
Our Vision article for August comes to us from Greg Kearsley, who outlines the criteria used for evaluating online courses for the Paul Allen Foundation Virtual Education contest. From his vantage point as a contest judge, Kearsley was able to determine the significance not only of online courses themselves, but also of the standards used to measure them. He also comments on a number of trends describing the direction of online education.
by Subbiah Arunachalam // Commentary
In this month's Commentary, Subbiah Arunachalam compares educational resources and technologies in developing countries to those available in developed nations, arguing that the lack of comparable communication technologies and Internet access in developing countries limits the participation of scientists in those countries from the collective international dialogue necessary for knowledge production.
by Barbara Horgan // Faculty and Staff Development
Barbara Horgan, in the Faculty and Staff Development section, focuses on how an institution can develop a program or set of strategies that will enable faculty to use technology to enhance teaching and learning.
by David Fetterman // Case Studies
In this month's Case Study, David Fetterman of Stanford University discusses his experience with virtual classrooms. In the Stanford School of Education's Policy Analysis and Evaluation MA program, Fetterman argues, his classes represent "a living laboratory in which to explore educational policy and put evaluation theories and techniques into practice."
Spotlight Site
Our Spotlight Site for August is The Millennium Project, hosted by the Academy for Educational Development's National Demonstration Library for Interactive Information Technologies. This site, which aims to provide a forum for contemporary debates surrounding the incorporation of technologies in the classroom, offers an archive of past debates, a yearly realtime online conference, and a library of relevant studies, reports, and articles.
by Jim Mazoue // Letters to the Editor
In this month's first Letter to the Editor, Jim Mazoue responds to Ed Neal's criticism of Gerald Schutte's comparative study of computer-mediated and classroom-based learning . In doing so, Mazoue re-emphasizes a few of Schutte's points, including the significance of the "inherent structural flexibility of online information access and collaboration" and argues that Schutte's conclusions concerning the greater effectiveness of computer-based learning can be sustained despite Neal's objections.
by Ed Neal // Letters to the Editor
In this month's second Letter to the Editor, Ed Neal responds to these points.
