INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY GETS BOOST DOWN UNDER
The Australian government's economic development agenda places a strong
emphasis on making greater use of instructional technology use from
kindergarten through higher education. The government hopes that wiring
more classrooms will help move the country from dependence on agriculture
and manufacturing to high value-added economic activity. Australia has the
highest per-pupil installed base of instructional technology of any country
in the world and has become a promising market for educational software.
(Heller Report Mar 96)
OPEN UNIVERSITY TRAINS 25% OF ALL MBA STUDENTS IN U.K.
The Open University in the United Kingdom, which specializes in "distance
education," is educating one fourth of all MBA students in the U.K. (1200 in
the current academic year), and is one of just a few business schools to
have been given an "excellent" rating by the Higher Education Funding
Council. Distance learning is the only method of instruction offered by
Open University, and one administrator says: "For us it's the only thing we
do; we have to get it right." (Financial Times 11 Mar 96 p9)
VIDEOCONFERENCING IN THE OUTBACK
Since 1993, aborigine communities in Australia's Northern Territory have
been using videoconferencing as the primary medium for personal and business
communications among each other and other sites in Sidney, Darwin and Alice
Springs. The Tanami Network, which uses PictureTel videoconferencing
equipment, is favored over the telephone or radio because it can convey the
extensive system of hand gestures used by aborigines while speaking. Most
of the videoconferences held are personal or ceremonial in nature -- paid
for in large part by mineral royalties and community funds. Other aborigine
videoconferencing networks include the Mungindi Project, which uses Cornell
University's CU-SeeMe software to link four remote schools. (Technology
Review Apr 96 p17)
SOFTWARE LETS BLIND "READ" NEWSPAPERS
The National Federation for the Blind is sponsoring a computerized system
that translates newspaper stories and then "reads" them over the phone to
visually impaired people. Stories are available from The New York Times,
USA Today and the Chicago Tribune; the program is running in Baltimore,
Baton Rouge and Minneapolis, and is slated for 100 more cities by next year.
(Tampa Tribune 16 Mar 96 A8)
MICROSOFT, DIRECTV TO OFFER INTERACTIVE SERVICES
Microsoft and the satellite TV broadcast company DirecTV are forming an
alliance to offer digital information and entertainment services that can be
displayed on a TV set or a computer screen. Microsoft will produce system
software and tools for content developers and will provide a number of
applications to get the new service started by early 1997. (New York Times
12 Mar 96 C2)
INTERNET LIVE ON TV
The Broadcast Production Group is planning a weekly half-hour TV show called
"Internet Live," which will also be available on PCs using CU-SeeMe
technology for real-time interaction with viewers. The magazine-style
program will feature short items on Internet developments (INews), Internet
misuse (ILash), and a humorous Q&A session (Just the FAQs). "It's the next
paradigm shift," says the show's executive producer. (Broadcasting & Cable
11 Mar 96 p76)
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