Spotlight

Online event:

VLearn 3D 2000

"Live 3D, Learn 3D - Building Global Learning Communities through Collaboration, Knowledge Networks and Play"
Held from 1 P.M. EST to 6 P.M. EST, October 14, 2000 in the Active Worlds Educational Universe (AWEDU)
From the description: "Virtual worlds are collaborative 3D environments that provide exciting, creative and constructive opportunities to build knowledge networks in cyberspace. (...) This year's conference in cyberspace will feature projects, programs and people who have been using and developing these spaces for educational purposes. (..) This worldwide event will feature multiple speaking tracks, tour streams through education worlds, a poster session in the Vlearn3D Library and Birds of a Feather breakout sessions in selected AWedu worlds."
Important note: people who want to participate in this event will have to use a special 3D browser, available for free (Wintel platform only) at http://www.activeworlds.com/edu/awedu_download.html. Installing it on your home computer is a no-brainer, but it will likely be impossible in any computer lab, due to user restrictions. However, if there is enough interest, I will look into establishing a "physical node" - a place on campus with a few computers equipped with the browser software. Please send me a message, if you're genuinely interested. (October 14th is Saturday.)

Online reading:

Featurama
by Vlad Wielbut. (HTML format)

This is my attempt to create an exhaustive list of all the known features of major collaborative technologies available on the Internet today. These are not imaginary or proposed features, but ones that can be found in at least one tool from a commercial or non-commercial source. On the other hand, I can not think of any existing tool, be it a scheduling application or a discussion board, which would have all the features listed under its category below. In other words, this is a bit of a wish list. However, I hope that it may be helpful to those of you, who are considering giving online collaboration or distance education a try, and are in the process of thinking about what features are really important to you, before embarking on a search for an appropriate tool.

Conference:

Networks for People 2000

Held October 30-31, 2000 in Arlington, VA
The conference provides a forum to discuss the connection of people, information technology, and services transforming American life. Each year, Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) brings together leaders in the field of telecommunications and information technology to express their views on what's state-of-the-art now and, as we enter the 21st century, what the future might hold for information technologies and public policies affecting them. In addition, TOP grantees and other pioneers in the field have an opportunity to share their experiences, talk about the lessons learned and innovations made as they developed their networking projects.

Initiatives:

Youth Development Collaborative (YDC)

Connecting Youth to a Brighter Future.

YDC is a pilot program of the Morino Institute, that: "(..) offers youth -- particularly those left out of the digital revolution -- the skills, knowledge and confidence to participate in the New Economy. (...) works with four community-based groups in the District of Columbia to integrate the Internet into out of school learning and other youth related programs."
The program began in September of 1998 and comes to a close in September of 2000. It offers a Web site, mailing lists, as well as training and consultation services.
Victoria Vrana is the Online Content Producer and the primary contact person at YDC. More information can be obtained by visiting the program's Web site at http://www.youthlearn.org/

She said, he said:

"The most likely way for the world to be destroyed, most experts agree, is by accident. That's where we come in; we're computer professionals. We cause
accidents." -- Nathaniel Borenstein

No. 25