ED TECH
Push for Computers in Classrooms Gathers New Foes (NYT)
How Small-Town Standards Can Block A Big City Class (NYT)
POLITICS ONLINE
A Giant Leap For Political Campaigning (USA)
California Commission Sees Big Obstacles to Internet Voting (NYT)
America Online Seeks Access To Party Conventions (NYT)
ECOMMERCE
Net, retail giants dealing for dollars (USA)
BROADBAND
The 12 Days of Broadband (FCC)
ED TECH
PUSH FOR COMPUTERS IN CLASSROOMS GATHERS NEW FOES
Issue: Ed-Tech
Conventional wisdom in education policy circles has held that children
need to be introduced to computers early in life and that technology
should be present in their educational experiences. However, a new group
of educators, doctors, psychologists and others is challenging this
idea. The group has formed a committee, called the Alliance for
Childhood, and written a draft statement on technology literacy saying
the American approach to technology in homes and schools has been
flawed. The existing approach emphasizes ephemeral vocational skills and
graphically appealing educational software, rather than helping children
think critically about technology and its appropriate use.
The committee is urging that computers have a restricted role, if any
role at all, in elementary school classrooms and in later years be
introduced to technology via a process that assures children understand
how computers work, to examine the role of technology in their lives and
have an understanding of ethical online behavior.
[SOURCE: New York times, AUTHOR: Pamela Mendels]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/12/cyber/education/15education.html)
HOW SMALL-TOWN STANDARDS CAN BLOCK A BIG CITY CLASS
Issue: Ed-Tech
Some school systems across the country are dealing with Internet content by
buying commercial filtering programs and using predetermined settings that
decide what children can and cannot see. Those settings are based on
objections submitted to the software companies by officials and educators
across the country, and so they tend to reflect the standards of the more
cautious communities. New York Board of Education officials adopted I-Gear
filtering software because of its flexibility (it can distinguish "breast"
from "chicken breast," for example). The flexibility was cited as a selling
point by the manufacturer, Symantec. However, unless local school officials
customize the filter, it relies on 23 predetermined, or default, settings
that filter out specific prohibited sites set by the company, ranging from
"news" to "intolerance." In New York, teachers complained that at first the
I-Gear filter banned the last chapter of John Steinbeck's "Grapes of Wrath,"
The New York Times, The Daily News, CNN and abortion-rights sites but not
anti-abortion sites. Symantec officials say the default filter categories do
not reflect the company's judgments about issues like abortion, but is based
on its customers' recommendations, which it admits can lead to
idiosyncrasies.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Anemona Hartocollis]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/national/regional/121599ny-schoolfilter-
edu.html)
POLITICS ONLINE
A GIANT LEAP FOR POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING
Issue: Political Discourse
[Op-Ed] Political candidates increasing have to pay huge sums in advertising
dollars
to get their message across to voters. As television news coverage of
candidates continues to shrink, political hopefuls without large war chests
often can't afford to be heard. For this reason, the President's Advisory
Committee on the Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television
Broadcasters -- of which Ornstein was a co-chair -- recommended that all
broadcasters provide five minutes of prime-time airtime to
candidate-centered discourse in the 30 nights before each election. In the
year since the recommendations were presented to Vice President Al Gore, not
one significant broadcast entity has shown willingness to take this small
step towards enhancing our democracy.
[SOURCE: USAToday(31A), AUTHOR: Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise
Institute senior resident scholar]
(http://www.usatoday.com/news/comment/ncguest.htm)
CALIFORNIA COMMISSION SEES BIG OBSTACLES TO INTERNET VOTING
Issue: Internet/Politics
A state commission in California, which is conducting the first
state-level study of online voting, will recommend waiting several years
before allowing voters to vote via their computers. Secretary of State
Bill Jones said the commission will recommend applying Internet
technology to the election process in phases. Early phases would involve
allowing voters to cast ballots on Internet-connected computers at
polling places. Eventually, after technical problems surrounding voter
identification are resolved, the public would be allowed to vote from
county kiosks or any computer with an Internet connection.
The issue of systems that can identify people who want to cast ballots
online is seen as a major hurdle to online voting. Another of the
commission's concerns was the fear that viruses that disable voters'
computers could be released on Election Day.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Rebecca Fairley Raney]
(http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/99/12/cyber/articles/15vote.html
AMERICA ONLINE SEEKS ACCESS TO PARTY CONVENTIONS
Issue: Political Discourse
America Online has announced plans to join the big four television networks
providing coverage of the upcoming Democratic and Republican conventions.
The online service provider will offer online video, audio interviews and
live chats of the parties' top brass. The convention planners are eager for
more ways to get their messages out. "We don't have reporters that will go
down and gather quotes and report back, but we'll be doing live talk shows
where the people at home can interact with newsmakers," says Kathleen
deLaski, America Online's political programming director. "It's different
than the kind of newsgathering we're used to." One challenge for AOL will be
obtaining the necessary press credentials.
[SOURCE: USAToday(16A), AUTHOR: Martha T. Moore]
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/19991215/1754559s.htm
ECOMMERCE
NET, RETAIL GIANTS DEALING FOR DOLLARS
Issue: E-Commerce
As the number of Americans going online begins to level off, some companies
have devised untraditional partnerships to attract newcomers to the Web.
Today, Yahoo will announce a partnership with Kmart, and AOL has plans to
soon announce a deal with Wal-mart. Yahoo and Kmart will offer free Internet
access to people who use Kmart's soon-to-be-launched Bluelight.com
e-commerce site. Wal-Mart already has began testing kiosks, that allow
consumers to purchase products not available in the store, in 50 stores
across the country. Getting on the Web is "a huge education process for the
average Wal-Mart customer," said Skip Helm, an analyst with William Blair.
"They're still a little bit intimidated at the whole process."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury News, AUTHOR: Deborah Kong]
(http://www.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/indepth/docs/yahoo121599.htm)
BROADBAND
THE 12 DAYS OF BROADBAND
Issue: Broadband
A 12-day series from the FCC on how broadband is changing the way we work,
play and live. Each day will be devoted to a specific aspect of broadband
use and potential use such as education, telemedicine, news and information
gathering, and shopping. Day one is the overview on the future of broadband.
Day two focuses on the accessibility of the Internet and bringing the
outside world closer to people with disabilities.
[SOURCE: FCC]
(http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/News_Releases/1999/nrmc9083.html)
--------------------------------------------------------------