EDTECH
Students Embrace Technology (WP)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
Korean Volunteers Take Net To Developing Countries (Newsbytes)
Report Urges World Leaders Not To Ignore 'Digital Divide'
(Newsbytes)
INTERNET
Napster Near Accord on Music Sales (NYT)
ICANN, Meet Gobbledygook.org (Wired)
TECHNOLOGY
Dell Plans Electronic Voting System (NYT)
EDTECH
STUDENTS EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY
Issue: Education Technology
According to Market Data Retrieval, there is a little more than 1 computer
for every 5 students, and a little less than 1 Internet-connected computer
for every 8 students. U.S. schools have spent nearly $6 billion in 2000
trying to create the formula for excellence in education technology: to
acquire a large number of computers and training for teachers in how to use
them. But education technology experts say there is still much to do,
particularly in training teachers. Only 29 percent of students were being
taught difficult concepts using computers, reported a recent survey by
Education Week. "The computer is so valuable in spatial relationships," said
Eileen Steinkraus, coordinator of the magnet program at Montgomery Blair
High School in Silver Spring. "Modeling of a molecule, for example . . .
[or] to see what happens to the blue crab population in the Chesapeake Bay
when you change various parameters, salinity, runoff, pH, etcetera."
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Jay Mathews]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/media/10260-1.html)
DIGITAL DIVIDE
REPORT URGES WORLD LEADERS NOT TO IGNORE 'DIGITAL DIVIDE'
Issue: Digital Divide
A report by the International Data Corp. finds that countries that ignore
the gap between information technology "haves" and "have-nots" could
jeopardize their own ability to compete in the world market. IDC researcher
Ludovica Bruno, lead author of the study comparing national information
technology infrastructures, contends, "Unless everybody (in a country) has
an opportunity to be online, the nation will fall behind." The study was
based on the IDC's Information Society Index, which ranks nations based on
several criteria relating to their information-technology backbones. The
study, first released in February, found that the United States had fallen
from second in the world to fourth in overall ranking in 2000. Sweden, with
its high percent of Internet access, ranked number one.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: David McGuire]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166432.html)
KOREAN VOLUNTEERS TAKE NET TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Issue: Digital Divide
South Korea's government is sending 150 youth to teach basic computer skills
to students in developing countries. The Ministry of Information and
Communication announced that the "Youth Volunteer Corps" will disperse its
young volunteers in groups of two or three to 20 developing countries on
July 10. Volunteers are selected from youth who apply on the Korea Internet
Corporation Association Web site, and will be provided notebook computers
and other educational equipment. President Kim Dae-jung proposed the
program at the 2000 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, said officials.
[SOURCE: Newsbytes, AUTHOR: Adam Creed]
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/166460.html)
INTERNET
NAPSTER NEAR ACCORD ON MUSIC SALES
Issue: Intellectual Property
The online song-swapping service Napster is close to an agreement for
permission to use music from three of the major record companies in a pay
version of its service, according to people close to the situation. The
proposed deal would not affect the music industry lawsuit against Napster,
nor would it alter a preliminary injunction crippling Napster's service by
forcing it to block traffic in copyrighted songs. But the agreement would
represent Napster's biggest step yet toward transforming itself into a
profitable business The discussions are the latest tactic in a competition
among the major record companies trying to control the distribution of music
over the Internet.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: David D. Kirkpatrick And Matt Richtel]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/05/technology/05MUSI.html)
(requires registration)
ICANN, MEET GOBBLEDYGOOK.ORG
Issue: Internet
Most likely, only people who are familiar with the acronyms DNSO, UDRP, GAA,
SO, ISPCP, or GAC would be able to decipher the ICANN's quarterly meeting
reports broadcast on the Web. "We speak ICANNese, not English," said ICANN
board member Amadeu Abril I Abril. "Yesterday I spoke to people who were new
to this and they couldn't understand a word we were saying." For those who
are able to follow the proceedings, it is apparent that ICANN is ready to
crack down on imposter domain registries that have created names like
dot-xxx, to avoid confusion with the 13 existing domain suffixes. Milton
Mueller, telecommunications professor at Syracuse University and ICANN
member, complained about the process: "They want to rule top-down. We
weren't even able to discuss competing name organizations."
[SOURCE: Wired, AUTHOR: Reuters]
(http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44269,00.html)
TECHNOLOGY
DELL PLANS ELECTRONIC VOTING SYSTEM
Issue: Technology
Dell Computer Corp. announced Monday it is teaming with a maker of
electronic voting systems, a partnership inspired in part by the five weeks
of recounts and legal battles that followed the last presidential election.
"The November 2000 elections shined a spotlight on the nation's election
infrastructure, and we've clearly heard the need from our customers to help
them modernize the way America votes," said Bob McFarland, vice president
and general manager of Dell's government sector. Dell said the system will
simplify voting and speed up results tabulation. Voters would use electronic
tablets, costing $2,500 each, to cast ballots. The main controller, or
server, costs $3,500 and can control up to 12 tablets.
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Associated Press]
(http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Dell-Elections.html)
(requires registration)
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