A service of the Benton Foundation (http://www.benton.org)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
EDTECH
Rural Alaska Schools Look to Online Courses for NCLB Success
EGOVERNMENT
Are Public Court Records Too Public in Cyberspace?
PRIVACY
Web Firms Choose Profit Over Privacy
INTERNET
E-religion Offers Online "Satsang"
EDTECH
RURAL ALASKA SCHOOLS LOOK TO ONLINE COURSES FOR NCLB SUCCESS
Alaska Online, a consortium of nine school districts, is launching a series
of online courses to better prepare students for college, meet state
standards and comply with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which
requires highly qualified teachers. Because of the state's limited school
enrollments and geographic dispersion, teachers have to be generalists and
are not necessarily qualified to teach advanced subjects. Online studies
give students a taste of independent learning, teach computer skills, and
allow students to take courses they might not otherwise be able to take.
There are some drawbacks, however. Steve Atwater, a district
superintendent, said that the hard part is keeping students motivated,
especially those who are not college-bound. The majority of his district is
Native American, and he is concerned that online courses might not match his
students' learning style. They prefer being shown things to reading about
them, and they want to see a local application for the knowledge. Michael
Opp, the project director, expects that students will interact with the
teacher, watch video clips and listen to audio clips as part of the online
learning experience.
SOURCE: eSchool News; AUTHOR: eSchool News staff and wire service reports
http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStoryts.cfm?ArticleID=4503
E-GOVERNMENT
ARE PUBLIC COURT RECORDS TOO PUBLIC IN CYBERSPACE?
First Amendment advocates and policymakers continue to clash over the
accessibility of public records via the Web. The issue now turns to the
courts, but not for litigation - critics point to the courts' policies on
sharing some documents online while restricting others. "If I'm in San Luis
Obispo, I should be able to get [public records] information without driving
five hours to Los Angeles to get to that courthouse," said Kelli Fager, a
First Amendment attorney in California. This is not always the case;
California courts do not offer access to criminal case files, divorce cases,
guardianship cases and mental health files online, even though they are
available on paper at the courthouse. California Chief Justice Ronald
George cites concern for the safety of victims as the primary justification.
In New York, the matter has reached the State Commission on Public Access to
Court Records, where the debate has centered on preventing identity theft as
well as preventing abusive spouses from tracking their fleeing victims. In
other states, such as Colorado, putting court records online is a matter of
money - budget shortfalls have made the issue a low priority.
SOURCE: USA Today; AUTHOR: The Associated Press
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2003-06-30-online-courthouse_x.
htm
PRIVACY
WEB FIRMS CHOOSE PROFIT OVER PRIVACY
Companies claiming to respect the privacy of online consumers have a dubious
track record of keeping such promises. In a recent example, Hooked on
Phonics rented their client list to other marketers despite pledging in
their privacy policy never to sell or rent such information. Such practices
have been overshadowed by the attention paid to p0rrn0graphers and other
unsavory scams, led by the anti-spam efforts of AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo!.
Partnerships between Web vendors and service providers have also led to a
confusing landscape for online shoppers, as the consumer "opt-out" process
often requires visiting partner sites of which the average surfer is
unaware. The Federal Trade Commission has received numerous complaints about
this practice regarding Citigroup, Inc. but has failed to act on them.
Lastly, marketers have turned on its ear the "opt-in" concept championed by
privacy advocates, selling or renting "opt-in lists" consisting of consumers
who failed to opt-out.
SOURCE: The Washington Post; AUTHOR: Jonathan Krim
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54888-2003Jun30.html
*NOTE: A word in the preceding story was intentionally misspelled to avoid
having the message blocked by e-mail filters.*
INTERNET
E-RELIGION OFFERS ONLINE "SATSANG"
Increasingly, major temples and religious or spiritual organizations are
using the Internet to interact with their followers, seek donations and
market their products. For example, a devotee who is unable to attend
festivities at the Jagannath temple in Ahmedabad, India, need only visit
www.swaminarayan.org to participate in the celebration. Other websites
offer courses in Vedanta and Upanishads, live discourse with a guru, and
online mediation and "satsang," or devotional speech and chanting for the
uplifting of a deity. Raja Goel of the Asaram Bapuji ashram, or spiritual
community, says that their website receives numerous e-mails seeking help
and guidance, and it offers telecasts of many of the Bapuji's discourses.
Vipul Vaghela, a volunteer at the BAPS Shahibaug temple in Ahmedabad, says
that the BAPS website does more than give information: "For our 'satsangis'
it has now become a part of their lives. It is interactive. It gives our
devotees a chance to participate in the weekly 'satsang' even if they are
miles away from a Swaminarayan temple," he says.
SOURCE: The Times of India; AUTHOR: Jahnavi Contractor
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/uncomp/articleshow?msid=5...
----------------------------------------------------------------------