Online Chronicle Of Distance Education And Communication, November 1992
        ............     ............
       ...........         ...........             THE
      ...........     .     ...........      ONLINE CHRONICLE
     ..........     . . .    ...........  OF DISTANCE EDUCATION
     ..........      . .     ...........    AND COMMUNICATION
      ...........     .     ...........
       ...........         ...........         November 1992
        ............     ............


     In the industrial age, we go to school. In the information age,
     school can come to us. This is the message implicit in the media
     and movement of distance education.


Volume #6, Issue #1
November 1992

Editor:
Jason Ohler......................Educational Technology Program Director
                                          University of Alaska Southeast
                                                   11120 Glacier Highway
                                                   Juneau, Alaska  99801
                                                    Phone:  907-789-4538
                                             BITNET USERID: JFJBO@ALASKA

Assistant Editor:
Ruth Ryan.................................University of Alaska Southeast
                                                   11120 Glacier Highway
                                                   Juneau, Alaska  99801
                                             BITNET USERID: JSRMR@ALASKA


Technical Coordinator
Paul J. Coffin............................................716 Taschereau
                                                    Ste. Therese, Quebec
                                                                 J7E 4E1
                                                     Phone: 514-430-0995

========================================================================

Welcome to the last issue of the Online Chronicle for the year.

A combination of the recession and declining oil prices and oil production
in Alaska have conspired to reduce the amount of time and staff my
institution can devote to the Chronicle.  It has been a struggle during
the last few years to produce the Chronicle, and this year promises to be
even more difficult.  It is already November and the first issue is just
going to press.  Clearly something has to change.

So, it is time to take a year off to see if I can re-organize and return
to produce a Chronicle that publishes with some regularity.  If not, then
it will be discontinued.

One possibility is for others from different institutions to help with
production.  I am very happy to consider this.  Please email me
with ideas.

Thank you for all of your support.  'Til next September, hopefully.

=======================================================================
                     T A B L E    O F   C O N T E N T S

1. International Connectivity:  A Survey of Attitudes about Cultural

       and National Differences Encountered in Computer-Mediated
       Communication, by Ruth Ryan, JSRMR@Alaska.Bitnet


2.  Distance Education at "Conventional Universities"
       by Michael Power, Michael_Power@ugar.uquebec.ca


3. Three Major University Leaders Endorse "Global University"
       an excerpt from: The University of the World Newsletter
       from:  Dr. Takeshi Utsumi


4.  Project: Grand & Everyday Challenges for Education
       Using Telecommunications in the Curriculum
       by Jim Levin, Jim-levin@uiuc.edu


5.  The Agricultural Satellite Corporation:  Three Years of
       Phenomenal Growth, by Dr. Randall Bretz, ASAT001@UNLVM.UNL.EDU


6. Announcements and Requests
    a. ANNOUNCEMENT:  World Conference on Education Multimedia and
          Hypermedia
    b. AN OPEN INVITATION: Become A Founding Member Of The Consortium
          For School Networking
    c. ANNOUNCEMENT:  The "Poland Now" Teleconference
    d. ANNOUNCEMENT:  A New Distance Learning Course From Carnegie
          Mellon University
    e. CALL FOR PAPERS:  "Simulation & Gaming"
    f. ANNOUNCEMENT: A Consortium for Network Publication of
          Refereed Research Journals
          RESEARCH JOURNALS
    g. REQUEST:  Optel Screen Development
    h. REQUEST:  Main$treet -- small business simulator


7. DISTANCE EDitorial- Figuring Distance Education Credit Hours


8. About the Chronicle

=======================================================================
1.           International Connectivity:  A Survey Of Attitudes
                   About Cultural And National Differences
              Encountered In Computer-Mediated Communication

                   by Ruth Ryan, JSRMR@Alaska.Bitnet

We live in a multi-national world, one with many languages, cultures,
races, and nationalities. Yet, our nations are separated by geographical,
political, and cultural differences.  In recent years, individuals all
over the world have discovered computer-mediated communication (CMC) as a
means of connecting with peers, colleagues, and family.  CMC and the
presence of international CMC networks pro-vide a collaborative atmosphere
in which researchers in many fields can bridge the cultural and national
differences that separate them.  From their home or office computers, they
link their minds with contemporaries across the city or across the globe.
As the messages are sent and received, individuals are identified and
recognized by their userid, and differences in nationality, ethnicity,
age, gender, and physical ability are not known unless divulged.

Throughout several years of CMC practice, I have often wondered about the
attitudes of other CMC users toward this communication medium that appears
to disguise a person's appearance and cultural identity.   At a time when
conflict and unrest between nations results in late night bombing raids,
unified national boycotts, and multi-nation world wars, I have often
thought that communicating through a medium that diminishes differences
between individuals is ideal.  To resolve differences and share ideas that
enhance the quality of life without prejudice and power struggles
unrelated to the issue at hand would seemingly improve communications
among nations at war.  With today's technology and the availability of
computer-mediated communication,  the ability to interact without regard
to skin color, ethnic background, or gender differences would seemingly
facilitate conflict resolution through intelligent exchanges of points of
view. It was with such thoughts in mind that I came upon a central
question for this study:  to what extent are cultural and national
differences evident and considered significant by users of the online
environment?

In July, 1992, I developed and distributed a survey to a selection of
BITNET discussion groups where topics focused on electronic communication.
The sample group for this study consisted of international CMC users who
participate in BITNET discussion groups.

Geographic location of the study participants revealed that a majority of
them were in the U.S., which is not surprising considering that the
Listservs operate on the BITNET system, which is largely a U.S. network.
It is significant to note, however, that BITNET listserv members are
strewn across the globe and are not simply neighbors using efficient
technology. This widespread connectivity most likely reflects improved
access to electronic media in further developed countries around the
world.

A listing of nationalities represented in this study shows a diverse
population of "emailers" who may or may not be living in their birth
country or the country in which they claim citizenship, as illustrated by
the difference between 64% U.S. residents vs. 45% American.  Ninety
percent of the respondents are Caucasians, and 45% are American; however,
the range of other ethnic backgrounds indicates the broad reach that
electronic mail provides to those who wish to communicate outside their
geographic and national boundaries.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents are male, and 82% have graduate degrees
or degrees or has completed some graduate school.  Forty-three percent are
involved in higher education (student or faculty), and another 31% hold a
job in the computer field. These percentages very likely represent the
upper-middle class segment of the world's societies who have access to
computers and higher education.  Probably excluded altogether,
unfortunately, are people in less-developed third-world countries who are
less likely to have access to higher education, much less a computer and
other necessary electronic connections to communicate online.

An analysis of age data reveals a significant representation of young
adults in the 19-30-year age group (31%).  Of these,  47% are employed in
the computer science field, 33% are students, and another 20% are working
in their chosen profession.  These figures perhaps represent the
traditional-age college/graduate students and those just establishing a
career.  The largest percentage of respondents (53%) fall into the 31-49-
year age group of whom 31% work in the computer science field.  The other
categories are as follows:  Professors (25%), researchers (8%), teachers
(7%), library science (7%), and a few professionals in other fields.
Respondents fifty and older, the other predominant age group, are
primarily professors (50%), computer scientists (14%), and teachers (14%).

Almost all of the respondents indicated active use of electronic mail (81%
are online several times per day) and communicating with colleagues or
peers as their most important purpose for being online.  Interacting with
friends seemed to be moderately important, but several respondents
indicated that many of these friendships were established online as a by-
product of academic or work-related interactions.   Such active use of
the electronic medium is perhaps the direct result of CMC's nearly
instantaneous delivery of messages.

The availability of electronic networks reported by the respondents
reveals the presence of a structure that facilitates electronic
connectivity.  This effort is impressive, as it suggests that
organizations and commercial interests within the developed countries
around the globe recognize the need for improved communication routes for
their people and are working to facilitate such needs.  In the information
age, the electronic transfer of information virtually eliminates national
boundaries.  As one individual in Turkey commented, "CMC helps me feel as
a world citizen."

With a CMC population consisting mainly of well-educated, professional,
Caucasian people,  issues of nationality and cultural orientation might
seem relevant to the status of electronic mail users.  Yet the
overwhelming majority (90%) of the respondents indicated that it is not
important that people they talk to online be of the same cultural origin
or nationality.  In response to the question about the importance of their
cultural identity, only 25%  indicated strong degrees of importance, while
75% indicated minimal or no importance.  A closer examination of the
responses shows that those outside the U.S. indicated a higher level of
importance linked to their cultural identity than the U.S. residents (22%
vs. the U.S. response of 14%.).  This difference may be the result of the
"melting pot" of nationalities and cultural backgrounds of the U.S.
citizens.

In further support of the non-significance of cultural differences online,
70% of the respondents indicated that cultural differences present little
or no impact to their interactions with others online.  When examining
only U.S. respondents' replies, a somewhat higher percentage indicated "no
impact" compared to those outside the U.S.  (41% U.S. vs. 31% outside
U.S.).  Perhaps the fact that  BITNET is an electronic network of largely
U.S. colleges and universities, and thus serves predominantly American
users for whom English is the dominant language (and thus presents fewer
cultural obstacles for Americans), accounts for this difference.  Non-
American discussion group participants are connected to BITNET via a
gateway from their own network (e.g., JANet and EARN), and English may not
be the dominant language on their own network.

When respondents were asked if they were aware of any differences in the
ways they interact online with those of another culture or nationality
compared to how they interact with those within their own culture, 40%
said yes.  Some attributed their perceptions to a desire or need to
accommodate language differences. Others said they were more careful in
the way they expressed themselves in order to avoid misunderstandings due
to perceived cultural differences.

An awareness of one's own attitudes and behavior appears to be easier to
discern and report than guessing about how others feel.  When respondents
were asked about their perceptions of the attitudes of others when
interacting with them, the affirmative response was not as high;  only 25%
reported  an awareness of national or cultural differences perceived by
others, though some opinions were strong and strenuously expressed.
Among the differences noted was an increase in formality in addressing
others and the frequency of forming and acting on assumptions about
characteristics of nationalities.   Here, then, the differences that
interfere with multicultural exchanges are due to differences in ability
to express ideas in terms that are clearly understood or to interpret the
ideas of others because of the language used to express them.

When the educational levels of respondents were compared to their
attitudes about cultural differences in a collaborative/negotiative
situation, a significant increase in the level of importance attributed to
cultural differences was revealed among those with graduate degrees.  Of
those with graduate degrees, 21% responded that they felt their cultural
origin was very important to their colleagues when involved in negotiation
of a collaborative effort.  To those without graduate degrees, their
perceptions of impact by cultural origin were less pronounced--only 10%
perceived their cultural origin to be important to their colleagues.   One
explanation for this difference may be that higher education employs a
greater command of  language; thus,  differing abilities to express and
clarify ideas are more apparent to this group.

Regardless of educational background, the majority of respondents (95%)
indicated they had encountered differences in communication using computer-
mediated communication as opposed to face-to-face or traditional print
methods, and many offered comments to elaborate on their claim.  Physical
limitations in transmission of data was the most frequently mentioned
difference.  Many felt they encountered more sarcasm and personal attacks
within the CMC environment, while others claimed to experience a greater
freedom of expression and encountered more egalitarian attitudes.  Some
respondents spoke of anonymity and minimized status differences as unique
to the online environment, and further noted that gender, race, and age
differences are "clouded" online.   Eighty-nine percent of the respondents
indicated that they had made some degree of adjustment to their
interaction style online in order to communicate effectively.   These
figures indicate a definite willingness to accommodate differences in
order to interact effectively.

The most important issue I sought to address in this study was the extent
to which cultural and national differences are evident and considered
significant by users of the online environment.  Analysis of the data
provided by international participants suggests that it is not the
beliefs, customs, traditions, or practices unique to individual cultures
or nationalities that most greatly influence connectivity among
international emailers.  Rather, what seems to be most important is their
ability to express their views, beliefs, and ideas in an effective manner.
This is a language issue.  While language is a significant component of
each civilization, and thus a reflection of unique cultures, it is the
ability to use language that appears to be the key to successful
interaction in computer-mediated communication.  In an electronic medium
where language is the vehicle for connectivity, it seems to be essential
that participants be skilled in using not only the most widely adopted
language but also other lan-uages as well.  Individuals around the world
may be, in many ways, more similar than they are different; yet, without
written communication skills in a common language, those individuals'
ideas hold less power and less influence in the online environment.
Perhaps, in time, and with expanded access to computer-mediated
communication tools, we might all feel "as world citizens."

For a complete copy of the study report, send your postal address to the
author at JSRMR@Alaska.Bitnet.
=======================================================================

2.         Distance Education at "Conventional Universities":
            by Michael Power, Michael_Power@ugar.uquebec.ca

Those who are aware of the development of teaching at a distance
>From its earliest to its most contemporary form probably agree that the
movement that began over a hundred years ago is far from over.  From very
basic correspondence courses put on the market by small private
organizations to full multimedia-based instruction supplied by national
distance universities, we have, more recently, moved into an era of
interactive and spontaneous delivery systems being developed by just about
every kind and size of organization imaginable.

I am particularly interested in the development of distance education in
what is generally termed "conventional" universities. This is of course
not new in countries like Australia where distance education seems to have
always been within the scope of conventional university activity.  But it
does appear to be a relatively new trend in Canada where distance
universities such as Athabasca and Tele-Universite have tended to
supply the lion's share of distance courses.  Burge (1991) mentions that
some thirty universities in Canada offered courses at a distance in 1990.
The Canadian Association of University Continuing Education (CAUCE) lists
nearly forty.  What may be common knowledge to some but not to all is that
the new generation of distance teaching institutions will most likely be
.. conventional universities!

Given adult educational needs, a drop in recruiting from within the usual
ranks of high-school (or "collegial" in Quebec) graduates, given the age-
old requirement for universities to "get the knowledge to the people"
wherever they be and numerous other factors currently affecting higher
education (such as the use of CMC), a boom in conventional university
distance teaching has apparently begun and may soon account for (if it
doesn't already) most DE activity in the country.

On the other hand, what do we actually know about how conventional
universities organize, structure and develop distance education?
Apparently not very much according to Kovel-Jarboe (in M.G. Moore, 1990)
who states that very few studies actually exist on the subject.  Most
practices seem to be "home-grown" in response to pressure for
"decentralizing" resources and course offerings.  Since most of the
research findings in distance education published in specialist journals
seems to be carried on primarily by academics at distance "autonomous"
universities, little in the way of day-to-day activities in a "distance
teaching centre", or "extension unit", etc. within the precincts of a
traditional university appears to be known.

Do distance educators in traditional universities base their practice on
autonomous-university models?  Are these models appropriate given
the change in context?  Do conventional university-based distance
educators adjust these models to "fit" their needs?  Are those involved
trained distance educators or have they simply developed an interest in
the field and responded as best they can to imperative needs with regard
to expanding services and expanding enrollment?  And is there one
conventional university distance education model?   Not according to
Medsker (1975) and Medsker and Edelstein (1977) in Kovel-Jarboe.  They
indicate that there are at least three general types of distance education
organizations within conventional universities that correspond to the
latter three categories in the Keegan & Rumble (1982) typology:
    -the uni-departmental model
    -the multi-departmental model
    -the multi-institutional model.

I am an educational technologist working at a conventional university
(Universite du Quebec a Rimouski) that has developed what was initially a
uni-departmental model of DE but which has recently been  reorganized to
become a multi-departmental model (as another department is currently
getting involved).  This "upbeat mood" in DE at the UQAR has led us to
develop a research project on improving the process of mediation through
increased use of interactive technology that best suits our needs.  As
mentioned earlier, since we are not aware of much that has been published
in Canada with regard to conventional university-based DE, and even less
with regard to the specificity of small-scale mediation and tutoring
systems within conventional universities, we would welcome input from
fellow readers who are interested in this line of enquiry and would like
to share experiences, insight and ideas.

Please e-mail Michael_Power@uqar.uquebec.ca or (if you can't get
through, as it sometimes happens) try Mpower@chapparal.fse.ulaval
======================================================================
3.                   THREE MAJOR UNIVERSITY LEADERS
                      ENDORSE "GLOBAL UNIVERSITY"

 an exerpt from: The University of the World NEWSLETTER
                 (January/March 1992, Vol. 5, No. 1)

   Universities must develop a worldwide network in order to be "world-
class" institutions, according to the leaders of three prominent academic
institutions.
   "The number one challenge is that the university community has to cope
with increasing numbers of persons and increasing knowledge, but must
maintain its excellence and sophistication," said Sir Richard Southwood,
Vice Chancellor of Oxford University.
   Southwood, who also teaches biology at the esteemed English
institution, joined Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine and Wellesley
President Nannerl Keohane to tell an Oxford alumni group in Cambridge,
Massachusetts that social and political changes in the world dictate that
universities expand or be left behind.
   Southwood said political freedom in Eastern Europe and the former
Soviet Bloc nations will undoubtedly send a flood of students to the
world's universities.  He added that schools must handle "a great
information overload" and rising costs in providing services, while
preserving high standards.
   The three university heads said universities around the world must
adopt some strategies used by the business community to compete in a
global market.
   "I think universities should be working on networks, through exchanges
of students and exchanges of information," Southwood said. (...)
   Dr. James Grier Miller, UW's Chairman, also was invited to the seminar
entitled "Global University: Challenges for the 21st Century," to discuss
the history and present activities of the University of the World.
   "I told them the idea of a global university is not just some fantasy
about the future, but is becoming a reality," Dr. Miller said.  He
described the rapid growth of interest in the University of the World
since its inception in 1981, saying the organization now is represented in
24 countries.
   Though the three leaders of the other universities expressed surprise
over the growth of distance education, each told Dr. Miller of their
interest in the concept.  "To me, this was an important event," Dr. Miller
said.  "All of these leaders were willing to consider the concept
seriously."  UW

                ****************************************
   "Global University" is a trade mark of GLOSAS/USA.  Dr. Takeshi Utsumi,
Chairman of GLOSAS/USA and President of Global University in the USA is a
board member of the University of the World.  Dr. James Grier Miller,
Chairman of the University of the World is an executive advisor of
GLOSAS/USA.

=======================================================================

4.  Project: Grand & Everyday Challenges for Education
     Using Telecommunications in the Curriculum
     by Jim Levin, Jim-levin@uiuc.edu

Want to involve students in real world problem solving activities?  Join
in the Grand & Everyday Challenges for Education.  Questions and problems
and other challenges, both "grand" and everyday, will be posed by folks
for whom these are real challenges.  These will be sent electronically to
interested school groups so that they can find ones relevant to their
curriculum.  They can then interact with the challenge posers and develop
solutions.  Groups of students and teachers will be able to form "tele-
task forces" to work together over the network to solve challenges.
Successful solutions will in some cases lead to a reward for the school
group.

Goals: To develop students problem solving skills, especially working
collaboratively with others, both locally and remotely. To have students
learn skills and knowledge within a broader, more motivating context.

Grade levels: This project can involve students of any grade level or
ability level.  The ways in which students become involved can vary, but
all are welcome to participate.

Duration: This project will run throughout the 1992-1993 school year.  If
you send us a list of what topics you'll be dealing with during which
periods of the year, we'll send you those challenges that are related to
those topics.

Content Area: All content areas can be involved.

Attached are some examples of how we plan to have this project work.  If
you're interested in participating in the Grand & Everyday Challenges for
Education, send me a message and I'll add you to our electronic mail list
and send you further information.

Project coordinator:
 Jim Levin
 University of Illinois
 210 Education Building, 1310 S. 6th St., Champaign, IL 61820
 FrEdMail address: jlevin@uiuced2.uiuc.fred.org
 Internet address: jim-levin@uiuc.edu

Here are some examples of how the Grand & Everyday Challenges for
Education can work:

     Grand Challenges

A world class mathematician posts an unsolved theorem that's important to
the progress of his work.  A high school math class teacher selects that
challenge and poses it to her students, who apply a new piece of
visualization software to the problem and develop some promising new
approaches which assist the mathematician in developing a new way to think
about the theorem that allows an innovative solution.

A panel of ecological experts is concerned with the issue of how to
increase the rate of recycling plastics.  They are particularly concerned
about the impact of "juice boxes", since they are a composite of plastic,
paper, and aluminum.  They post as a challenge how to deal with the
problems raised for recycling of "juice boxes".  Two elementary school
classes choose to consider this challenge jointly.  They interview their
fellow classmates about what they like and dislike about juice boxes, they
interview their parents about why they buy them, they observe the ways
that they and their classmates use and dispose of them.   They consider
alternatives to juice boxes, and develop an alternative that they write up
and submit to the ecological panel, which considers it, and includes it in
their report to Congress.  Congress changes regulations about the
manufacture of such containers to encourage the more effective solution
suggested by the elementary school class and refined by the panel.

A team of scientists developing state-of-the-art supercomputer-based
models of tornados posts a description of a puzzling mismatch between
their model and data from a set of recent tornados in Illinois.  A middle
school science class in Illinois examines aspects of the model though
their network connection, accesses additional weather information about
those tornados from their online state weather database, and formulates
some new hypotheses to explain the anomalies.  They communicate
electronically with the team of scientists to clarify some aspects of the
mismatch, and to get suggestions for ways to test those hypotheses by
applying the model to additional tornado data. Then the class submits the
surviving hypotheses back to the team of scientists for further
investigation.

Everyday Challenges

A local park district is in the process of deciding where to locate a new
playground structure.  They'd like to conduct a survey to help them
decide.  They post their challenge, and a local elementary school teacher
organizes her class to formulate the questions, collect the data, enter it
into a statistical analysis program, and print out the results.

A university professor, as part of her research project, needs to know
what middle school students think about advertising on Saturday morning
TV.  She posts the challenge, then several schools together take up the
challenge, conducting the surveys, analyzing them, and sending a report
and the data to the professor.

A local agency serving homeless people faces a shortage of child care
workers.  It posts the challenge.  A group of schools contact the homeless
shelters in their areas, and compile a list of different ways in which
child care is provided.  One approach, to work with a local retirement
home to involve retired people as child care providers, is proposed as a s
solution to the challenge. Details of how that solution works in another
location are provided, along with some suggestions of modifications that
would make the solution more effective in the challenge location.

Jim Levin, Jim-levin@uiuc.edu

======================================================================
5.              THE AGRICULTURAL SATELLITE CORPORATION
                   THREE YEARS OF PHENOMENAL GROWTH
              by Dr. Randall Bretz, ASAT001@UNLVM.UNL.EDU

Three years ago representatives of 23 United States land grant
institutions met in Chicago to discuss a satellite network to  serve the
changing needs of agricultural education across the  United States.  Irvin
Omtvedt, Vice Chancellor for Agriculture  and Natural Resources and Jack
McBride, Educational Television  Director both of the University of
Nebraska, focused the meeting  on the opportunity for the participating
institutions to obtain a  federal grant to construct the technological
backbone for a  nation-wide satellite network.

By October 1989 the Agricultural Satellite Corporation (AG*SAT)  had been
formally established by 27 land grant institutions with  headquarters in
Nebraska.  The initial steps had been taken  toward the development of a
proposal to the Public  Telecommunications Facilities Program (PTFP) of
the U.S.  Department of Commerce.  Meanwhile the institutions began to
develop programming to be shared nationally via satellite, a  formal
administrative structure was established and AG*SAT began  to take shape.

The Phase 1 proposal seeking Federal equipment support was submitted in
January 1990 with a formal funding announcement in  September.  The
initial grant to AG*SAT from PTFP was $735,000  which was matched by the
participating institutions.  This  funding provided for  construction of
five satellite uplinks, 10 downlinks which can be converted to uplinks and
16 downlinks.

The land grant affiliates didn't wait for the Federal grant or
construction.  By November, 1990, programming began to flow via  satellite
to a national audience.  Two trial programs in late  1990 led to an
extremely active "pilot" year, 1991, which saw  more than 70 extension
programs and three credit courses totaling  more than 300 hours of
programming viewed 70,000 persons  nationwide.  These programs and courses
had widely varied content  and origination points.  Such subjects as safe
pesticide  handling, food science, dairy waste management and absentee
ownership issues were among the long list of programming shared  via
AG*SAT.

In January, 1991, a second equipment proposal went to the PTFP.  The
$500,000 Federal grant, awarded in September, has been  matched with an
equal amount by the affiliated institutions to  provide six additional
uplinks, a microwave connection to an  uplink and eight downlinks.  These
facilities are complemented by  existing transmit and receive equipment at
many locations across  the country making the A