DISTANCE EDUCATION
REPORT
Volume 5, Number 2
Columbia Collaborates with Cognitive Arts
on Learn-by-Doing Courses
oger Schank, founder of Cognitive Arts, a company
R that develops “learn-by-doing” courses for corpora-
tions, government, and schools, is critical of the state of
education, both at a distance and traditional.
A former professor who taught for 32 years, Schank
believes that the lecture format of most courses is an
ineffective teaching method, and he criticizes distance
educators who try to replicate this “bankrupt” system.
In an interview with Distance Education Report, Schank
called much of what is being done in distance education “a
bunch of crap.”
“Mostly what’s going on in online education is a
lot of business guys who said, ‘Oh gee, look there’s a
market here.’ They have no clue about what education
is about. They assume that what professors do is what
should be done. So what they’re trying to do is replicate
the lecture without the lecture. Lecture courses are
lousy, so the idea that you would replicate a lecture course
by eliminating the lecture is just insane. Lecture notes
and quizzes do not make a good course.
“The problem is that most of what passes for
education at universities isn’t education. So what
happens is outsiders, outside the university system, take
a look at university courses in terms of delivering
them online, and they don’t understand that it’s a different
medium.”
Learning Through Role-Playing
To avoid the shortcomings of what Schank sees
as a flawed educational system, Cognitive Arts
develops courses that facilitate student engagement
by using problem-based learning in the context of
real-life situations. For example, students in an
economics course might learn by participating in
exercises that simulate running a company.
Cognitive Arts, which has used this approach to devel-
op courses for Fortune 500 companies and government
agencies, recently teamed up with Columbia University’s
Continuing Education and Special Programs to develop
80 courses.
The first of these courses, which will be offered through
the newly created unit, Columbia Continuing Education
Online, will include courses for Columbia’s Computer
Technology and Applications Program and American
January 15, 2001
Language Program.
The goal is to bring the best of what Columbia offers
to a much broader audience in a format that goes beyond
typical online courses by incorporating Schank’s pedagog-
ical ideas into the design of the courses.
Collaborative Course Development
According to David Cohen, Columbia’s vice
president for arts and sciences and dean of the faculty,
course development is a collaborative effort in which a
designated faculty member works closely with Cognitive
Arts. The faculty member develops the equivalent
of the syllabus for the course, explaining what each
content module will require. Cognitive Arts casts it
into a learning-by-doing set of scenarios for each
module in which the student is an active learner playing
a decision-making role that leads to an understanding
of the course material.
Although learning by doing is not a novel idea,
incorporating it into distance education courses in a
wide variety of subjects is, Cohen said. “Where it
becomes experimental is when you move toward trying
to teach subjects that would not traditionally be taught
by doing, such as art history or macroeconomics. How
successful it is is, I think, a function of how clever the
scenarios are.”
There will be two types of courses developed through
this partnership: web-tutored courses in which online
tutors give feedback on students’ work and fully developed
continued on page 2
IN THIS ISSUE
Governance: Report of the Web-Based Education
Commission..................................................................3
In the Field: Maryland Public Television ....................4
A Course In Point: Physical Anthropology ....................6
Resources: EduTex Regional Conference, Networking
2001 Conference, Digital Divide Network ....................7
Technology Briefing: Searchable Video on the Web ......8
 Learning-By Doing Courses… from page 1
software courses.
In addition to the learning scenarios, the software
courses incorporate video clips of top professors answering
questions students frequently pose. These video clips are
built into the course in such a way that when a student
poses a question, the course runs the clip of the expert’s
answer.
Because there are so few leading experts and a huge
demand for their knowledge, Schank thinks that his system
is the next best thing to learning one-on-one with the
experts — sort of an updated version of the apprenticeship
system.
“When you get beyond one-on-one, you don’t have
good education. In fact, no professor walking into
classroom with only one person in it would possibly give
a lecture. They couldn’t do it because they know it’s so
stupid. What we’re doing is talking about one-on-one
situations. The demographics don’t support that in
any way, shape, or form except by computer,”
Schank said.
Schank’s goal for Columbia’s courses is to find a
way to maximize the talents of its faculty. “Does Columbia
do it well? I don’t know. I can make them do it
DISTANCE EDUCATION
REPORT
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2 January 15, 2001
well if they don’t because there are some very good
professors who can learn to work in this new medium.
I don’t care what Columbia did in the past. What they
did in the past was an old medium. The question is,
are they willing and interested in working in the new
medium? There are a lot of professors who are.”
Although Schank is critical of student assessment
methods, Cohen says, depending on the course and how
it is used, there may need to be student assessment.
“In courses that are more skill acquisition courses
like computer programming or any of the writing
courses, in a sense the outcome is built into the course.
In order to successfully complete it you have to get
to a certain level of mastery, and it doesn’t necessarily
require an exam at the end. On the other hand, when
you take something like macroeconomics, it’s not as
clear that [the outcome] is built into the course and
depending on the purpose the student wants to use
it for, other institutions external to us may demand some
sort of outcome. We’ll have to deal with that when we
get there,” Cohen said.
Distribution of the Courses
The market for the courses will vary. The American
Language Program, which teaches English as a
second language in a variety of contexts,
is one of Columbia’s most widely distributed courses.
The new format could make it even more popular,
Cohen said.
As for competition, Cohen said that the learning-by-
doing format may help differentiate Columbia from a field
that does not use this approach.
“The kinds of products we see out there now I
think are going to be changing dramatically over time,”
Cohen said. We’re just hoping at this point that we’ll
take a leadership role in terms of the quality of what
we produce, and that the market will respond to
quality. The technology is going to change. The
approaches are going to change. I think there’s no
way to do this inexpensively. The investment has got
to be a serious one to produce something that really
works.”
Students will not receive Columbia credits when they
complete the courses, but they will receive a transcript that
indicates successful completion of a course. Other institu-
tions may, however, use Columbia’s course toward degrees
at their home institutions.
As for ownership of the courses, Cohen said Columbia
recently developed a copyright policy that treats courses
like other intellectual property. The university owns
the courses, and faculty members collect royalties based
on revenues generated by the courses.
If you have questions or comments about this article, contact
Rob Kelly at robkelly@magnapubs.com. ●
Distance Education Report
 GOVERNANCE
The Power of the Internet for Learning:
Report of the Web-Based Education Commission
By Steven Donahue
E-Learning: Faster than a Yankee Clipper
avid Byer, who helped midwife the release of the Web-
D Based Education Commissions Report, “The Power of
the Internet for Learning,” said that a good metaphor for
Internet learning is the introduction of the steam engine into
the maritime shipping industry. “When the new invention
of a steam engine was first placed on wooden Clipper ships,
the ships had a bad habit of catching fire and sinking.”
While naysayers at the time said that the steam engine
would never replace sails, someone came up with the idea
of a second invention — steel hulls. Byer makes the analogy
to e-learning by pointing out that a similar convergence
of inventions is occurring, “The steel hulls for Internet
learning are now being developed,” and that soon quality
online learning opportunities will take off faster than a
“Yankee Clipper.
Polaroid of Distance Education
With the release of the Web-Based Education report to
the President and the Congress, on December 19, 2000 in
Washington, D.C., 12 months of “clearinghouse”activities
have culminated in a document that provides a snapshot of
distance education today.
The bipartisan, congressional Web-Based Education
Commission, chaired by Senator Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.) and
Congressman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) sought to explore the
ways in which the Internet is changing the delivery of edu-
cation. The 16 members of the commission heard from hun-
dreds of educators, policymakers, Internet pioneers, content
developers, technology experts, and education researchers.
With the help of such “Internet trailblazers,” the
commission explored the new web-based potential for
achieving the traditional educational goals of learner-
centered pedagogy, adaptive content, and lifelong learning.
Participants testified at live hearings and by submitting
“e-testimony” to the commission website.
The commission found that yesterday’s regulations
stymie innovation, that the terra incognito of the Internet
cries for “safe streets” and student privacy protections, and
that in the absence of funding mechanisms, the promise of
digital-age education may not be met.
Call to Action
Barriers to implementing web-based education include
lack of access to broadband connectivity, lack of research
Distance Education Report January 15, 2001
into how to achieve online learning on a par with face-to-
face classrooms, and producing content that leverages the
tremendous capabilities of the web.
Invoking images of the epic challenges posed by Sputnik
and the race to the moon, the Web-Based Education
Commission believes that a national mobilization is
necessary to make “e-learning” a centerpiece of our nation’s
federal education policy. While acknowledging that the
Internet is not “a panacea for every problem in education,”
the commission made a multitude of recommendations on
how to make good on the Internet’s promise for learning.
From Promise to Practice
The commission has moved beyond the questions of if
the Internet can transform learning and should the time and
energy be invested in web-based learning. The commission’s
theme is that it is time to move the power of the Internet for
learning from promise to practice.
The report makes the following recommendations:
Make access equitably available to broadband, and publicly
support installing the expensive “last mile” of wiring. Work
to ensure that there is equitable distribution of bandwidth to
minority groups, immigrant children, and remote areas.
Train and support educators and administrators. The
commission report encourages the new president and the
107th Congress to incorporate the best aspects of their
findings into the Elementary and Secondary Education Act
and subsequent Higher Education Act.
Ensure that the “learning moment” happens in the online
learning environment by establishing a benchmark goal for
federal research and development investment in web-based
learning.
Fund “King Content” adequately. The commission recom-
mends that Congress articulate content development priori-
ties, provide seed funding, and encourage public-private col-
laboration, especially for high need areas such as adult liter-
acy, English as a second language, and teacher preparations.
Revamp educational regulations designed for an earlier era.
The report called for the revision of clock-time regulations and
incentive compensation prohibitions that are creating hurdles
to students’ enrollment in distance education programs.
Protect online learners and privacy concerns. Noting the
limited value of blocking software, the commission recom-
mended creating non-commercial, high-quality “safe zones”
on the web. While supporting the Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act (COPPA) which went into effect in April
continued on page 5
3
 IN THE FIELD
Maryland Public Television’s
Digital Signal to Feature Enhanced
Educational Content
s television stations gear up for digital broadcasting by
A 2003, Maryland Public Television will be among the
first to dedicate a portion of its digital spectrum to enhanced
content for educational purposes.
With the help of a $10-million Star Schools grant from
the U.S. Department of Education, Maryland Public
Television will create digital learning services for use by
teachers, parents, students, and the general public.
Along with its partner the Johns Hopkins University
Center for Technology in Education (CTE), MPT will work
with the Maryland State Department of Education and local
education agencies over five years to develop and deliver
educational content and teacher training in technology
integration using existing and emerging media, including
video, the Internet, and digital television.
This initiative will include the following:
• An enhanced K-12 Educational Video Service, with
more instructional programming and supplemental
online teaching resources
• Development of a comprehensive website that will
serve as an educational resource for public, private, and
home-schooled students
• Creation of curriculum-based educational websites,
such as online fieldtrips
• Online and in-person professional development for
teachers on integrating new media into the curriculum
• Interstitial messages and monthly news segments to
inform families of educational technology and reform
issues
• Enhanced television demonstrations.
The digital broadcast signal enables the simultaneous
transmission of several content streams, allowing broadcast-
ers to transmit audio and video along with other data such as
web links, bibliographies, transcripts, and background mate-
rial to provide for interactive viewing.
“The neat thing about the enhanced television screen is
that it’s divided where you will have your traditional sound
and video image occupying a large portion of it, and maybe
on one side or along the bottom, you’ll have a navigation bar
with links on it,” said Kenneth R. Smith, APR, spokesperson
for Maryland Public Television.
Accessing all the enhanced capabilities of these programs
will require a digital television set with a remote control that
has a roller ball to access the enhanced content.
According to Smith, the digital signal will enable MPT to
broadcast the equivalent of four programs simultaneously,
4 January 15, 2001
provided the broadcasts are not high-definition. As for the
schedule and amount of time devoted to educational con-
tent, Smith said that remains to be seen. A possible scenario
is to broadcast traditional quality programs during the day,
high definition in primetime, and enhanced educational
broadcasts overnight.
Like MPT’s other programs, the enhanced educational
programs will be free to the public and may be taped for use
in schools. With the proper equipment, schools will be able
to record the programs with the enhanced content for later
use, Smith said.
The enhanced programming will supplement rather than
replace existing K-12 curricula and help students learn about
technology. “We want teachers to have a good handle on
technology and be able to integrate it into their lesson plans in
a way where students, instead of learning about technology,
they are actually using it and learning by using it,” Smith said.
Broadcasters throughout the country will convert to
digital signals by 2003, and in the interim period maintain
both a digital and analog broadcast. During this time MPT
will have much of its enhanced content on its website.
For more information, visit <http://www.mpt.org>.
Youth, Constructivist Pedagogy — and
Informal Chats — Facilitate Classroom
Internet Use
Math teachers use the Internet less than teachers in any
other discipline and perceive the least value in it. “Only 12%
(of math teachers) use the Internet themselves … compared
to more than 20% for every other teacher category.”
This is one of the interesting findings in the report
Internet Use by Teachers by Henry Jay Becker, from the
Teaching, Learning and Computing (TLC) national survey
of K-12 teachers from the Crito Center for Research on
Information Technology and Organizations, University of
California-Irvine. Becker’s goal was to identify what condi-
tions facilitate teacher use of the web and Internet:
• How frequently teachers and students use the Internet
and in what ways
• To what extent teachers value having the Internet in
their own classroom
• How much access teachers have to the Internet
• Variations in Internet use and perceived value by the
teacher’s level of Internet access
• Variations in Internet use and value due to teaching
responsibility, professional experience and technology
expertise, whether teachers participated in staff devel-
continued on page 5
Distance Education Report
 In the Field… from page 4
opment, the school’s professional climate, and the
teacher’s pedagogical approach.
Many findings are not unexpected. The more access the
teacher has to the Internet, the more use is made of it and the
more value is perceived. Teachers with Internet access at
home also value and use the Internet more. The more
trained, skilled, and competent the teacher feels, the more
Internet activities are integrated into the classroom. Teachers
of “high achieving” classes are slightly more likely to use the
Internet and to find it essential in their teaching than teach-
ers with “average” classes.
Becker’s results indicate the following: “[T]he kinds of
teachers that are most likely to be drawn to the Internet
[are](1) younger teachers, (2) teachers who are leaders
in their profession, and (3) teachers with constructivist
pedagogies.”
“Teachers under age 30 in their first few years of teaching
are the ones most likely to use the Internet professionally, and,
overall, teachers under 30 are also more likely than older teach-
ers to consider the Internet to be essential in their classroom.”
The greater comfort with technology of younger generations
of teachers may disappear with time as technologies diffuse
through the profession, Becker suggests.
Secondly, professional leadership is an indicator of
Internet use. Leaders of teachers who themselves embrace
technology should be encouraged to share enthusiasm and
expertise with their colleagues.
Third, pedagogical approach appears to be a factor in level
of Internet use. Teachers who are interested in problem-
based learning, skills-based curriculum, and what the author
calls “constructivist-compatible” practices are more likely to
find the Internet compatible with their lesson plans.
Teachers who organize “in a fixed, externally determined
sequence and who teach a uniform aggregation of content”
are less likely to. Becker says, “changing other teachers’
philosophies and beliefs to be more constructivist simply by
having them use computers in their teaching may not work.
It may be, then, that diffusion of Internet use to larger num-
bers of teachers will reach a barrier when most of the remain-
ing non-participants hold beliefs that are not as compatible
Power of the Internet… from page 3
2000 and the Internet Content Rating Association (ICRA),
the commission viewed them as a stopgap measures.
Sustain adequate funding. The report called for creative
financing initiatives that could include tax incentives, addi-
tional public-private partnerships, and the creation of a
learning technologies trust fund.
No Horse and Buggy
Part of Web Commissioner Byer’s job was to try to peer
into the future shape of e-learning. He and the commission
are convinced that the Internet is “no fad.” He mused about
the unimaginative makers of horse carriages who later built
Distance Education Report January 15, 2001
with Internet use as constructivism seems to be.”
Administrators probably do not need to be told that
Internet use will increase with more classroom-located
Internet connectivity as opposed to the computer lab model.
Also the competence and skill of the teacher is predictive of
use in the classroom, which suggests that training of the
teachers is a priority.
Becker was most intrigued by the finding that “frequent
informal contact with others teachers at their school” in
which computer and Internet issues were discussed was a sig-
nificant factor in teachers’ use of the technology themselves
and indirectly perhaps to student use. Becker further notes,
“The Internet thus becomes a potentially important tool in
the creation of a collaborative professional culture among the
teachers of a school.”
For the full text of Becker’s report, see <http://www.crito.
uci.edu/TLC/FINDINGS/internet-use/report.htm>.
Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project
The Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project sponsored by
Joint Venture Silicon Valley and San Mateo County Office
of Education was one of only two nationwide that the U.S.
Department of Education recently recognized as “exemplary”
for using technology in schools. Ironically, federal money for
Challenge 2000 dried up at almost the same time.
The Challenge 2000 project provided grants and training
for teachers to develop their own classroom technology pro-
jects. With curriculum development and professional devel-
opment goals, the project provided tools for teachers to
transform conventional coursework into project-based, tech-
nology-rich curriculum. The Multimedia Project established
a peer “learning community” whereby teachers increasingly
planned their own professional development and shared skills
with less experienced colleagues through on-site mentoring,
training workshops, and online resources.
SRI International evaluated the outcomes. Results of the
program indicate that students in Challenge 2000 were more
likely to collaborate in small groups and solve problems inde-
pendently, and teachers were less likely to lecture. ●
the same equine-centric vehicle, designed for animal power,
incidentally equipped with an engine.
Byer noted the outcome of their lack of foresight because,
“not a single horse-less carriage manufacturer went on to
become a major car maker.” He believes that the Web-based
Education Commission report will help us deliver on the
promise of the most transformative technology in history,
the Internet.
The complete report and e-testimony is available at the
commission’s website at <http://www.webcommission.org>.
Steven Donahue is listed in the Commission’s Report under Stakeholder
Meetings with the Commission and has submitted “e-testimony” for Broward
Community College on the commission website regarding English as a second lan-
guage on the Internet. He can be reached at <sdonahue@broward.cc.fl.us>.●
5
 A COURSE IN POINT
A Course Evolves – Physical Anthropology
Created and taught by Dennis O’Neil
Palomar College, San Marcos, California
ennis O’Neil was not dreaming of distance education
D when he began creating online tutorials for his
students in physical and cultural anthropology. His
students are a highly diverse lot in terms of cultural
backgrounds, learning skills, language ability, and training.
O’Neil explained: “It is not unusual to have in the same
class a student who has a Ph.D. and others who did
not graduate from high school or who are new to this
country and have a poor understanding of English. I
became aware that many students don’t get much out of
traditional lectures and have difficulty with standard
textbooks. My tutorials were designed initially to be
mainly learning reinforcement for at-risk students. As it
turned out, however, my top students used them
extensively as well. Very quickly, I no longer had to
encourage students to use the tutorials — everyone was
using them regularly. The students like the way I
divided up the topics into small comprehensible chunks
and then followed them up with practice quizzes for
reinforcement.”
Although O’Neil has taught physical anthropology for
nearly 30 years, he finished creating the tutorials and
developed the front-end web pages in fall 1999. He
borrowed from techniques used by colleagues and taught
a single course in spring 2000. A second course was
added the following fall and two are coming in spring
2001. “We have not come close to satisfying the demand,”
O’Neil said.
Ability to Update Very Helpful
Physical anthropology is well suited to the web environ-
ment. “[T]he material for this course changes at least
10% each year because of new discoveries in genetics and
the fossil record. … The fact that physical anthropology is
such an active research-oriented discipline means that
textbooks are out of date before they are published. This
turns out to be an advantage to me since I can update my
tutorials with new data as soon as it becomes available. I
don’t have to wait two to three years for the next edition
publishing cycle.”
Early Problems and Solutions
O’Neil said that he enjoyed creating the tutorials and
learning the software such as FrontPage, PaintShop Pro,
Sound Forge, QuizPlease, etc. There were early mistakes.
“At the beginning, I did not carefully keep track of where I
had acquired photos and other graphics. This became a
6 January 15, 2001
major problem later when I realized that it was necessary to
formally secure permissions to use such materials. It took
several months just to discover the original sources for the
more than 600 illustrations that I have included in my tuto-
rials. It was particularly difficult to track down whether or
not 19th and early 20th century images are now in the pub-
lic domain.”
“Another difficulty that I encountered,” O’Neil contin-
ued, “was in creating online materials that could be viewed
from most web browsers (including earlier versions of
them). Complicating the problem has been the fact that I
have no control over the color and screen resolution
settings of user computers. I was forced to conclude that
there is no way of creating a web page so that it will look
the same on all platforms. In addition, I was interested in
creating web pages that were accessible by blind students
using mechanical readers. After receiving complaints from
early users about my tutorials not looking ‘right’ because of
the way their browser dealt with formatting, I chose to
create only ‘plain vanilla’ web pages. I don’t use most of the
bells and whistles that programs like FrontPage allow.
I have stayed away from frames and Java routines because
of incompatibility problems. However, I have been forced
to use JavaScript for some functions (e.g., creating interac-
tive quizzes).”
Testing Security Still an Issue
O’Neil requires that his online students come to campus
five times a semester for exams. “It would be possible
to offer my online course to people who live outside of
our area if we could work out the testing security
difficulties. I would like to have the course be 100% online
in the future. That will require some way of verifying who
is actually taking exams and if they are doing them by
themselves.”
Advice: Clarify Ownership
O’Neil owns the course. He made sure of this in writing
several years ago. “This should be a very important issue
for everyone creating online courses. They should get
this worked out completely before they start developing
any materials. It may not seem important at the beginning,
but later it will be when a publisher comes knocking at
the door wanting to buy or license the online course
materials.”
Dennis O’Neil is a professor of anthropology at Palomar College and has a
Ph.D. from University of California at Riverside. You may visit his website at
<http://daphne.palomar.edu/anthro100/default.htm> (no postings to
WebBoard, please). ●
Distance Education Report
 RESOURCES
EduTex Regional Conference —
Shaping IT in the Southwest
an Antonio, Texas will be the venue for the first EduTex
S Conference, a new EDUCAUSE regional gathering for
information technology professionals in higher education.
Technologists, managers, and executives from all types of
higher education institutions — small and large, public and
private — are invited to attend this event, set for February
21-23 at the Gunter Hotel in downtown San Antonio.
The conference will feature practical “how-to” sessions, a
management and leadership focus, and region-specific
issues. Corporate and higher education participants will
present information on new developments in technology and
software.
For more information about this conference, call EDU-
CAUSE Customer Service at 303-449-4430 or e-mail
<info@educause.edu>.
Businesses Can Catalog Training
Materials in a Searchable, Web-based
Library
orporate e-learning systems provider GeoLearning.com
C has recently released the Geo Product Library
System, a new web-based tool to automate much of
the corporate library management process. The new
system allows corporate librarians and training
administrators to create a virtual catalog of all its
training and development materials — including web-based
courses, CD-ROMs, videos, audiotapes, print materials,
and downloadable electronic files — that may be
searched and downloaded or “checked out” by users
via the Internet or corporate intranet. The system enables
users and administrators to add, delete, and edit items
in the library, search for training resources, and check items
“in” and “out” of the system.
A working demo of the new Product Library System can
be found on the company’s Geo Learning Center demon-
stration site at <www.geolearningcenter.com> (click on
View Floorplan >> Resource Center >> Library >> Search
the Product Library).
The Digital Divide Network
he Benton Foundation’s Digital Divide Network
T (DDN) is a national coalition of non-profit institutions
and IT companies working together to help bridge the
digital divide. The network’s official website,
<http://digitaldividenetwork.org>, is a one-stop online
resource to raise awareness and share solutions about
Distance Education Report January 15, 2001
the gulf that exists between those citizens who have
access to information technology and the skills to
use it effectively, and those who do not. Individuals
interested in the work of the network can contact
Kade Twist at the Benton Foundation at <kade@benton.
org> or 202-638-5770. The Digital Divide Network
website is at <http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/
ddn.adp>.
Microcomputers in Education Conference
— Major Southwest Ed-Tech Event
he Microcomputers in Education Conference or MEC,
T begun 21 years ago, provides a major forum for educa-
tors to learn about, discuss and exchange ideas about appli-
cations for new technologies in the classroom. More than
2,500 K-12 teachers, administrators, and university educa-
tors from the southwest attended last year.
The theme of the 2001 conference, to be held from
March 12-14, is “Turning a New Page in Educational
Technologies.” The conference will feature more than
300 presentations and labs on subjects relating to early
childhood, elementary, secondary, university, and special
education. The three-day forum offers workshops,
lectures, interactive sessions, presentations from key
industry professionals, and sponsor and vendor exhibit
halls. Demonstrations and hands-on learning
opportunities are available throughout the conference.
A special Administrative Track and Adaptive Technologies
Track will be offered.
For more details and registration information, visit
<http://mec.asu.edu/index.html>.
Networking 2001 Conference,
“Policy Issues for the New Millennium”
he annual Networking conference (April 10 – 12, 2001
T in Washington, D.C.) provides a forum for higher
education information technology leaders to discuss federal
policy affecting networking and information technology
in higher education, and to launch and report on major
initiatives.
The Networking 2001 conference will bring together
leaders from higher education and federal, regional,
and state governments to review and evaluate network
policy issues, emerging network applications, and the
organizational, institutional, and economic opportunities
posed by federal government and public/private sector
network development efforts. For more information
contact <netatedu@educause.edu>. ●
7
 TECHNOLOGY BRIEFING
Pictron Provides Searchable
Video on the Web
ictron Inc. offers a suite of products and services that
P make video searchable and interactive over the web.
The Pictron Media Gateway Suite, which consists of
Video Gateway, Audio Gateway, and the Media
Gateway Search Channel, automatically segments and
indexes video into meaningful clips based on visual
scene changes, speech recognition, object recognition, and
text recognition.
Users can browse video content through a visual story-
board and access any desired video segment. It also enables
video searching based on keyword text, visual content, and
database annotation.
The Media Gateway Suite has a distributed open archi-
tecture and is tightly integrated with industry standard
ODBC databases (Oracle, SQL), XML, video servers, web
servers (Windows and Unix), and web browsers.
For more information, visit <http://www.pictron.com>.
2netFX Offers HDTV-Over-IP
netFX recently announced the availability of HDTV-
2 over-IP that uses a live high-definition encoder
from Motorola to comply with industry standard
protocols, enabling high-definition television (HDTV)
content to be stored for later delivery or multicast in
real time over standard corporate data networks, satellite,
and the Internet.
According to the company, using its software, HDTV
digital video transmission will offer higher quality, greater
interactivity, and more flexibility than analog at a lower cost
and lower bandwidth utilization.
The 2netFX technology uses MPEG-2 MP@HL file
format and compression standard specifications for use over
ordinary corporate data networks and the Internet.
For more information, visit <http://2netfx.com>.
CUseeMe’s Next Generation Group
Conferencing for IP Networks
he CUseeMe Conference Server version 5.0 is the lat-
T est version of the company’s software-based multipoint
control unit (MCU) that manages the sharing of live, inter-
active voice, video, application, and data collaboration for
group conferencing over corporate networks and the
Internet.
The server used H.323 and T.120 conferencing proto-
cols, making it compatible with endpoint vendors such as
Polycom, PictureTel, and VTEL. It also works via gate-
ways to connect to legacy ISDN-based (H.320) videocon-
8 January 15, 2001
ferencing clients and standard phone connections.
Features include: a web-based graphical user interface
(GUI, general optimizations in audio and video perfor-
mance, and specific enhancement for the G.723 codec.
For more information, visit<http://www.cuseeme.com>.
SeeItFirst Streaming Media Solutions
eeItFirst Now!™ 2.0 is an HTML-based interactive
S streaming platform that provides a web-based encoding,
authoring, and publishing environment for video content
owners.
It enables users to visually synchronize new or existing web
and video content and serve high-resolution images from
video and interactive content during a streaming session.
It features an HTML frame-based interactive sync edi-
tor, that facilitates the synchronizing of text, graphics,
slides, and web links to selected video frames.
Other features include:
• Metadata tag/search, which allows content owners to
assign captions and key words to selected video
frames
• Visual frame marking, which enables the content
owner to view and select high-resolution images
from the original video, write captions for each, and
add interactivity around the frames
• Syndication-ready, which enables the creation of
custom layouts, graphics and interactivity to be asso-
ciated with affiliated websites using the same
archived video
• Frame View Mode and Tuner, which enables
adding, deleting, and tuning of selected video
frames.
For more information, visit<http://www.seeitfirst.com>.
PictureTel’s iPower Control Protocol
ictureTel® Corp. recently released the PictureTel 900
P Series iPower™ Control Protocol software that increas-
es the flexibility in integrating the PictureTel 900 Series
into distance learning environments.
Using RS-232 Serial Communication, the iPower
Control Protocol enables integrators to add PictureTel 900
Series controls to advanced remote control systems, provid-
ing users with a single interface to remotely manage a
videoconferencing system, lighting, VCR, projector,
screens, and other equipment.
The iPower Control Protocol features an open platform
architecture to integrate a large array of PC-based applica-
tions and peripherals.
For more information, visit <http://www.picturetel.
com>. ●
Distance Education Report