Transcript of the live chat session that took place Thursday, January 22, 1998. These sessions are normally scheduled for 12 noon-1 PM Eastern Time (GMT -5) every Thursday.
These sessions are hosted by Richard Seltzer. If you would like to receive email reminders of our chat sessions, simply send a blank email message to businessonthewebchats-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/businessonthewebchats and sign up there.
For transcripts of previous sessions and a list of future topics, click here .
For an article on how to make "business chat" work (based on this experience), click here .
Since the chat itself happens at a rapid pace, it's often difficult to note interesting facts in particular URLs as they appear on-line. Here's a place to take a more leisurely look. I've rearranged some of the pieces to try to capture the various threads of discussion (which sometimes get lost in the rush of live chat).
Please send email with your follow-on questions and comments, and suggestions for topics we should focus on in future sessions. So long as the volume of email responses is manageable, I'll post the most pertinent ones here for all to see.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- We
continue our discussion about distance education.
We need to hear more first-hand experience from people who have taught
and taken courses over the Internet. We want to learn what are the best
practices? What combinations of capabilities and rules generate the most
interaction among students and with the instructor and best learning experience?
Ken Merwin -- Hi Bob:
I'm right now in a DE class from Northern Iowa Univ.;so far it's wonderful
and several of us are working on evaluating collaboration software, etc.
Ken - Wisconsin
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Ken - good to have you back this week.
Ken Merwin -- Thanks Bob - I've been posting Richard's announcements all over the place so hopefully a few more will join. I heard there was violence in Zimbabwe; hope Richard is safe.
Sudha Jamthe -- Hi Bob, I am an internet analyst. I lead web-net group and work in BGS Systems architecting intranets. Am glad you filled in for Richard today.
Miki Dzugan -- Miki Dzugan here. Hello, all!
Miki Dzugan -- 1
jake -- 3
Dianna -- 3
Sudha Jamthe -- 3
John Gilbert -- 1 (business writing course), 2 (access to others), 3
Ken Merwin -- Bob: I'd have to answer 1 and 2, Our Benjamin Franklin Institute of Global Education provides topical information on DE plus the annual "Global Learn Day" event over Columbus day weekend; one of very few "global" DE forums I've found. http://www.bfranklin.edu
Howard Davis -- 2
Sudha Jamthe -- Hi John: What do you do as a business incubator? Its interesting your email says add_option@yahoo.com
John Gilbert -- In case you were wondering, the yahoo address is one of about 20 e-mail addresses that I have for the incubator, which is called Add-Options. We literally try to add options for people who need help.
Miki Dzugan -- Hello, John. I have managed business incubators in the past. Where are you located and what services are you offering?
John Gilbert -- We are located in Utah and we do it all, find money, business planning, and some DE for clients with no business background.
Ken Merwin -- Speaking of business incubators...I'm interested in hearing from some regarding marketing of imported African jewelry, etc. Feel free to contact me off-line...
John Gilbert -- Ken, have you heard about International BizDigest. It's a daily e-mail of questions and answers for people who are into international trade.
Ken Merwin --No I haven't. I assume it is a listserv...
Sudha Jamthe -- John: Tell us more about International Bizdigest. Do you have a URL for it?
John Gilbert -- IBD is an e-mail program for people who are involved in international trade and have questions. You get e-mail of questions and answers to any question. It's free to join and ask questions. I will have to post the subscribe address after the chat.
Sudha Jamthe -- John: You can send the IDB contact to Richard (seltzer@samizdat.com). He adds followup messages to the transcripts.
Miki Dzugan -- John, does your interest in online education have anything to do with your incubator or is it a separate interest?
John Gilbert -- Miki, I manage the incubator, and I am looking for new ways to learn. I work with a couple of different universities who offer on-line classes as an alternative to regular campus classes. The on-line classes are a supplement to regular classes for students who can't get in any other way.
Sudha Jamthe -- Miki: Web-Net offers online classes. Check our site after the chat. Have you checked ZiffDavis University online?
Miki Dzugan -- I have taken a ZDU class. Thought they did a great job for the money. Not sure how anyone could compete with that.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Miki, have you done any testing or are you in the research phase
Miki Dzugan -- We are in the research phase, maybe even information gathering phase.
Sudha Jamthe -- Miki: Umass offers online courses as pasrt of its CyberEd program. We had a discussion about it 6 weeks back. You should check Richard's transcripts
Miki Dzugan -- Thank you, Sudha. I've been so busy I have not kept up. (blush)
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Sudha, Can you tell us about the classes Web-net offers and how they are implemented ?
Sudha Jamthe -- Bob: Web-Net came as a spinoff from Boston Computer Society as a free user group. We started online classes as our members missed the web classes at BCS. We offer classes in a variety of web topics like learning HTML, marketing on the web etc. I wish our education co-ordinator were here today. We use a chat room as a virtual classroom where students and instructors show up at a specific time. Those who cannot make it at that time come and leave their questions in the chat room. Recently, we are finding that more than traditional teaching topics others like job-hunting on the web are more in demand and are planning on it.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Sudha - Are class responsibilities under a single person or are there individuals who design and conduct sessions. Or is it more like an unstructured disscussion headed by a knowledgeable party ?
Sudha Jamthe -- Bob: We are totally volunteer driven. We have a volunteer teacher who is an expert in the field. Our class co-ordinator is a Prof. in North Eastern and has a background in education. She helps bring the right people to design the course material.
Miki Dzugan -- ZDU uses BBS, printed text, Web pages and diskettes as required. I also like their spreading the experience over a number of weeks, vs. one or two-day workshop.
Sudha Jamthe -- Miki: If classes are offered and charged on a per class basis, people won't pay much. Hence the ZD rates. But I think just like in a real University, if a brand name and consistency is built, an online community can evolve around an organization offering online classes. Then they have alumni connections, can attract good teacher from across the globe and the degree or certificate will have accreditation and acceptance. At that stage making money seems a reality and may be more profitable than a real university with less inventory and fixed overheads.
Sudha Jamthe -- Bob: The phone card option of pricing seems interesting. What special benefit does this offer to the customer instead of paying for individual classes? I'd like to hear more of your ideas on this topic. Its out of the box thinking.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Sudha - It's a principle that is in practice with several Educational companies. You buy a package and anyone in the company get to use them over a specified period of time. That gives you flexibility and cost savings and a way to try a course and move on to another if it doesn't suit you.
kwolfe -- How do you plan for your classroom size if people don't buy specific courses (versus hours of time)?
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- kwolfe - Classroom size is totally up to the instructor(s). They have some of the responsibility of getting managing the number of students who sign up.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Does anyone have any input on why our primary, secondary, and even higher educational system is so far behind in the use of the Internet as an educational tool? I believe that is the reason DE is catching on so slowly and haphazardly. i.e. no standards in place )
Ken Merwin -- Bob: In following a lot of posts from teachers in forums such as EDTECH, the UNI class, etc. I hear oftentimes that they do not get the support they need to integrate technology...many learn the hardware, software, etc. just because they are interested and end up doing it on their own time. I also feel there is way too much "demand-pull" going on; it is virtually impossible to keep up to date on all the issues and most of us cannot afford to purchase new every time a new xxxmhz pentium comes out... Ken
John Gilbert -- Ken, I guess I am lucky to be where the Internet had its birth. We are up to our rears in technology. The local universities are very technology based. The governor has a new virtual university initiative going on and is pushing the use of computers and the Internet in the elementary, middle, and high schools as well as the state run universities.
Ken Merwin -- John: Where is that? East Coast? Not a big historian of the 'Net other than knowing it originally was "Arpanet"...
John Gilbert -- University of Utah was one of the orginal test sites of Arpanet. Bye now.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Ken - going back to your reference on EDTECH etc. you are getting info from those who use the technology. I am researching institutions one on one (mostly rural) and find technology to be cubbyholed to a few, not the whole faculty.
Ken Merwin -- Bob - that's the sense I have, too. I've seen a number of teachers post that became the "tech. coordinator" because they did something with the boxes that were gathering dust...or they took the job on voluntarily. My sense is that most of the teachers who have really taken off with the technology have done the bulk of learning on their own time (outside of contract hours); but I suspect that's true of many non-teachers as well. I like the bells & whistles but also realize that it is impossible to keep up; that's why I like e-mail & chat; all the text-based stuff.
kwolfe -- The issue of schools and computer usage is one of infrastructure. Schools need to be redesigned around the computer to make the best use of this as a tool. For example, having a bunch of monitors in front of the students would interfere with regular classroom time. Monitors should be below the desks, behind glass with keyboards at the right height for kids. This is just one example of the obstacles to use of tech in schools. Beyond the simple one of a large group of entrenched teachers and staff who grew up without computers.
kwolfe -- Most schools just now are getting the hardware. I've used computers for 15+ years in business and it was 10+ before my Fortune 100 company got me good PC support for software and hardware. Teachers have a long way to go before they have the infrastructure that large corps have. And PC's and software are still too hard to use and learn.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- kwolfe - I agree with the ergonomics in the classroom, but that adds a lot of cost to the implementation. No matter how it is implemented it should be required !
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- John - any idea of the enrollment count for that class ?
John Gilbert -- There are about 60 of us in the class. Any more and the professor would go nuts. Too much reading. He has 5 classes, plus the on-line class, and he has to read and grade all of the assignments.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Sudha - Just curious as to why they are lookig "Locally" for a DE course.
Ken Merwin -- Bob: Currently I'm taking a grad level course in using the 'Net for education; from Univ. of Northern Iowa; found out about it on DEOS. Also participating in another forum from the UK and am on the Afterguard group for "Global Learn Day II"; learning as much as I can hoping for a 2nd career with emphasis on DE in developing countries. Ken
Ken Merwin -- Regarding the "local" availability...I live in Wisconsin, found the Iowa course from posts to DEOS, etc. & about 1/3 of students are non-U.S based! The instructor is a person who really gives a damn about her students; I'm so impressed with it and have already networked with several of the foreign students...all teachers by the way. Great mix. I have no particular ties to our Wisconsin schools; our main campus in Madison seems more obsessed with the new Kohl Basketball facility...
Miki Dzugan -- Time is up for me. Nice chatting with everyone! Bye.
Sudha Jamthe -- Bye Miki. "See" you online next week.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- All- please leave your email and contact information as you leave. The system does not always register it.
Ken Merwin -- Take care, see you next week. Ken kmgraduw@centuryinter.net
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- ALL - If you know of any DE course would you post it or email it to Richard ( or me ) so they can be added to our transcript.
Bob@CottageMicro.Com -- Time is about up - Leave us your contact info and any links to DE courses. See you all next week when I'll personally welcome Richard back.
Here's another link to a DE source.
American Institute For Computer Sciences http://www.aics.edu/
Bob Zwick, Cottage Micro Services, http://www.cottagemicro.com
[Some characters may be displayed incorrectly]
Here are a few More DE Links ....
AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT... http://www.astd.org/astd.htm
Distance Education Clearing House Uof Wisconsin http://www.uwex.edu/disted/home.html
The Intranet Journal(sm) http://www.intranetjournal.com/
The Masie Center http://www.masie.com
Thomas Pitre Associates On-Line Training http://www.tenforward.com/homepage/tpitre/
Training Media Association Home Page http://www.trainingmedia.org/
Bob, Cottage Micro Services, http://www.cottagemicro.com
I received this email re: DE and thought you might want to look at it. Icouldn't find any site related to courses, but did find Mr. Heller's BIO @ http://www.ecs.org/ecs-gstb/244e.htm
From: Frank J. Heller (global@gwi.net) Date: Sunday, 25-Jan-98 11:06 AM
Hi, I'm the tech coordinator for MASCOMA VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT---18m. from Dartmouth college in NH. I'm setting up a virtual campus, with two distinct cyberschools--one in the Super's office and the other in the media center in the high school. Both will use ProShare, Net Meeting, and low end DL transaction processors. There is substantial community backing and involvement for the project--we've gotten commitments for $3k in 'virtual vouchers' to pay for any classes that go over the 3 credit limit NH has set for out of state classes for credit. Project is complex, so if you want details wait until the WEB site is fully developed and up. The organizational structure and funding/budgetary picture is more complex than the technical details. Biggest hassle is coordinating available classes/instructors w/ kids schedules.
Right now I'm updating my "CONNECTIONS" directory so kids, parents and guidance counselors can go shopping for classes. If you offer DL classes to high school/IS students, and would like them included please submit:
Title
Instructor, and credentials
description & syllabus
mode of delivery, i.e. platform
interactivity---passive chat & email to interactive video
fees--if this is a new question the range is approx. $100 for WEB based classes
and $300 for full interactive.schedules, start/stop times.
method of assessment.
credits, transfer, dual credits if available, etc.
admissions & enrollment criteria.
Look forward to your response. The "CONNECTIONS" directory will be abstracted and posted to our VIRTUAL CAMPUS WEB SITE. Post me for URL. I've got a friend developing a unit on Maine Island Life that should be available in the fall probably via. H.323 or H.324.
frank j. heller
I am researching ZDNet's business model for a college project and would like any lead about the industry, ZDNet or anyone working in Ziff-Davis or its competition. Can you please post this in your transcripts -thanks,
Su
I'm not sure if I can make the chat Thursday - I may be able to arrive late....but I thought I'd temporarily put up my online education bookmarks so that others can use them. The bookmark file is about 74kb and includes about 500 bookmarks on online education, distance learning, web-based training, virtual universities etc. At least for a few weeks, the page will be at http://www.geocities.com/~webwinds/classes/edonline.htm or http://www.webwinds.com/classes/edonline.htm (Geocities is now hosting domains for only $5 a month; the latter address should now be valid).
Tracy Marks, M.A. tmar@tiac.net http://www.windweaver.com/
http://www.earthone.com/NCWeb/international-list.html
I came across this listserv a while back and have been enjoying it. Since we are talking about distance education, I thought I would pass along this message. I hope you had a great trip.
John
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 1998 00:07:46 -0500
From: Jeff Finlay <FINLAYJI@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu>
Reply-To: American Studies Opportunities & News -- Distribution List <ROADSIGN@LISTSERV.GEORGETOWN.EDU>
To: ROADSIGN@LISTSERV.GEORGETOWN.EDU
Subject: ALL: Crossroads Expo on Innovations in American Studies, April 1998
> From: Randy Bass, Crossroads Director <cepacs@guvax.acc.georgetown.edu>
The American Studies Crossroads Project Announces an Upcoming Event:
THE CROSSROADS PROJECT ELECTRONIC EXPO ON INNOVATIONS IN AMERICAN STUDIES April 1998
The Crossroads Electronic Expo is a month-long online event focusing on teaching, scholarship, and methods in American Studies, and especially on the role of electronic resources and new media.
The Electronic Expo includes an array of activities for all members of the international community of teachers, students, and scholars in American Studies and related fields. The purpose of the Expo is to:
Featured events and planned resources include:
The Crossroads Project is sponsored by the American Studies Association
Previous transcripts and schedule of upcoming chats -- www.samizdat.com/chat.html
To connect to the chat room, go to www.samizdat.com/chat-intro.html
The full text of Richard Seltzer's books The Social Web,
Take
Charge of Your Web Site, Shop Online the Lazy Way, and
The
Way of the Web, plus more than a hundred related articles are available
on CD ROM My
Internet: a Personal View of Internet Business Opportunities.
Web
Business Boot Camp: Hands-on Internet lessons for manager, entrepreneurs,
and professionals by Richard Seltzer (Wiley, 2002).
No-nonsense guide targets activities that anyone can perform to achieve
online business
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Reviews.
a
library for the price of a book.
This site is Published by B&R Samizdat Express, 33 Gould St., West Roxbury, MA 02132. (617) 469-2269. seltzer@samizdat.com
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