Published twice monthly by Zoom eLearning Networks (ZEN) Inc.
CONTENTS:
1. Welcome:
Welcome to the first issue of e-Learning Digest (Global Edition), the first e-Learning newsletter to focus on the global e-Learning news, events, and resources. This issue focuses on many of the developments and company releases taking place this week at the World Education Markets Forum in Vancouver, British Columbia. We hope you enjoy this free e-Learning resource and welcome your comments and feedback. Sincerely, Cyri Jones, Managing Editor, Zoom eLearning Networks (ZEN) Inc.
2. Learning Quote:
"Human skills are subject to obsolescence at a rate perhaps unprecedented in American history" - Alan Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board of the United States.
3. Learning Byte:
"The United States, Canada and Sweden are the only major developed countries that do not have national public examinations." - Education for All Status & Trends 2000, UNESCO, 2000.
4. Regional News:
Asia
SINA.com signs deal with Eduverse.com for ESL Content
Sina.com and Eduverse.com announced a deal on May 25th that has eduverse.com providing co-branded English-as-a-Second-Language educational content for distribution on SINA.com. As of April, 2000, SINA.com had an average daily page view of over 24 million and a registered user-base of 5 million from web sites in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and North America.
Israeli Learning Companies Exhibit at WEMEX Conference
Eighteen Israeli companies are taking part at the World Education Market held in Vancouver, British Columbia. The export of educational material, software and technologies has reached more than 30 million dollars and this year is aiming at a goal of 50 million. The percentage of the GDP and the government expenditure for education is among the highest in the world, approximately 10.5%. To assist with marketing efforts and to encourage Israel’s education industry, the Ministry of Education has established the Board for Promoting the Marketing of Educational Projects and Materials (Source: Israel Export Institute, http://www.export.gov.il/)
Europe
Freefund launches UK Site
Freefund.com has launched a UK web site to help students conduct international searches for scholarships and bursaries. Freefund.com is backed and partly owned by Swedish venture capital firm, Speed Ventures. Freefund was launched in Sweden in January, where it has already enrolled 14.7% of the student population. It aims to have more than 100,000 British students registered by December, 2000 (Source: Times Higher Education Supplement, May 19, 2000)
UK National Grid for Learning Promoted
The British Council is presenting an exhibition at the World Education Market in Vancouver, British Columbia, sponsored by the UK Department for Education and Employment. The exhibit shares the UK strategy of creating networked learning communities, sharing experience and research in effective learning through technology, developing innovative ways of training teachers, enhancing the learning content available and developing life long learning communities (Source: British Trade International press release).
Investor funds B2B e-Learning Company
Investor Growth Capital, wholly owned subsidiary of Investor AB, is investing in Stockholm-based SamSari Education, a start-up company offering Web-based education in business and management to corporate customers. SamSari is currently running courses for Skartska and Oriflame and the launch of the of the full course offering is planned for the autumn. For more information, see http://www.samsari.com/ (Source: Business Wire, May 25, 2000)
North America
Laptops for all Students
Governor Angus King of Maine announced a plan to give every seventh-grader in the state a laptop computer to use at school or home. Under the plan, the first such state-wide initiative, about 17,000 students a year would receive computers and Internet service beginning in Fall, 2002. Within six years, all Maine students above the sixth grade would have laptops that would be theirs to keep (Source: Converge, May, 2000)
Portal for Learning Objects Receives Funding
The TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence has received funding from the CANARIE Learning Program’s 1999 Competition in which $10 million in funding was awarded to 10 projects across Canada. The Portal for Online Objects in Learning (POOL) will be one of the first multi-institutional initiatives to create a repository for on-line learning objects, which are small components such as a multimedia case study or a video clip, that can be used to build on-line learning courses and modules. (Source: TeleLearning Network press release, May 24, 2000)
Kaplancollege.com Launches e-Learning Courses in Real Estate
KaplanCollege.com announced on May 23 the launch of the KaplanCollege.com School of Real Estate, making I the first to offer on-line, instructor-led courses for real estate professionals. Through KaplanCollege.com’s partnership with RECampus.com, KaplanCollege.com students will be able to enroll in continuing education courses that satisfy licensing requirements in many states in the near future.
5. Learning Byte:
"96% of Canadian organizations who have tried e-Learning solutions would recommend other corporations to try it for their firms" - IDC, 2000.
7. Resources:
Education for All Status & Trends 2000: Assessing Learning Achievement. Chapters include: How Countries Measure Student Achievement, Recent Research on Quality Education, How Countries Use Assessment to Improve Student Learning, and Issues of Measurement. Contact: EFA Forum Secretariat, UNESCO, www.education.unesco.org/efa, Tel: 33 (0) 1 45 68 1524.
e-Learning Special Industry Report by Canaccord Capital, June, 2000. Quality analyst report including sections on Education in the Knowledge Economy, e-Learning Opportunities, Appeal of e-Learning to Investors, and Canadian e-Learning Company Profiles. Contact: http://www.canaccord.com/
8. Events
May 24-27 - World Education Market Forum
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.wemex.com/
May 28-31 - Association for Media and Technology in Canada (AMTEC) Conference
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
www.langara.bc.ca/amtec2000
June 5 - The Digital Education Marketplace 2000
Foster City, California, USA
Tel: (877) 487-7377
June 7-9 - NWACC / EDUCAUSE Regional Conference: Removing Barriers - Advanced Internet Applications for Education, Research and E-Business
Seattle, Washington, USA
www.educause.edu/conference/regional/nwacc/2000
June 7-9 - Distance Learning Administration 2000
Pine Mountain, Georgia, USA
www.westga.edu/~distance/conf.html
June 21-24 - Conference on Research in Distant and Adult Learning in Asia
Hong Kong
www.ouhk.edu.hk/cridal/cridala
June 26-July 1 - ED-MEDIA 2000 - World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
www.aace.org/conf/edmedia
July 10-16 - I*EARN 7th Annual International Teachers’ Conference - Sharing and Understanding: Tele-Education in the 21st Century
Beijing, China
http://www.iearn.online.edu.cn/
July 12 (tentative) 2000 Portal Technology Symposium (Converge Magazine)
San Diego, California, USA
http://www.convergemag.com/
August 13-15 - Australia's Education & Training Technology Exhibition
Melbourne, Australia
www.ate.net.au/frame/edutech_frameset.htm
August 25-27 - Technology in Teaching and Higher Education: An International Conference
Samos Island, Greece
www.nl.edu/conferences/samos.html
