Dear TAD friends,

Attached please find the latest collection of snippets from the world of
Telematics and Development.

If a colleague has forwarded this message to you and you wish to receive it
directly, please send an e-mail to [email protected] with a request to be
added to the TAD Consortium list.

Regards,

Neil Butcher

***************************
CONTENTS
---------------------------
NEWS/TRENDS
--- Asian Net users love instant messaging
--- Pushing Ahead With Online Education
--- ITU Forum reaches consensus on IP Telephony
--- Indian IT experts unfazed by China's challenge
--- Web Policy Group Studies Issues Of Multilingual Domain Names
--- For Some, The Net's Free Ride Is Ending
ANNOUNCEMENTS/REQUESTS
--- infoDev's next grant competition
PROFILED ORGANIZATIONS
--- Computer Society Of Somalia
--- Uganda Participatory Development Network
--- M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation
--- GAB Tanzania
ONLINE RESOURCES
Articles On Distance Education And Copyright
Practical Uses of Math and Science
An Assessment Of The Private Education Sector In Côte D'ivoire
Measuring And Managing Time Use In Education - Evidence From The Middle
East/North Africa Region
Reform For High Expectations
Teaching Kids to be Web Literate
Medieval Women - An Interactive Exploration
The Information Warfare Site
History of Education - Selected Moments of the 20th Century
Global Warming: Early Warning Signs
Barriers to Foreign Investment in the Chinese Internet Industry
TeachersFirst Brain Twister
Free Resources For Journalists
Logic Puzzle Page
Online Teachers Of The Internet
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Simputer could revolutionize IT in developing nations
3D FTP v4.0 [Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000]
3-D Technology Helps Deaf And Autistic Children
My First Supercomputer?
Storage Update.
***************************
NEWS/TRENDS
-----------
Taken from Nua Internet Surveys
---
Asian Net users love instant messaging
Mar 05 2001: Singapore leads Internet penetration in Asia, with 47.4 percent
of households connected to the Internet.
According to NetValue, Internet users in Singapore are also heavy users of
email, instant messaging (IM), streaming media, and chatrooms.
Taiwan has the second highest penetration in the region, with 40 percent of
households online. Broadband is becoming increasingly popular there—the
number of users increased from 3 percent in November to 5.2 percent in
January.
Korean users are also embracing broadband. Of the 37.3 percent of Korean
households with Internet access, over half now have a high-speed connection.
Almost 36 percent have ADSL, while 16.3 percent have cable access. Standard
modem use there is declining accordingly.
Of the 26.2 percent of Hong Kong households that are online, only 8.7
percent have a broadband connection.
Hong Kong is, however, the IM capital of Asia, as 65.5 percent of all
Internet users regularly use this service. Almost 27 percent of Chinese
Internet users send messages using IM, along with 25.8 percent of Korean
users and 22.4 percent of Taiwanese users.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Benton Foundation Communications-related Headlines for 3/12/01
---
E-COMMERCE: PUSHING AHEAD WITH ONLINE EDUCATION
Issue: Edtech
While some corporate trainers and a handful of universities have found a
lucrative niche in online education, many companies that target online
education to the average consumer are struggling. In additional to getting
consumers to pay for information they think they can get free elsewhere on
the Web, online education companies have failed to dispel the image of
e-learning as a feeble alternative to the real thing. "This whole idea of
selling e-learning to the mass market has mostly failed because our culture
hasn't moved to the point where we are self- directed learners," said
Cushing Anderson, an analyst with IDC, an Internet research firm. "These
companies have had big trouble finding people who simply want to learn
stuff."
[SOURCE: New York Times (Online), AUTHOR: Bob Tedeschi]
(http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/12/technology/12ECOMMERCE.html)
(requires registration)
----------------------------------------
Taken from Screen Africa News Bulletin 13 March 2001
---
ITU Forum reaches consensus on IP Telephony
The International Telecommunication Union's third World Telecommunication
Policy Forum closed last week with the adoption by government and industry
of four "Opinions" that reflect the common understanding on Internet
Protocol (IP) Telephony. The Opinions highlight the shared views that:
* the deployment of IP-based networks and applications has the potential to
benefit users, industries, and the economy at large, because it fosters
technical and market innovation, and diversity and growth in the economy;
* IP Telephony and other IP-based applications can provide a significant
opportunity for all countries to respond to the convergence of information
and communication technologies and to evolve their networks in order to
expand the availability and use of a broader range of modern communication
capabilities service sectors;
* the flexibility of IP technologies will contribute to an integration of
voice and data networks, thereby allowing suppliers to take advantage of
synergies and possible cost reductions, which will enable the provision of
new innovative services and applications;
* mobile wireless systems are expected to migrate towards an IP-based
architecture in order to deliver integrated voice, data and multimedia
services, as well as access to the Internet;
* although IP Telephony has created some negative impacts on voice revenues
generated by a number of telecommunication operators, particularly in some
developing countries, there could also be a revenue gain for other
communication operators and service providers.
For more info visit www.itu.int/newsoom.
----------------------------------------
Indian IT experts unfazed by China's challenge
by Imran Qureshi, India Abroad News Service

Bangalore, Mar 13 - The National Association for Software and Service
Companies (Nasscom) is unfazed by reported parliamentary concern that Indian
information technology (IT) companies are outsourcing software development
from China for their American clients.

Nasscom president Dewang Mehta considers this move of some of the big IT
companies, a few of whom have plans of setting up shop there, as an
"indication of the globalization of the Indian software industry."

"We are not only able to get outsourcing orders into India but wherever we
feel it is more competitive to get software developed, we will get it
developed," he said, allaying fears that China would overtake India by
offering its services for producing cheaper software than Indian companies.

"According to many experts, China is five years behind India in software.
And, it's a challenge to Nasscom, the Indian IT industry and India that we
will continue to remain ahead of them, at least, by five years," Mehta told
IANS.

IT Minister Pramod Mahajan had told the upper house of Parliament Thursday
that the government was aware that some IT giants were outsourcing part of
their development work for American clients from China. His written reply
had also said that there were reports of China developing its infrastructure
to "compete effectively with India."

Mahajan had also informed the house that the government was aware of reports
that Chinese had started teaching English to its professionals and that
within a year, "Beijing could field its IT professionals at cheaper rates."

"They may be doing very well in infrastructure. We have to learn from that.
But, as far as English-speaking workforce is concerned, that's the advantage
that we have. We have first mover advantage, we have experience and we have
done exports of $6.2 billion, whereas China has done exports of $1.6
billion," says Mehta.

The Indian software and services sector has grown more than 50 percent
annually since 1991, with Indian companies commanding one-fifth of the world
market share in customized software market. India also has experience of
projects in e-commerce, m-commerce and in communication software.

"All this takes time. Then, China has started teaching English to its IT
professionals. Well, its not only important to speak in English, but also
think in English. That takes a generation to do that. So, China has many
things to do," says Mehta.

However, Ashok Soota, chairman and CEO, MindTree Consulting, differs with
Mehta. "The challenge to India is to move up the value chain. But that
doesn't mean that we should give up the base we have. We need to keep the
costs low and be competitive. We are ahead, no doubt. But, it is a question
of time before China comes up," he says.

"If India is to become an Asian software powerhouse, it must enter new
markets, especially China. China, however, requires technology transfer,"
Micah Truman, CEO and cofounder Madeforchina, said at an annual conference
of the Asia Society.

"India has a strong lead in the Asian software market, but could possibly
see strong competition from China in the next three to five years," says
Truman. "This may not end up being solely a game of technical strength, but
of economic might, as well as governmental support.
--India Abroad News Service
----------------------------------------
Taken from Benton Foundation Communications-related Headlines for 3/14/01
---
WEB POLICY GROUP STUDIES ISSUES OF MULTILINGUAL DOMAIN
NAMES
Issue: Internet
The Internet Corp. for Assigned Names and Numbers(Icann), has established a
working group to make policy recommendations concerning new multilingual
Internet addresses. So-called multilingual domain names -- Internet
addresses written in languages that don't use the Latin alphabet -- have
created controversy because they lack a technical standard to ensure
compatibility among competing systems. Icann has expressed fears that the
unsanctioned systems could mislead consumers, violate intellectual-property
rights and technically hobble the Internet. The question of introducing
multilingual domain names presents a fresh challenge to Icann's authority to
act on behalf of the Internet community at a time when the organization
faces other obstacles.
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal (Online), AUTHOR: Kenneth Neil Cukier]
(http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB984532624208630478.htm)
----------------------------------------
Taken from Benton Foundation Communications-related Headlines for 3/19/01
---
FOR SOME, THE NET'S FREE RIDE IS ENDING
Issue: Internet
As more Internet companies charge for services that used to be free,
customers are turning away. Still, the companies say they're willing to take
a short-term hit to secure a long-term future. "We look at this as a way to
generate additional revenue and eliminate heavy users," says Tom Vos,
president of Free Edgar, an Internet firm that alerts users of such things
as company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "We've gone
from zero in all cases to several users who are paying $1,000 a month." Mr.
Vos says he's willing to lose some advertising revenue, if needed, in
exchange for fees. Indeed, creating a sustainable business model is the goal
of a growing number of Net firms that are starting to charge. "It's a
natural progression of the customer-vendor relationship. Businesses may
initially lose business, but in the long term it pays off," says analyst
Jill Frankle of Gomez Advisors. The number of Web sites starting to charge
for formerly free services has accelerated as online advertising has dipped.
[SOURCE: USA Today (Online), AUTHOR: Jon Swartz]
(http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/2001-03-19-freebies.htm)
***************************
ANNOUNCEMENTS/REQUESTS
-----------
infoDev's next grant competition will close on June 1, 2001. Proposals are
invited from the development community. A new format has been designed this
year to reduce the work involved in preparing a proposal. As in the past,
proposals will be subject to outside peer review prior to approval. The
evaluation of proposals received by June 1 should be completed by the end of
July, and the winners funded shortly thereafter. While we expect to hold
about three competitions per year, the best bet is to apply early!

The Information for Development Program infoDev is a global grant program
managed by the World Bank to promote innovative projects on the use of
information and communication technologies (ICTs) for economic and social
development, with a special emphasis on the needs of the poor in developing
countries. The program, which was created in 1995, has funded hundreds of
projects. Its core program encourages improved telecommunications and
Internet connectivity in developing countries by promoting improved policies
and regulation, developing communities of interest, and selected training.
InfoDev also promotes innovative applications of ICTs in health, education,
environment, government and e-commerce by funding projects which pilot and
demonstrate such applications, or develop and disseminate best practices.

For more information, visit the infoDev website:
http://www.infodev.org
***************************
PROFILED ORGANIZATIONS
-----------
Taken from KABISSA-FAHAMU NEWSLETTER No 13
---
COMPUTER SOCIETY OF SOMALIA
We are non-profit Organization working for the development of Somalia
information technolgy. We welcome anyone wanting to participate this
Development. The main office is in Mogadushu, somalia

Primary Contact: Mohamed Yassin Sheik ([email protected])
Secondary Contact: Anab Abi Hassan ([email protected])
Street and Mailing Address: c/o computer society of somalia p.o.box 3313
Dubai UAE
Telephone Numbers: 252-1-215981
Fax Numbers: 252-1-215256
Website: http://www.kabissa.org/cososo
----------------------------------------
Taken from The Drum Beat - 85
(from THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE partnership - http://www.comminit.com)
---
Uganda Participatory Development Network (UPDNet) - Uganda - a loose
association of about 30 organisations and individuals interested in
promoting participatory techniques for community development. They provide
an opportunity for practitioners to meet, discuss and exchange experience
and they organize workshops on specific themes relevant to the use and
development of Participatory Techniques in Uganda.
http://www.rcpla.org
Contact [email protected]
----------------------------------------
Taken from The Drum Beat - 85
(from THE COMMUNICATION INITIATIVE partnership - http://www.comminit.com)
---
M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation - South India - committed to a mission
of harnessing science and technology for environmentally sustainable and
socially equitable development. MSSRF's research, training, communication,
extension and networking programmes, in the fields of agriculture and rural
development, seek to link ecological security to livelihood security in a
mutually reinforcing manner.
http://www.mssrf.org Contact [email protected]
----------------------------------------
Taken from KABISSA-FAHAMU Newsletter No 14
---
GAB TANZANIA
GAB-Tanzania is a National Gender Advisory Board of UN-Commission for
Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD)in Tanzania. The focal point
is established and hosted by Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology
(COSTECH).The establishment of the focal point has been facilitated by GAB
Region Secretariat based in Kampala Uganda. GAB region secretariat is now
facilitating the formation of the Nation Ad Hoc Committee.

Primary Contact: Steven D. M. Mlote ([email protected])
Secondary Contact: Steven D. M. Mlote ([email protected])
Street and Mailing Address: Ali Hassani Mwinyi Road (New Bagamoyo Rd)
Kijitonyama P. O. Box 4302, Dar es Salaam Tanzania
Telephone Numbers: 255-22-2700752 Mobile: 255-0741-247167
Fax Numbers: 255-22-275313
Website: http://www.kabissa.org/gabtanzania
***************************
ONLINE RESOURCES
-----------
ARTICLES ON DISTANCE EDUCATION AND COPYRIGHT

Intellectual property and copyright issues are addressed in articles in the

current issue of ED, EDUCATION AT A DISTANCE (vol. 15, no. 2, February
2001). An extensive list of links to other copyright articles is also
included in this issue. To read all the articles, link to
http://www.usdla.org/ED_magazine/illuminactive/FEB01_Issue/index.html

ED is the official publication of the United States Distance Learning
Association (USDLA). Electronically published monthly, ED covers the latest
developments in the field of distance learning with up-to-date and
thoughtful articles from the top names in the field. Back issues are
available at
http://www.usdla.org/ED_magazine/16_ed_magazine_past.htm

The United States Distance Learning Association is a nonprofit organization
formed in 1987. The association's purpose is to promote the development and
application of distance learning for education and training. The
constituents served include pre-K through grade 12 education, higher
education, home school education, continuing education, corporate training,
military and government training, and telemedicine. For more information
contact: USDLA, 140 Gould St., Suite 200B, Needham, MA 02494-2397; tel:
800-275-5162; fax: 781-453-2389;
Web: http://www.usdla.org/
----------------------------------------
Taken from Education Planet Newsletter
---
SUBJECT AREA: MATH, SCIENCE
Title: Practical Uses of Math and Science
URL: http://pumas.jpl.nasa.gov/
Grade Level: K-12
Rating: * * * * *
Content: Lessons and Activities Illustrating the Use of Math and Science in
the Real World.

It's always fun to expose students to the breadth of math and science that
lies beyond the walls of the school. Often they are stumped at first when
they try and match their instinctive thoughts of solutions with the math and
science that they know. All it usually takes is a few hints to get their
light bulbs popping. Here are many examples of real world math and science
to use with your classes that haven been written primarily by scientists and
engineers and adapted for classroom use by teachers.
----------------------------------------
Taken from EdInvest News - March 2001
---
AN ASSESSMENT OF THE PRIVATE EDUCATION SECTOR IN CÔTE D'IVOIRE.
The private education sector in Côte d'Ivoire has grown rapidly since the
early 1990s. Private enrolments comprise one-eighth of the primary education
market, a third of the secondary, almost two-thirds of the technical
training and 100 percent of the professional tertiary education market,
notes Norman LaRocque. There is considerable potential for growth,
especially in the tertiary sector, provision and management of student loans
schemes, provision of ancillary services, teacher training, review and
quality assurance services and construction and maintenance of school
buildings. The role of the private sector is explicitly recognized in
legislation. In many respects, the regulatory framework supports private
sector growth. The 1995 Investment Code also offers significant benefits for
new investments. Public sector support could be enhanced through a number of
changes, including streamlining the funding system, providing for greater
competitive neutrality across providers, promoting investment in the private
sector in education and putting a check on government's power to control
both prices and the establishment of schools.

To obtain the complete market survey in English, go to
http://www1.worldbank.org/edinvest/docdetails.asp?doc_id=26&searchonly=1

To obtain the complete market survey in French, go to
http://www1.worldbank.org/edinvest/docdetails.asp?doc_id=27&searchonly=1
----------------------------------------
Taken from EdInvest News - March 2001
---
MEASURING AND MANAGING TIME USE IN EDUCATION - EVIDENCE FROM THE MIDDLE
EAST/NORTH AFRICA REGION. An average primary student in Middle East/North
African (MENA) countries spends close to 25 hours a week in school, which is
lower than the world average of 28 hours per week. In the first four years
of school, MENA students spend about 3,040 hours in school, while the world
average is close to 3,070 hours. Although the official school time at the
primary education level in MENA countries is below the world average,
preliminary evidence on differences in time use in Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco,
Tunisia, and Yemen indicates that time remains a critical factor in the
educational process, according to Benoit Millot and Julia Lane. There are
significant differences in the management of the time allocated in the
countries as well as the time devoted to holidays and the student to teacher
ratios. With 34 hours in the classroom every week, the United Arab Emirates
allocate twice as much time to education as do Oman (17 hours) and Saudi
Arabia (18 hours). Over the first 4 years of primary education, the range is
relatively narrower: Libya is at the bottom (2,500 hours) and Egypt takes
the lead (3,570). Diversification of subject matter taught also has an
important effect on learning. More extensive surveys would make it possible
to include different measures of student/teacher ratios which would indicate
more effectively inputs and organizational inefficiencies, different
measures of teacher and student time as is done with physical capital, and
separate analyses of countries using different time management approaches.
The effort to categorize different measures of time and include them in a
production function could be the deciding factor in a production function
that more accurately depicts how much time is needed to learn a given set of
skills. This type of production function could lead policymakers to find the
answer to how best to legislate for better educational practices.
To obtain the report, go to:
http://www1.worldbank.org/edinvest/docdetails.asp?doc_id=34&searchonly=1
----------------------------------------
Taken from ASCD EDUCATION BULLETIN--MARCH 16, 2001
---
REFORM FOR HIGH EXPECTATIONS
In emphasizing higher standards, how do we bridge the many gaps among our
students? *Educational Leadership* ( EL ) author Kati Haycock is director of
the Education Trust, whose basic tenet is that all children will learn at
high levels when they are taught to high levels. The organization’s Web site
( www.edtrust.org ) is a vast resource of reports, other publications, and
links to other sites that deal with assessments, standards-based reform, and
related topics. Check out Education Trust’s Standards in Practice
professional development strategy (www.edtrust.org/main/sip.asp ), designed
to ensure that all activities in classrooms are aligned with standards. You
can also download ( free ) *Dispelling the Myth: High Poverty Schools
Exceeding Expectations* (www.edtrust.org/documents/dispell.pdf ), a 1999
report on 366 schools with a majority of high-poverty students and with top
or most-improved scores on standardized tests.

The press is paying attention to schools in high-poverty areas that make
striking gains; recently, the *New York Times*
(www.nytimes.com/2001/01/02/nyregion/02DOUG.html ) described the demanding
academic program of Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem, and *Time*
portrayed the innovative reforms and success at Rosemont Elementary School
in Baltimore ( www.time.com; at this site, search for “rosemont” ).

High achievement for every child is also the goal of the Public Education
Network ( www.publiceducation.org ), a group of community-based school
reform organizations. Click “standards initiative” to find projects designed
to engage parents, the community, and educators in supporting the
implementation of standards and high expectations for all students. From
there, you can find out about several projects; click “educators,” for
example, to find out how 28 elementary school principals in Baltimore
developed structured “walkthroughs” as a way to develop effective
instructional leadership
(www.publiceducation.org/standards/tools/balt_walk.htm ).

The Comprehensive Centers Network ( www.ccnetwork.org ) provides valuable
information about implementing school reforms. Created by the U.S.
Department of Education, 15 regional comprehensive centers help school
districts and state education agencies implement reforms under the 1994
Improving America’s Schools Act ( IASA ). Click “Publications” and find
links to newsletters about schoolwide reforms throughout the United States.
----------------------------------------
Taken from TechLearning News, March 15, 2001 - No.10
---
* Teaching Kids to be Web Literate
Just because it's on the Net doesn't make it true. Show your students how to
evaluate what they find on the Web.
http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/200103/webliterate.html
----------------------------------------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
Medieval Women - An Interactive Exploration [Flash, RealPlayer]
http://mw.mcmaster.ca/intro.html

Hosted by McMaster University, this interesting sites brings together
primary sources, commentary by scholars, interactive features, and music to
explore the world of medieval European women. The site is a companion to a
recent series on Canadian television, but it easily stands alone. Most of
the features are accessed via two sections: Nunnery and World. Each of these
presents a neat graphical interface which depicts various activities and
experiences of medieval women and links to additional screens exploring
related topics. Each subscreen contains a number of links to short
descriptions and primary documents, audio and video clips, calendars, and
other features. Visitors may also access the primary materials and music
directly (though it's much less fun) in the Scriptorium section, which also
contains a bibliography and related links. A timeline and internal search
engine round out this great site. [MD]
----------------------------------------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
The Information Warfare Site (IWS) [.pdf">
http://www.iwar.org.uk/

Based in the UK, IWS is "an online resource that aims to stimulate debate
about a range of subjects from information security to information
operations and e-commerce," with an emphasis on offensive and defensive
information operations. To these ends, it offers a number of resources,
including selected documents, articles, and online journals that relate to
twelve topics, such as computer security, military affairs, crime &
espionage, and legal issues, among others. In January, the site launched its
INFOCON Threat Centre, a research project that will monitor and analyze
cyberthreat trends across the world and in specific regions each month. From
the homepage, visitors may also access the latest stories, a security news
ticker, recently added documents, site news, an internal search engine, and
the IWS discussion forum. This is a good current awareness resource for
anyone interested in information and Internet security. [MD]
----------------------------------------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
History of Education - Selected Moments of the 20th Century
http://fcis.oise.utoronto.ca/~daniel_schugurensky/assignment1/index.html

Created and maintained by Daniel Schugurensky of the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, this site offers a nice
collection of short pieces and/ or links to more information on a number of
notable events in education during the 20th century (focusing on the US).
The site is organized by decade, and most of the noted events link to a
short description with links to the sources used and related resources. A
modest but interesting site for anyone in the history of education. [MD]
----------------------------------------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
Global Warming: Early Warning Signs
http://www.climatehotmap.org/

Created by a host of organizations (Environmental Defense Fund, Natural
Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, US
Public Interest Research Group, World Resources Institute, and World
Wildlife Fund), this site seeks to provide evidence of the "fingerprints"
and "harbingers" of global warming. A clickable map of the world enables
users to take a closer look at geographic regions, at specific examples of
"fingerprints" (e.g., heat waves, sea level rise, melting glaciers, and
Arctic and Antarctic warming) and "harbingers" (spreading disease, earlier
arrival of spring, range shifts and population declines in plants and
animals, bleaching of coral reefs, extreme weather events, and fires). While
it is unclear that any specific event may be explained by global warming,
the combination of events highlighted at this page provides powerful fodder
for further thought. [LXP]
----------------------------------------
*** Barriers to Foreign Investment in the Chinese Internet Industry ***
http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001/yu-2001-03-p1.html

Developing an Internet business in China is not easy, even though the
country has the largest Internet user population among all countries in the
Asia-Pacific region. Chinese laws make foreign investment difficult, and the
country -- quite unlike the United States -- has strict legal controls on
information and distribution and poor enforcement of intellectual property
laws. A new article on GigaLaw.com explains the barriers facing high-tech
companies in China.

To read the full commentary, go to
http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001/yu-2001-03-p1.html
----------------------------------------
Taken from TeachersFirst Update - March 19, 2001
---
We've added a new quiz format to the very popular TeachersFirst Brain
Twister which appears every Friday. We received many comments from teachers
who didn't like our "one miss and it's over" format. So we've added a second
Twister that keeps score and gives students more than one try at each
question. Even better, winners of the new quiz get a chance to submit their
own questions to TeachersFirst for inclusion in future Twisters. If you'd
like to try the Twisters with your elementary or middle school class, the
URL is:
http://www.teachersfirst.com/twister/index.htm
----------------------------------------
Taken from Mantex Newsletter - Design & Writing
---
FREE resources for journalists

Poynter is the Florida-based Institute for Media Studies. It is committed to
good journalism, good reporting, and good editing. And it is committed to
good ethical standards.

It also runs courses, publishes papers and conducts research. Most
importantly, if you have ambitions to be a professional author, it has lots
of free downloadable tutorials on writing techniques and the practical
issues of being an efficient reporter. Have a look at their materials at -
http://poynter.org
----------------------------------------
Taken from Education Planet Newsletter
---
Logic Puzzle Page
http://www.halcyon.com/clifford/puzzle/INDEX.HTM
Grade Level: 6-12
Subject Area: Math
Content: Logic Puzzles, Interactive or Print-Out, Logic
Worksheet for each Puzzle, Solution Explanations and Summaries

Do your students need more practice with logic problems? If so here is the
site for you. There is a long list of logic problems posted here as part of
a puzzle of the month project. Puzzle subjects range from holidays to
literature to history. Most of the puzzles are one step problems but there
are a few that have up to 5 different parts. So come online and put your
brain to work solving all these problems. Be sure not to peek at the
answers until you are finished or thoroughly stumped.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Network Nuggets
---
ONLINE TEACHERS of the INTERNET

What's the best Web site for teaching about the Internet? Without going near
that word 'best', I'll recommend four teaching sites, each for a different
audience.

1. For Internet *history* at a variety of grade levels, use our own Theme
Page on History of Computers and Internet, at
www.cln.org/themes/computer_history.html. This page was in last January
19th's Nugget.

2. For young students just getting started on *using* the Internet (middle
elementary grades), let Bugs Bunny and his friends do the teaching. Have
students take the introductory quiz at
www.warnerbros.com/ltti/homepage.html, then work through the material and
the harder quiz. This site is ad-supported but well put together -- notice
how Tweety always gives definitions while Taz, the Tasmanian Devil, teaches
the how-to. Reading level is digestible: about Grade 6, with 20-40 words
per screen.

3. A master teacher about the Internet is also one of its founders --
Vinton Cerf. The city of Grande Prairie, Alberta, is one site hosting his
"How the Internet Really Works" at
www.city.grande-prairie.ab.ca/cerfsup1.htm. This set of short essays is just
plain text and a wee bit dated, but Cerf writes at the Grade 10 reading
level and is easily accessible to middle-graders. Learn from the source!

4. http://LivingInternet.com is the work of one Bill Stewart, a senior
software executive. It attempts to be "the net's most comprehensive, free,
online reference source about the Internet." Vinton Cerf places
LivingInternet among "the most comprehensive sites devoted to the Internet
and its history." For senior secondary and adult learners in Information
Technology.
***************************
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS
-----------
Simputer could revolutionize IT in developing nations
by Frederick Noronha, India Abroad News Service

Bangalore, Mar 13 - If all works as planned, Simputer or Simple Inexpensive
Multilingual People's Computer, could go a long way in taking computing
within the reach of the common man in not just India but across the
developing world.

Slated to cost below $200 the device is now just weeks away from its
prototypes being made. "Response has been phenomenal so far. We have got
some 30 to 40 mega bytes of e-mail just discussing this project," says Vijay
Chandru, an Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-educated computer
scientist, who is one of those involved in the project at the Indian
Institute of Science here.

It's not only that it costs less than $200 (Rs. 9,306) but also what the
Simputer will be able to do. Put together by several academics and
engineers -- in their spare time -- this Internet device will have the
potential to help even non-literate users to surf the Net and e-mail.

Once commercialized and put out in the market -- its designs will be freely
released to companies for reproduction -- the Simputer can not only be used
as a device for individuals to access the Net, but also by communities
through kiosks. A smart-card interface is being worked on to facilitate
micro banking.

Proving skeptics wrong so far, the Simputer team has put together a working
model of the device, which was showcased this week at the Banglinux
Conference, held in this software capital of India early this month.

Simputer is built around Intel's strong CPU and is based on the Linux
operating system, with 16 MB of flash memory, a monochrome liquid crystal
display (LCD) and a touch-panel for pen-based computing.

What's more interesting is the manner in which the product is being
released, through what is called open hardware licensing. To promote
hardware innovation in India -- a country that doesn't have a reputation in
this field, unlike in software -- its design will be provided at a nominal
license fee to manufacturers.

"Companies can go ahead and create an improved Simputer. But, after a
one-year 'window of opportunity' the hardware they create will then come
back into the public domain. This will avoid the creation of monopolies and
give people an incentive to innovate," said Swami Manohar, another key
person who is part of the newly-setup Simputer Trust.

For what would this keyboard less computing device be used? "We don't expect
someone to browse the Net with this for two hours. But a villager could
quickly log on to the Net, get the information like the latest prices being
offered for commodities in nearby markets," Manohar said. He also clarified
that it would be simple to operate so that people wouldn't need "Rs. 200 per
week training" to use it.

Since open source software based on Linux was used, a whole host of people
would be able to create suitable software for it, he said. One problem still
remaining was that nobody was prepared to give them the technology to create
Smart Card readers, which would be openly available to future developers.
"We cater to four languages as of now, including English, Hindi and Kannada.
If this device could speak to you in your own language, it would be really
nice," said Manohar.

Chandru told IANS that in some "four weeks" time about 400 to 500 prototypes
would be developed and then employed for field trials. The cost of Simputer
was kept low simply because the "development team was just not claiming any
recompense," he said. Devices with somewhat similar potential were being
sold at prices of $400 plus. "Then, you have to keep in mind that there's
nothing really comparable," he said.

He disagreed with the suggestion that the Simputer would be difficult to
maintain in rural India. "Transistor radios are a great analogue. In spite
of having fairly complex electronics, they've worked," he said. He added
that the durability too would be high, since there are no large moving parts
in the Simputer and it did not have to cope with power-surges from the
mains.

"It's bound to work now," he smiled nervously, after obviously putting the
most trying periods behind him. Some 10 to 12 people, on average, have been
working on this project since December 1999. He said this computing device
could also have implications in fighting illiteracy in a country like India.
"One of the best ways to teach people a script is to have it recited," he
pointed out.
--India Abroad News Service
----------------------------------------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
3D FTP v4.0 [Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000]
http://www.3dftp.com/

The latest version 3DFTP, an FTP client, has an improved multi-threaded
engine. Multiple concurrent connections reduce the time to transfer large
amounts of data. 3DFTP supports automatic resuming of uploads and downloads,
and includes features like scheduling the transfer of files, a drag-and-drop
interface, and firewall support. It also has a fully customizable interface,
and free skins are available for download. 3DFTP includes a SDK and API
which can be used to create plug-ins and to interface with VB, VC++, etc.
Users may download version 4.0 for free at the site. [MA]
----------------------------------------
Taken from Ed.Net Briefs 3.19.2001
---
3-D TECHNOLOGY HELPS DEAF AND AUTISTIC CHILDREN
Baldi is a revolutionary tutor whose 3-D lips, tongue and jaw movements are
a near-perfect copy of human speech movements, known as phenomes. According
to Dr. Ron Cole, an expert in speech perception at the University of
Colorado at Boulder, Baldi produces what may be the most accurate automatic
generation of visible speech in the world. This allows children to practice
lip-reading. Working off the premise that spoken language is learned both by
hearing words and seeing how to form them, Baldi helps deaf children learn
how to form their words and practice pronunciation. They can mimic Baldi,
and then, with Baldi's real-time feedback, find out if they have responded
correctly. To enhance Baldi's effectiveness, most of the kids wear
headphones over an acoustic nerve implant. The device, inserted behind the
ear during a three-hour operation, converts sound into electrical signals
that can be relayed to the brain. Coupled with Baldi, say the staff at the
Tucker-Maxon Oral School in Portland, Oregon, deaf children's learning is
revolutionized. Children with autism who have problems with verbal
communication also are benefiting from Baldi.
ABCNEWS.com
"PrimeTime: Teaching Deaf Kids to Speak"
Yahoo! News, March 15, 2001
----------------------------------------
Taken from RCFoC for March 19, 2001 - My First Supercomputer?
---
My First Supercomputer?
by Jeffrey R. Harrow

We're used to having incredible computing power at our fingertips -- not
only if we work in a government laboratory or at the heart of a huge
corporation, but on the desks of the most humble of businesses, and in our
homes. Today, commodity systems run at 1 GHz or above, and crunch out 3
billion instructions per second (.003 TeraOPS -
http://www.compaq.com/rcfoc/20010129.html#_Toc504916683). Not bad. Yet
these systems are but a hint of what's to come, and it's rather fascinating
to consider where this will be coming from:

Games.
Because according to the March 12 IDG News
(http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,44121,00.asp), Sony and IBM and
Toshiba are jointly investing $400 million and 300 engineers to build what,
today, would be called a desktop supercomputer chip. But its goal is to
power future Playstations, PDAs and more!

Code-named "Cell," this chip will be made with elements smaller than .1
micron (compared to the .13 micron elements common in today's chips). The
smaller the elements, the closer that "active devices" on the chip can get
to each other, and that reduces the effects of that nasty old "speed of
light" limit. And so the chip can operate faster -- in this case, at one
trillion operations per second, or "1 TeraOPS," and beyond!

In five years.
According to IBM
(http://www.ibm.com/Press/prnews.nsf/jan/FFBB4B222F4DBFE585256A0D0056C7AC):
"The result will be consumer devices that are more powerful than IBM's Deep
Blue supercomputer, operate at low power, and access the broadband Internet
at ultra high speeds. Cell will be designed to deliver "teraflops" of
processing power."

So if there's anything that you'd "like" your computer to do, but it's just
not fast enough, don't give up the dream (or product, or service) -- because
that will change. Soon.

And remember -- these are just the chips to power our "games!" Imagine what
the really powerful stuff will do!

Don't blink!
----------------------------------------
Taken from RCFoC for March 19, 2001 - My First Supercomputer?
---
Storage Update.
by Jeffrey R. Harrow

It wasn't too long ago when we thought of disk storage in "megabytes." But
with the faster-than-Moore's Law increases in commodity disk storage
price/performance (storage has dropped from $60/megabyte in 1984, to
$0.003/megabyte in 2001), we rarely now see a disk drive that doesn't hold
at least several gigabytes. Indeed, 80 gigabyte disk drives -- that's
almost one-tenth of a terabyte -- are now available off the shelf for under
$300.

Given this type of growth, I can easily foresee the day when the term
"gigabyte" follows "megabyte" into the annals of disk drive history -- soon,
we won't be able to recall disk drives smaller than a terabyte! Indeed,
following along that path, an article in the March PC World
(http://www.pcworld.com/resource/printable/article/0,aid,38871,00.asp)
considers that, "we could see drives with capacities of 200GB by the end of
the year."

(To get a sense of what these many gigabytes of storage really mean, PC
World estimates that a single 40 gigabyte disk drive can hold: the text from
a stack of paper 2,000 feet high; or 27 days of CD-quality MP3 songs; or 3
hours of digital video; or 10 DVD movies, in MPEG-2 format.)

But this week, we're NOT going to explore the next "latest and greatest"
storage advancements that will bring the "day of the terabyte" closer to
hand, such as the evolutionary path to 100 gigabits/square inch magnetic
storage from IBM's labs, or the revolutionary potential of almost 14,000
gigabits/square inch from Keele High Density (that's almost 11 terabytes in
a credit card - http://www.compaq.com/rcfoc/20010226.html#_Toc507314934).

Instead, today, we're going to explore why these seemingly "ridiculous"
amounts of storage are actually on the path to arriving -- just in time!

According to a Yankee Group study mentioned in the Feb. 26 TechWeb News
(http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20010226S0026) and brought to our
attention by RCFoC reader Jeff Brielmaier,
"The demand for storage is growing so fast, that:
-- If it takes a company one year to use one terabyte of storage today, it
will take only 30 days to use the same capacity in 2002...
-- In 2003, it will take one day to use one terabyte of storage; and
-- in 2004, just one tenth of a day."

In fact, as terabytes make it to our desktops, we're going to have to add a
new unit of measure for when we talk about the high end disk arrays that
power commercial servers and storage farms: the "petabyte array." ("Disk
arrays" are special collections of disk drives that sometimes appear as one
logical storage unit, often with built-in redundancy and fail-soft
capabilities)

In the mind of Enterprise Storage Group analyst Steve Duplessie, petabyte
arrays will be needed by "at least 200 companies ... three years from now."

According to IDC
(http://www.idc.com/Hardware/press/PR/CP/GCP020501pr.stm), by that year
"storage" will be a $53.3 billion business growing at a compound annual
growth rate of 12%, driven by new data-intensive applications such as
Customer Relationship Management systems and the dramatic growth of digital
media.

We are certainly building a data-intensive world. And based on history, the
amount of digital data we're going to want to store will continue to
increase dramatically. Of course -- I do hope that as we move all of our
civilization's information online, we also develop a backup strategy at
least as good as the stone tablets and paper books that still illuminate our
past. Our history would be a terrible thing to waste...
***************************
Telematics for African Development Consortium
P.O. Box 31822
Braamfontein
2017
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel: +27 +11 403-2813
Fax: +27 +11 403-2814
[email protected]
www.saide.org.za

* To view an archive of previous updates visit:
www.saide.org.za/tad/archive.htm
* For resources on distance education and
technology use in Southern Africa visit:
www.saide.org.za/worldbank/Default.htm

***************************