TAD Consortium OCtober 2001 Information Update No. 2

18.10.2001

The TAD Consortium is an e-mail service aimed primarily at people interested in using information and communication technologies to improve the quality of education in the developing world.

* * * The TAD Consortium * * *
-----------------------------------------
The TAD Consortium is an e-mail service aimed primarily at people interested
in using information and communication technologies to improve the quality
of education in the developing world.

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

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CONTENTS
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NEWS/TRENDS
--- More Parents Exchanging E-Mails With Teachers
--- Tanzania Creates Public-Private Partnership To Create Ict Strategy
--- Sub-Saharan African Gains Access To Free Full-Text Databases
--- Young students rely on Internet
--- Elearning to thrive in Europe
--- Over 22m go online regularly in Korea
--- Viruses costing organizations billions
--- Simputer to help tribals learn
--- Universities Patenting Valuable Discoveries
--- Wireless Web growing around the world
--- Only a third of Ugandan firms online
--- Internet population rising in Canada
PROFILED ORGANIZATIONS
--- Soul City
ONLINE RESOURCES
--- SciTechResources.gov
--- Free Medical Journals.com
--- Fighting disaster: reducing risk in cities
--- Team talking: developing technology in Africa
--- The excluded of the earth: minimising poverty and discrimination
--- Missing the boat? International NGOs, advocacy and information flows
--- Are ICTs the road to riches for the poor?
--- Staying on top of new ideas in teaching can be a challenge.
--- Secrets Of Knowledge Management
--- Making Waves in the Himalayas: Interactive Radio Instruction for Early
Childhood Development in Nepal
--- The Physics Classroom
--- A Science Odyssey: You Try It Menu
--- The Knowledge Loom: What Works in Teaching and Learning
--- PSIgate (Physical Sciences Information Gateway)
--- Building With Straws And Pins
PRINTED AND OTHER RESOURCES
--- 'Dictionary of the Internet'
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NEWS/TRENDS
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Taken from Ed.Net Briefs 9.10.2001
---
MORE PARENTS EXCHANGING E-MAILS WITH TEACHERS
According to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more
than one in four (28 percent) parents of Internet-connected homes report
they have exchanged electronic messages with a teacher. Most parents think
Internet use benefits their children, even though they continue to have some
concerns about access to inappropriate content. Most parents deal with the
issue of inappropriate content by closely supervising use of the Internet by
their children. The survey found that 55 percent of parents describe their
teenage children's regular use of the Internet as a good thing. Six percent
said their teenage children's regular use of the Internet has been a bad
thing. 38 percent said it has had no effect on their children.

The Associated Press
"Parents see Net use as beneficial"
as published in The Charlotte Observer, September 2, 2001
(http://www.charlotte.com/observer)
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Taken from Balancing Act’s NEWS UPDATE 76
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TANZANIA CREATES PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO CREATE ICT STRATEGY

A public-private partnership is formulating proposals for Tanzania's
national ICT policy and institutional arrangements. The eThink Tank is an
informal association of people interested in ICT for Tanzania's development.
Formed in February 2000 there are over 150 members from all walks of life
and in many locations including non-Tanzanians. A lively discussion list is
the main means of communication, and there are various projects, activities
and so forth that the eThink Tank supports. Three of its members are also
Tanzania's delegates to the DOT Force (www.dotforce.org
)

On the national ICT policy initiative, the eThink Tank is working with the
Civil Service Department of the Government of Tanzania, and with UNDP who
are providing various resources. The Institute for International
Communication Development (www.iicd.org ) is another
eThink Tank partner, and on 5th September 2001, IICD and eThink Tank held an
ICT Policy Workshop at which the interim draft framework document was
discussed and initial comments invited. This will inform the next major
revision, and in the next few months the consultative process will be
expanded significantly to ensure all interested stakeholders are given the
opportunity to provide inputs to the final proposals to be made to
Government by the end of this year.

The eThink Tank's mission is to "offer ICT leadership by catalysing policy
changes and by supporting related developments aimed at enabling Tanzanians
to participate effectively in the modern Internet-based global economy,
benefiting their Nation and partners." The outcomes of the consultative
policy formulation process are expected to go a long way towards fulfilling
that mission. Further information on the eThink Tank can be found at URL
www.eThinkTankTz.org http://www.eThinkTankTz.org
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Taken from Balancing Act’s NEWS UPDATE 76
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SUB-SAHARAN AFRICAN GAINS ACCESS TO FREE FULL-TEXT DATABASES

The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications
(INASP) has completed the first phase of the Programme for the Enhancement
of Research Information (PERI). This initiative is designed to provide
wider access to and dissemination of scientific and scholarly information
and knowledge to and from developing and transitional countries.

Researchers, academics, scholars and librarians in Ghana, Tanzania and
Uganda are now invited to access current awareness databases, full-text
online journals and document delivery at no cost to themselves. This
recognises the vital role that information can play in development. Since
September 2000, INASP has been successfully negotiating for the provision of
information resources to areas that most need them, yet can least afford
them.

Developed in collaboration with researchers and librarians in the regions,
and with the support of development programmes such as ENRECA (Danida) and
Sida:SAREC, the Programme presently provides access to over 5000 full-text
journals in science, technology, medicine, social science and the humanities
from Academic Press, Blackwell Science, Blackwell Publishers, EBSCO
Publishing, Mary Ann Liebert and Munksgaard; databases from SilverPlatter
and document delivery through the British Library.

Visit the INASP Web Site at: http://www.inasp.org.uk/
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Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 10, 2001
---
Pew Internet & American Life: Young students rely on Internet

Sep 03 2001: The Internet is replacing the library as the first port of call
for US schoolgoers working on projects, reports Newsbytes.

This is according to a new survey of 12 to 15 year old students by the Pew
Internet and American Life Project. Pew found that 71 percent of the teens
polled say the Internet is their primary source of information for
schoolwork. Only 24 percent said the library was their primary source.

Forty-one percent of the young respondents said they use email and instant
messaging to contact teachers or classmates about homework, and 34 percent
say they have downloaded study aids from the Internet.

Almost 20 percent said they knew someone who had plagiarized from a website
for a school project.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 10, 2001
---
IDC Research: Elearning to thrive in Europe

Sep 04 2001: IDC has forecast that the European elearning market will be
worth nearly USD6 billion by 2005.

By then, elearning will account for a quarter of the European IT training
market. The market for elearning in Europe is set to grow by 126 percent
this year alone.

Elearning will be popular in the Netherlands, Sweden, and the UK, as these
countries have high Internet penetration rates and a high proportion of
English speakers. Southern Europe will tend to lag behind as far as
elearning goes.

Demand will be highest for content and services between now and 2005, but
European organizations will decrease spending on elearning delivery systems,
as course development, administration, and maintenance become priorities.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 10, 2001
---
Korea Network Information Center: Over 22m go online regularly in Korea

Sep 07 2001: There are now 22.23 million regular Internet users in Korea,
according to the latest data from the Korea Network Information Center.

The Internet user base in Korea has grown from 20.93 million in March this
year, and 19.04 million in December 2000.

Teenagers and children use the Internet more than any other age group, and
students go online more than those in any other occupation.

About 68 percent of users go online at home, 17 percent at work, 8 percent
in cybercafes and 4.5 percent in school.

Almost 59 percent of users go online with a high-speed DSL connection,
whereas only 8 percent use dial-up connections. Nearly 58 percent use a LAN,
14.4 percent use CATV, 4.6 percent use a mobile phone, and 1.7 percent use a
PDA.

Over 14 percent of regular Internet users have bought online in the past
three months, and 33 percent plan to do so in future. Only 4.3 percent
traded stocks online in the past three months.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 10, 2001
---
Reuters: Viruses costing organizations billions

Sep 03 2001: Reuters reports that the worldwide cost of computer viruses so
far this year has reached USD10.7 billion.

This is according to data from Computer Economics, which says that the total
global cost of viruses was USD17.1 billion last year, and USD12.1 billion in
1999.

The Code Red worm has been the costliest so far this year at USD2.6 billion.
About USD1.5 billion of this came from lost productivity, while USD1.1
billion was spent on cleaning computer systems infected by the bug.

The Sircam virus was the next most damaging, costing organizations around
the world USD1.04 billion altogether, USD575 million in lost productivity
and USD460 million in clean-up costs.

The costliest virus ever was last year’s Love Bug which cost USD8.7 billion
in lost productivity and clean-up costs.
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Simputer to help tribals learn
by Imran Qureshi, Indo-Asian News Service

Bangalore, Sep 10 (IANS) About 100 simputers -- indigenously produced,
cheap, hand-held computers for the masses -- would be used to educate tribal
students in Chhatisgarh.

This will be the first field test of the simputer, invented by four
scientists of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and technologists of
the privately held Encore Software, since its launch in April.

WorldSpace Radio and PicoPeta Simputers are collaborating in the pilot
project, which is to cover 2,000 students in the Bastar area of Chhatisgarh.
The simputer uses technologies that allow it to download applications from
WorldSpace Radio.

Work on the applications and content development began Monday, and "we
expect simputers to be delivered to us in eight to 10 weeks," Swami Manohar,
a scientist and acting CEO of PicoPeta Simputers, told reporters here.
State-run Bharat Electronics manufactures the simputer.

The pilot project would be operational in six months, before the team moves
on to other proposals from Karnataka (for e-governance), Andhra Pradesh (for
poverty alleviation) and Tamil Nadu (for micro-credit).

Simputers are also to be used for projects in the six other SAARc (South
Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) countries -- Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Pakistan.

PicoPeta Simputers, in which the IISc has equity, is the licence holder for
the simputer, apart from the team of inventors from Encore Software. A
couple of angel investors and four professors hold the rest of equity in
PicoPeta. Bharat Electronics is to manufacture the device under a contract.

The Bastar project was prompted by the South Asia Foundation whose
subsidiary, Rainbow Partnership Organisation, is headed by former Prime
Minister I.K. Gujral and which would work with the scientists on the content
and operational issues.

"The teacher can put a smart card into the simputer to find out how much a
student has learnt. It need not be the usual syllabus-oriented content. It
could be anything that would enhance the knowledge base of the students,"
said Vijay Chandru, who was part of the Bangalore declaration in 1998 at the
BangaloreIT.com to produce a computer for the masses.

"We can make do with much less bandwidth than a desktop because of the text
to speech synthesiser. This text to speech capability has now been extended
to Telugu that we will demonstrate to the Andhra Pradesh government," he
added.

The simputer project hogged headlines because the hand-held computer could
be priced at Rs. 9,000, or less than $200, and would be a boon for the
developing countries for use by the community.

"There will be no change in the price of the simputer even if it is
manufactured under contract by Bharat Electronics. The simputer is roughly
10 times more powerful than the palms (palmtops). A palm meets a part of the
functions of the simputer," said Vishwanathan Vinay, chief technology
officer of PicoPeta Simputers.

At today's declining costs of components, "it is possible to produce less
than 50,000 simputers annually and sell it at less than $200," added Vinay.

--Indo-Asian News Service
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Taken from Ed.Net Briefs 9.17.2001
---
UNIVERSITIES PATENTING VALUABLE DISCOVERIES
For most of their existence, universities created new ideas and gave them
away for free. Now they are patenting their discoveries so companies have to
pay to use them. They are also starting companies of their own. In their
effort to pay for booming research operations, universities are acting more
like businesses. The trend has generated concerns about whether universities
are becoming too commercial. There are also conflicts over how to divide the
profits. Advocates argue that such aggressive entrepreneurship is essential
when state and federal money is limited. Critics argue that profits from
publicly-funded research should go back to taxpayers. Congress has asked the
National Institutes of Health to examine whether taxpayers get enough
payback. Nationally, universities earned $641 million in 1999 from
licensing their discoveries, according to the Association of University
Technology Managers.

Michelle Crouch
"Poised for profits, academia now patenting valuable finds"
The Charlotte Observer, September 10, 2001, A1
(http://www.charlotte.com)
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Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 17, 2001
---
eMarketer: Wireless Web growing around the world

Sep 10 2001: eMarketer reports that 15 percent of wireless device owners
around the world go online using their wireless devices.

This is according to a study from Accenture, which found that wireless
Internet usage varied greatly from country to country.

Seventy-two percent of Japanese mobile phone owners access the Internet
using their phones, but only 6 percent of US and Finnish mobile phone owners
do so. The figure for Germany is 16 percent, and for the UK, 10 percent.

Accenture also asked the 3,500 people it polled about short message services
(SMS) on their mobile phones, and found that SMS is rapidly becoming more
popular.

Accenture believes there will be 110 million SMS-enabled mobile phones in
use around the world next year, up from 61 million this year.
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Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 17, 2001
---
Metrocomia: Only a third of Ugandan firms online

Sep 12 2001: A new report from Metrocomia has found that only 32 percent of
companies in Uganda have a website.

A quarter of those do not have their own website, but are covered by the
website of an international parent company.

Firms in the travel, IT/telecommunications, and education and training
sectors are most likely to have a website. Those in the trade, media and
advertising, and manufacturing sectors are least likely to have a website.

Of those without a site, 45 percent expect to have one within 9 months, and
43 percent expect to have one within 18 months. Only 6 percent of those
firms planning a site will spend over USD5000 on it. Half will spend less
than USD500 on their site.

Over half the firms polled said lack of financial resources were the main
restraining factor while developing a new or revised site. Lack of time,
human resources, and knowledge were cited as other obstacles.
----------------------------------------
Taken from Nua Internet Surveys: September 17, 2001
---
Canada Computes: Internet population rising in Canada

Sep 11 2001: Over half of all Canadian households have at least one occupant
that is a regular Internet user, up from 42 percent last year.

This is according to a new study from Statistics Canada. The study says that
40 percent of households have home Internet access, up from 29 percent last
year, while 28 percent of households have an occupant that has work Internet
access, and 20 percent have an occupant with school access.

Seventy-eight percent of households had dial-up access, up 29 percent on the
previous year, while high-speed access is up 155 percent.

Albertans were most likely to have Internet access, while those in Quebec
were least likely, although Internet use is rising rapidly in that province

The most popular online activities are email, browsing, searching for health
and medical information, visiting travel sites, news sites, and government
sites.
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PROFILED ORGANIZATIONS
-----------
Taken from Sound Partners Weekly for the Week of September 10th - 16th
---
South African Project Explores Health Issues through Multiple Media
Since 1994, Soul City has been examining health issues by fusing radio,
television and print with entertainment and drama in order to educate and
empower residents about such issues as HIV and AIDS, smoking, alcohol and
sexual abuse. Their Web site goes into further detail about how are they are
using different formats in conjunction with different media platforms in
order to maximize their reach.
http://www.soulcity.org.za/
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ONLINE RESOURCES
-----------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
SciTechResources.gov
http://www.scitechresources.gov

A creation of the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), this site
provides scientists, researchers, engineers, and others with easy access to
government resources related to science and technology. Users can limit
searches by keyword, subject, agency, and type of resource (such as maps and
charts or data). For the "science aware citizen," who may not be a
researcher, SciTechResources allows visitors to search just within general
interest science and technology resources. A categorized list of portals and
gateways is also available off the front page. The site's browsing function
is a bit misleading,as clicking on a broad subject takes users to a search
page rather than a list of sub-categories. Nonetheless, there are many ways
to access information here, including the ability to list resources by
agency and to search for government laboratories by state and agency. This
is a useful portal for the science community that promises to grow. [TK]
----------------------------------------
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/
---
Free Medical Journals.com
http://www.freemedicaljournals.com/

Folks looking for medical journal articles available for free online can be
frustrated by the multiple interpretations of "free" -- some journals offer
free trials, others only certain back issues, some have free abstracts but
not full text, etc. This new metasite, Free Medical Journals.com, has
organized the growing list of online medical publications into the following
categories: free full text, free one to six months after publication, free
one year after publication, free two years after publication, new, and
cancelled. The over-800 titles here are sorted alphabetically or by
specialty. There are also Spanish and Portuguese listings. Users can sign up
for the journal alert feature and can also submit information on new free
medical journals. [HCS]
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Taken from id21News Issue No. 55
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Fighting disaster: reducing risk in cities
How can links between disaster mitigation and urban planning be
strengthened? Can urban livelihood strategies reduce poor city dwellers'
vulnerability to disaster? Scant attention is currently paid by relief
organisations to urban planning and disaster mitigation, according to a
recent Care International report.

http://www.id21.org/society/S3ads1g1.html