<<January 20, 2001>>
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G. Robert (Bob) Converse
Project Director/Principal Investigator
National Science Foundation
Advanced Technology Education Project
Maui Community College (MCC)
University of Hawaii (UH)
310 Ka'a Humanu Ave.
Kahului, Hawaii 96732
USA
Tel: +1-808-984 3447
Fax: +1-808-244 0862
bob.converse@mauicc.Hawaii.Edu
http://www.ecet.mauicc.hawaii.edu
http://www.ecet.mauicc.hawaii.edu/ecet/presentations/
http://www.hawaii.edu/uhcc.e-learn/

Dear Bob:

I understand that Ms Pureza Veloso, School Director of the CEBU DISTANCE
LEARNING CENTER (OPEN COLLEGE) in Cebu, the Philippines has invited you to
their first graduation on April 18th when I am also invited to make a keynote
speech. She has additionally asked that you assist me with the seminar on
Distance Education at Cebu College on April 20th. She asked me for a
recommendation for someone to assist in the seminar and I thought immediately
of your presentation at our highly successful workshop and conference in
Tampere, Finland in August 1999 and how you and I worked so well together there.

I think and hope you will make every effort to assist me. I realize that
Cebu has funds only for your hotel and meals but I think this would be an
excellent opportunity for your UH Community College System AA degree via
distance education (I examined at the UHCC distance education web address you
sent me) to expand. This would be a natural marriage since (1) you have a
substantial Filipino population in Hawaii and (2) your MCC is a leader in the
computer technology education and distance learning fields. This would
definitely be beneficial to your college if they do indeed intend to try to
attract more foreign students as you suggested.

According to Ms. Veloso, there are many Japanese firms in Cebu which need to
have youngsters who are capable in high-tech field. I am sure that you have
excellent distance learning courses from your MCC to Cebu (firstly via
narrowband and later via broadband Internet) as I witnessed during my visit
to your college by your invitation with the NSF funds in the spring of 1999.

At that time, I noticed excellent QuizCenter materials produced by Tom Wright
at Maui Research and Technology Center. Though it is now purchased by the
Discovery School Television system, this on-line testing software would be
excellent for the students at the Cebu Open College, since it is free
and can be used to create on-line quizzes and tests, and also since the tests
can be given in any of about 15 languages as used in over 40 foreign
countries. I would then greatly appreciate it if you can kindly distribute
its copies in CD-ROM format at the seminar on April 20th in Cebu and at a
meeting in Manila on your way back to Hawaii (see below) for no cost. I will
allocate about 45 to 60 minutes for your presentation at the seminar in Cebu
on April 20th.

During this seminar on April 20th, please also present your 3D animation of a
walk-through of your new computer center building with a CD-ROM which you
presented during our Tampere event. This will indicate how such an advanced
teaching materials can be retrieved once when they have a broadband Internet.

Please also mention of your high performance computing technical national
center -- with several high speed PCs connected together in a distributed
format. During my visit to your college, I was very impressed with your
high-tech capability on it since it has a great potential of distributing
simulation models, say, on the global environment, around the world through
the global broadband Internet as forming a global brain with global neural
computer network.

I also hope to form a coalition of universities, secondary schools,
hospitals, libraries and local governmental agencies in Cebu during our
seminar on April 20th for their community development with a global broadband
Internet in the near future. Incidentally, Ms. Veloso has already invited
Japanese Consulate in Cebu to participate in this event. When this
infrastructure is set up, youngsters in Cebu may be able to view the wonders
of universe through a newly establishing telescope with a fund from the U.K.
on Haleakala Mountain in your Maui Island.

I would also like you to attend a one (or two) day meeting in Manila
following the Cebu seminar. We will meet with colleagues at the St. Luke's
College of Medicine, the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, St.
Thomas University and the University of the Philippines/Open University,
etc., to plan for the second Asia-Pacific workshop which NSF and Citicorp
will sponsor. The only expense you will have is airfare and possible
hotel/meals in Manila, and subsequently necessary layovers from/to Hawaii,
Cebu and Manila.

Please consider this as an excellent opportunity for your school to expand
internationally and let me know as soon as possible if you are willing to
take part. As the e-mails from Cebu indicates, they would certainly be most
happy to have you.

Lastly, please convey my best personal regards to Tom Wright.

Best, Tak
**********************************************************************
* Takeshi Utsumi, Ph.D., P.E., Chairman, GLOSAS/USA *
* (GLObal Systems Analysis and Simulation Association in the U.S.A.) *
* Laureate of Lord Perry Award for Excellence in Distance Education *
* Founder of CAADE *
* (Consortium for Affordable and Accessible Distance Education) *
* President Emeritus and V.P. for Technology and Coordination of *
* Global University System (GUS) *
* 43-23 Colden Street, Flushing, NY 11355-3998, U.S.A. *
* Tel: 718-939-0928; Fax: 718-939-0656 (day time only--prefer email) *
* Email: utsumi@columbia.edu; Tax Exempt ID: 11-2999676 *
* http://www.friends-partners.org/GLOSAS/ *
**********************************************************************

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