<<June 10, 2000>>
Mr. Bruce R. Best <bbest@uog9.uog.edu>
Roger Lee Boston <rboston@tenet.edu>
Kimberly K. Obbink <kobbink@montana.edu>
Dear Bruce:
===========
(1) Many thanks for your hard copy letter (ATTACHMENT I).
(2) Your project and workshop are very interesting.
We would certainly be very delighted to work with you on this
initiative
-- looking into the future of deploying broadband wireless and
satellite
Internet in the Western Pacific region which possibility we discussed
with the people from Hawaii during our Tampere event last August.
(3) During my attendance at the Manaus mini-workshop (*), Roger
told me that
he has a bridge which can interface NetMeeting and videoconferencing
units via ISDN.
(*) See;
<http://www.argo.com.br/~alex_mau/workshop/workshop.htm>
and
<http://www.teched.org/hist00/brazil/>.
Roger:
======
Pls confirm this.
If affirmative, I can join in your Global Village" pep
talk with my Mac
through Internet via Roger's bridge. As soon as I hear Roger's
confirmation, I will let you know.
Roger:
======
You may also join in this videoconferencing -- as the extension
of
your involvement in the Pacific activities started with your demo
at the PTC in Honolulu, HI last January by the invitation of
Christina Higa of PEACESAT at the University of Hawaii.
(4) Pls retrieve my last listserve distribution "Preparation
for Manila
workshop on 10/29th to 31st - June 8, 2000" at
<http://www.friends-partners.org/~utsumi/gu-l/mid-2000/index.html>.
Pls let me know if you can make this workshop in Manila from
10/29th to
31st to discuss further collaboration with your program. If
affirmative, pls send me;
(a) Full official address (title, division, affiliation, mailing
address, phone/fax, email, and URL, etc.) with social security
number,
(b) A half to one full page of brief descriptive bio,
(c) A half to one full page description of your possible contribution
to our colleagues in the Philippines through this project, --
including brief descriptions of intended distance learning
courses, how it is to be delivered through narrowband Internet,
etc. This is very important to convince peer group members of
the
NSF travel grant program.
I would greatly appreciate it if you can respond to the above
at your
earliest convenience, since I am now preparing a NSF travel grant
application which is to be submitted by Kim -- we are way behind
its deadline.
Thanks in advance.
Best, Tak
****************************************
ATTACHMENT I
UNIVERSITY OF GUAM
UNIBETSEDAT GUAHAN
CENTER FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS
UOG Station * Mangilao, Guam 96923
Tel: (671) 735-2600-4 * Fax: (671) 734-1233
May 25, 2000
Dr. Takeshi Utsumi
Chairman
GLOBAL UNIVERSITY SYSTEM
43-23 Colden Street
Flushing, NY 11355-3998
Subject: New Regional Distance Education Initiative
0haiyo gozaimasu Dr. Utsumi,
We are pleased to inform you that the University of Guam is
launching a new
distance education initiative. This initiative will involve a
regional effort
directed towards increasing the availability of educational services
to the
people in remote areas of the Western Pacific. It is supported
through a grant
from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. We are calling the initiative
"Charting
the Future Course of Distance Education in the Western Pacific".
The enclosed
brochure provides a more complete description of our distance
education initiative.
As a first step to initiate the process, we hope to bring together
a small
group of stakeholders (i.e., 10 to 20 people) for a three-day
policy forum.
The three-day policy forum will be held on Guam during the period
of August
1st through the 3rd.
I am sure you'll agree, distance education holds great promise
for all of us
who are involved in development activities across this vast region.
The
scheduled policy forum will provide a great opportunity to identify
ways and
means of working together for common benefit.
Tak, it would be great if you could be brought in on a video
teleconference
(ISDN 128K) for a short "Global Village" pep talk. The
best time would be the
morning of August 2nd (August 1st @ 2100-2200 GMT).
If you would like to work with us on this exciting initiative,
please contact
our office at (671) 735-2620/1 or email us at bbest@uog9.uog.edu.
Sincerely,
Bruce Best
Project Coordinator
CCE-OP/TADEO
A Land Grant Institution Accredited By The Western
Association Of Schools And Colleges
****************************************
Excerpt from brochure #1
The Project:
Charting the Future Course of Distance Education in the
Western Pacific
By: University of Guam
PEACESAT, CCE-OP, and
Guam Cooperative Extension, CALS
Under grant support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation
The Situation
One of the main barriers to social and economic development
in the Western
Pacific is people's inability to obtain needed information and
knowledge in a
timely and cost effective manner. This problem impacts on both
the public and
private sector. Many nurses and other health care practitioner
are under
trained and ill equipped to provide even minimal levels of care
to people in
need. Teachers working in remote island schools have very limited
opportunities for in-service training. In the private sector,
the situation is
no better. Few people possess the know-how needed to start-up
and operate a
small business, especially tourism related businesses. Lack of
knowledge about
potential markets, sources of financing and human resources stifle
small
business enterprise development in the region.
Recent advances in telecommunications and multimedia technologies
combined
with a decrease in the cost of those technologies have caused
a lot of
interest in using these new technologies for distance education.
Less
attention however, has been directed towards examining some of
the broader
policy questions that need to be addressed regionally in order
to insure
sustainability and equity across the Western Pacific over the
next decade.
The Challenge
A more fully rationalized regional framework needs to be created
so that the
different colleges and universities in the region can establish
their own
distance education policies and implementation strategies in ways
that are
both well integrated and allow for seamless interface (regional
articulation)
between credit and non-credit DE programs being offered in the
regions.
Questions to be answered include:
* How to insure what uniform quality standards should be put
in place and
how to insure that they are being followed?
* How to generate the money needed to deliver high quality programs?
* How to avoid duplication, promote collaboration, and encourage
competition all at the same time?
The Objectives
* To provide key stakeholders from both the public and private
sector, as
well as high level public officials, with an opportunity to formulate
a
regional policy agenda and framework for action. The focus of
this
effort will be designed to help ensure that future distance education
initiatives in the region are delivered in ways that are both
sustainable and equitable.
* To facilitate the establishment of collaborative networks
and working
groups involving representatives from key stakeholder groups (i.e.,
education, public health, tourism, etc.) along with their counterparts
from the different post secondary education institutions serving
the
region for the purpose of promoting greater symmetry in distance
education program design and delivery.
* To identify and train a cadre of course designers, technical
support
personnel and subject matter resource people from across the region
in
an effort to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed for
effective course packaging and delivery via distance education.
The Budget
========================================
<<June 10, 2000>> Omitted here by T. Utsumi,
========================================
What's going to take place?
First:
A Policy seminar will be conducted, bringing together key stakeholders
and
senior public officials from across the pacific region. The purpose
will be to
formulate a regional framework for conducting distance learning
activities in
the region in a sustainable manner.
Second:
Monthly teleconferences will be conducted to help distance
education program
managers from across the region in designing and conducting high
quality
distance learning activities in their respective jurisdictions.
DE specialists
will be available for consultation during these over the air teleconferences.
Third:
An on-site workshop will be conducted for a select group of
program managers
and course instructors. Those selected will be provided with an
opportunity to
learn about state-of-the art approaches to distance learning curriculum
design, course packaging and instructional techniques.
The Schedule:
Regional Policy Forum: August 1st to 3rd, 2000
DE Management Seminars September 2000 to April 2001
(via PEACESAT teleconference):
DE instructors training: March 2001
****************************************
Excerpt from brochure #2
A Regional Policy Forum
Charting the Future Course of Distance Education in the Western
Pacific"
August 1-3, 2000
Partially supported, through a Grant from the Sasakawa Pacific
Island Nations Fund (SPINF)
Overview
All across the region, people are showing interest in distance
education as a
vehicle for learning. Increased regional collaboration is becoming
necessary
to insure sustainability at the jurisdictional level. Issues associated
with
course articulation between institutions, quality control and
revenue sharing
all need to be addressed within a regional context. The real challenge
is to
create the right balance between what makes sense regionally while
at the same
time ensuring local autonomy, control and support for different
jurisdictional
level distance education agendas and priorities.
This policy forum has been organized to provide leaders from
across the region
with an opportunity to formulate recommendations and suggestions
for how to
address these issues and others. By so doing the participants
in this forum
will be able to make a real contribution to charting the future
course of
distance education in the region over the next five to ten years.
Participants
A diverse group of stakeholders from both the public and private
sector will
be invited to participate in this high level policy forum. Senior
representatives from the different post secondary educational
institutions
serving the region as well as others from the public health and
education
communities in the different jurisdictions are encouraged to participate.
Regional stakeholders from the private sector with interests in
human resource
development within the banking, hotel, transportation and energy
sectors are
also asked to participate.
Objectives
* A clearer picture will emerge regarding commonalities and
differences in
circumstance, philosophy and availability of resources to support
distance education from one jurisdiction to the next.
* A broad based policy framework will be developed during the
forum. This
framework will serve as a common reference point for leaders and
key
stakeholders to formulate specific policies and performance criteria
intended for use in determining how distance education is to be
viewed
and utilized in their respective jurisdictions.
...
****************************************
List of Distribution
Mr. Bruce R. Best
PEACESAT/TADEO
Research Associate
Station Manager
Telecommunication and Distance Education Operation
Center for Continuing Education & Outreach Programs
University of Guam
Box 5278 UOG Station
Mangilao, Guam 96923
011-671-735-2621/0
011-671-734-8377
Fax: 011-671-734-8377<<04/22/1994>>for short msg
bbest@uog9.uog.edu
Roger Lee Boston
Rockwell Chair/Instructor
Distance Education/Technology Center
Houston Community College System
4310 Dunlavy Street
P.O.Box 7849
Houston, Texas 77006
USA
Tel: +1-713-718 5224
Fax: +1-713-718 5301
rboston@tenet.edu
boston_r@hccs.cc.tx.us (secondary)
http://www.rboston.com
http://www.teched.org/
http://www.hccs.cc.tx.us
http://www.teched.org/Finland
http://www.teched.org/ChinaLive
http://www.teched.org/starlink
http://www.teched.org/hist00/brazil/
Kimberly K. Obbink
Director
Burns Telecommunications Center and Extended Studies
128 EPS Building,
Montana State University
Bozeman, MT 59717-3860
USA
Tel: +1-406-994 6550
Fax: +1-406-994 7856
kobbink@montana.edu
http://btc.montana.edu
**********************************************************************
* 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/ *
**********************************************************************