A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet
PDF Document
The US Department of Commerce has released its long-anticipated digital divide report, A Nation Online: How Americans Are Expanding Their Use of the Internet. For the convenience of DDN readers, we've published a copy of the executive summary on our Web site. A pdf file of an executive summary (2 pages) with links to the actual report...

Distance Education Clearinghouse
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/index.html
This comprehensive and widely recognized web site brings together distance education information and resources. New information and resources are continually being added to the Distance Education Clearinghouse, which is maintained by the University of Wisconsin-Extension.

Distance Educator Archives
http://www.distance-educator.com/dnews
Search the Distance-Educator archive of over 7,000 distance education related articles and references.

Distance Education at a Glance
http://www.uidaho.edu/evo/distglan.html
Barry Willis's Website at University of Idaho. Best site for basics on distance education.

Distance Learning: A Systems View
PDF Document
An Assessment and Review of the Literature -- by Rosemary Ruhig Du Mont, Kent State University, May, 2002. Funded in part by a grant awarded by the Ohio Learning Network in cooperation with Research Center for Educational Technology Kent State University. This pdf document is the latest, extensive review of literature regarding Distance Education. It is 119 pages long.

EduTools
http://www.edutools.info
This site provides the most complete independently-reviewed analyses anywhere of selected course management software, including product comparisons, reviews, and automated decision-making tools.

eLearning Guild
http://www.elearningguild.com/
The eLearning Guild is a global community of practice for designers, developers, and managers of e-Learning. Industry professionals find value in their free membership through the Guild's comprehensive resource directory, ongoing industry research, The eLearning Developers' Journal and focused conferences.

Electronic School
http://www.electronic-school.com/index.html
Electronic School, the award-winning technology magazine for K-12 school leaders. Electronic School is published quarterly as a print and online supplement to American School Board Journal, in cooperation with ITTE: Education Technology Programs, a program of the National School Boards Association.

Four NETS for Better Searching
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/searching/fournets.htm
The perfect page is out there somewhere. It's the page that has exactly the information you're looking for and to you it's beautiful and unattainable like a faraway star. If only you had a super-sized net for capturing it! Bernie Dodge (Webquests) has made an interesting analogy of how to "search the web" for just what you want. It's fun and easy, and best of all....it makes sense.

From Now On Newsletter
http://www.fno.org/index.html
Find the On the Horizon newsletter/Journal and many other references. It is an international bimonthly publication providing analysis and comment on the future of post-secondary education, mostly related to distance learning.

Instructional Technology Council.
http://144.162.197.250/default.htm
An affiliated council of the American Association of Community Colleges established in 1977, ITC represents higher education institutions in the United States and Canada, and is leader in advancing distance education. ITC is constantly working to raise awareness about the benefits of distance learning, instructional telecommunications, and future needs and possibilities. ITC tracks federal legislation that will affect distance learning, conducts annual professional development meetings, supports research, and provides a forum for members to share expertise and materials. A great number of educational resources and references are available to the distance learning educator. Use the password of itc7845 to enter.

International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning
http://www.irrodl.org/
The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning is a journal in which readers can inform themselves about distance education developments in theory, research, and best practices in the field of distance learning.

International Society for Technology in Education
http://www.iste.org/index.html
Archived articles. Utah is using the ISTE standards for Technology Integration.

Interview with Farhad Saba, Founder of Distance-Educator.com
PDF Document
Farhad Saba is a well-known professional in the world of distance education. He is one of the true pioneers in the field, having been involved in distance education since 1973, first as the Managing Director of Educational Radio and Television of Iran (1973-1978), and then as the Director of the Telecommunications Division at the University of Connecticut (1979-1984).

Currently Saba is Professor of Educational Technology at San Diego State University (1984-present), where he teaches courses on distance education, and cyberculture. He is also the founder of Distance-Educator.com, which is a popular online news and information resource for distance education practitioners.

His consulting work has included many corporations and public institutions, including Apple Computer Inc., Digital Equipment Corporation (merged with Hewlett-Packard through Compaq), Nortel, the U. S. Department of Education, Harvard Business School Publishing, the Office of the Governor of the State of Connecticut, the Office of the Chancellor of the California State University System, the World Bank and the San Diego County Office of Education.

Recently, Educational Pathways (EP) interviewed Saba to get a general sense of his viewpoints on what he refers to as the "postmodern" practice of distance education.

Issues in Distance Learning
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/~lsherry/pubs/issues.html
This review of literature and current information related to distance learning deals with several primary research issues. These include redefining the roles of partners in distance education teams, technology selection and adoption, design issues, methods and strategies to increase interactivity and active learning, learner characteristics, learner support, operational issues, policy and management issues, equity and accessibility, and cost/benefit tradeoffs.

Kentucky Education Association
http://www.keepkentuckylearning.com
Maybe we should cut out some of these unnecessary frills in schools today.

National Distance Education Conferences
http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conferences.html
"Want to know about a distanceeducation conference? For the latest information on national conferences and workshops visit this site..."

NEA's Distance Education Archives
http://www.nea.org/he/abouthe/distance.html
Great articles for public and higher education distance education issues.

New Guidelines for Technology Integration, Management Standards
PDF Document
The Collaborative for Technology Standards for School Administrators have issued a set of technology leadership guidelines to assist school administrators in successful technology integration and to advise them on how to manage technology resources efficiently. The guidelines draw upon the advice of more than 2,000 educators, policymakers and industry representatives. The report lists six standards, each corresponding to a set of performance indicators for all school administrators. The six standards are leadership and vision; learning and teaching; productivity and professional practice; support, management and operations; assessment and evaluation; and social, legal and ethical issues.

No Significant Difference And Distance Education
PDF Document
No Significant Difference And Distance Education By: Rick Shearer, M. A., M.B.A. There are many ways we can examine differences between distance education and face-to-face instruction, but using the idea of no significant difference is probably a mis-directed approach.

No Significant Difference Phenomenon Web Site
http://www.nosignificantdifference.org/
This site provides selected entries from the book "The No Significant Difference Phenomenon" as reported in 355 research reports, summaries and papers - a comprehensive research bibliography on technology for distance education. This 1999 book was compiled by Thomas L. Russell, is fully indexed, and includes a foreword by Richard E. Clark. Previous editions of this scholarly study were provided electronically; this fifth edition is the first edition available in print from IDECC (The International Distance Education Certification Center). The primary purpose of this site is to provide access to appropriate studies published/discovered after release of the book. In addition to posting post-book entries on this NSD site, a companion site features comparative studies which DO document significant differences at http://www.nosignificantdifference.org/significantdifference. Studies are constantly being solicited for inclusion in either section--both significant differences and no significant differences. Please send all submissions to tjrussell@mindspring.com.

OnLine Teacher Ed.com's Degree Finder NEW
http://www.onlineteachered.com/
A single, time-saving directory of regionally accredited colleges and universities in the United States that offer certificate programs, undergraduate degrees, graduate degrees and doctoral programs in the field of education in a distance-education format. Our aim is to simplify the search process for finding quality and timely information about distance-education programs to enhance the careers of K-12 teachers, administrators and paraprofessionals.

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning
http://sewardls.com/PRELDLS1/index.asp
Since 1990, Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) has been making education available, accessible, and affordable for the elementary, secondary, and higher education communities. Now, in keeping with our mission to strengthen culture, increase literacy, and improve quality of life locally, nationally, and globally, PREL has developed On-line and Distance Learning Services as a portal to useful and comprehensive distance learning resources.

Profile of Participation in Distance Education: 1999-2000
PDF Document
The National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education released a new report on 10/21/2002. This report profiles undergraduate and graduate students' participation in distance education in 1999-2000. The report discusses student demographic characteristics associated with distance education participation as well as different types of distance education technology and students' satisfaction with their distance education courses compared to their regular courses. Results show that students with characteristics associated with greater family and work responsibilities tend to participate in distance education at higher rates than their counterparts with fewer family and work responsibilities. Click on the pdf icon for the full report. (70 pages)....

Reusable Learning Objects NEW
http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues/april2004/learn_tech_april2004.pdf
If you are interested in Reusable Learning Objects and the SCORM project then you will want to review the April 2004 issue of Learning Technology newsletter.

T.H.E.  (Technical Horizons in Education)
http://www.theconferencecalendar.com/default.cfm
T.H.E.  (Technical Horizons in Education) Journal has a great website showing all the upcoming technology conferences around the nation and the world.  Many are related to distance learning.   A great place to plan for your next conference--if you get to do that sort of thing!  Visit The T.H.E. Calendar...

The Digital Divide Network Home Page
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sections/index.cfm
For the last several years, we've all heard a lot about bridging the digital
divide. Each day, more and more politicians, industry leaders, community
activists and everyday citizens are becoming involved in the issue,
especially at the local level. Despite the various experiences and
backgrounds of these diverse groups of people, their end goal is basically
the same: providing people with the technology, information and skills
needed to help them reach their full potential, whether they're interested
in getting a better education, seeking a better career, or building a better
neighborhood. It's about using technology in creative, yet effective ways to
improve the quality of life for everyone: our families, our communities and
ourselves.

The Digital Divide Network--The Basics
http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/content/sections/index.cfm?key=2
There has always been a gap between those people and communities who can make effective use of information technology and those who cannot. Now, more than ever, unequal adoption of technology excludes many from reaping the fruits of the economy. We use the term "digital divide" to refer to this gap between those who can effectively use new information and communication tools, such as the Internet, and those who cannot. While a consensus does not exist on the extent of the divide (and whether the divide is growing or narrowing), researchers are nearly unanimous in acknowledging that some sort of divide exists at this point in time.

The Journal of Distance Learning Administration
http://www.westga.edu/%7Edistance/jmain11.html
The Journal of Distance Learning Administration is a peer-reviewed electronic journal offered free each quarter over the World Wide Web. The Journal welcomes manuscripts based on original work of practitioners and researchers with specific focus or implications for the management of distance education programs.This electronic journal is published four times a year and is of excellent quality. A brief abstract of each article is listed for each quarterly journal. Great research and easy reading.

The No Significant Difference website
http://teleeducation.nb.ca/nosignificantdifference/
Is distance learning worse, better or the same as traditional education?

The United States Distance Learning Association
http://www.usdla.org/
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.

Thirty-two Trends Affecting Distance Education NEW
PDF Document
An Informed Foundation for Strategic Planning. Recent issues in this journal and other prominent distance-learning journals have established the need for administrators to
be informed and prepared with strategic plans equal to foreseeable challenges. This article provides decision makers with 32 trends that affect distance learning and thus enable them to plan accordingly. The trends are organized into categories as they pertain to students and enrollment, faculty members, academics, technology, the economy, and distance learning. All the trends were identified during an extensive review of current literature in the field.

USDLA 21st Century Sponsor Knowledge Ventures
http://www.usdla.org/html/knowledge_ventures/USDLA1_KVpage2.htm
" Distance Learner's Library" gets excellent review from Library Journal Learner's
Library is not your usual database of full-text journal articles. It provides features specifically supportive of the busy student confronted with a term paper assignment. Content comes from a broad selection of over 300 American and English academic and business journals, covering a wide range of subjects from 1998 to the present. Yes, keyword searching is available, but search capability is boosted using "natural language phrases, whole thesis statements, or even the entire paragraph against which you would like to search." Most high school and college students have difficulty
putting together a keyword search or articlulating their thesis statement. The Learner's Library demo gets them past this hurdle by providing helpful search examples. The Bottom Line: Learner's Library has a simple search system that will be intuitive for web-surfers as well as experienced researchers. Visit the USDLA website for great information and resources on Distance Learning.

Web Based Educational Commission
http://www.hpcnet.org/cgi-bin/global/a_bus_card.cgi?SiteID=154797
The Commission was established by Congress to develop policy recommendations geared toward maximizing the educational promise of the Internet for pre-K, elementary, middle, secondary, and postsecondary education learners.

USOE Distance Learning Training Specialist (K-12): George T.W. Miller Jr. Email: george.miller@schools.utah.gov Phone:(801)538-7790 Cell:(801)520-9727 This site last updated March 8, 2007