Below is a description of the November-December 1999 issue of On the
Horizon, which is available at
http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/online/html/7/6/

Please forward this announcement to colleagues who can benefit from a
print and Web-based periodical that focuses on signals of change on the
horizon that can affect educational organizations.

You may be in an organization with an institutional online subscription,
which you can see at http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/subscribe.asp If you
are not, ask your librarian to request a 60 day trial subscription, which
will allow everyone in your organization to have access to OTH On-Line
without logging on (your e-mail IP address does this automatically).

Jim
--
James L. Morrison                          		[log in to unmask]
Professor of Educational Leadership        	CB 3500 Peabody Hall
Editor, On the Horizon 	                  	UNC-Chapel Hill
http://horizon.unc.edu                     		Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500
Editor, The Technology Source              	Phone: 919 962-2517
http://horizon.unc.edu/ts                 		 Fax: 919 962-1693


_______________________

ON THE HORIZON: The Strategic Planning Resource for Education
Professionals

IN THIS ISSUE

Technology and the Future of Education
Frederick W. Nickols
Educational Testing Service

Will higher education as we know it disappear? "Undoubtedly," says
Frederick Nickols. Nickols identifies the challenges and opportunities
presented by new technology for those who lead institutions of higher
education. In incorporating technology, educational leaders must
distinguish those things that can and should be learned independently from
those that should be learned in a traditional classroom. But even the
traditional classroom itself is changing in response to the competitive
market and the different student populations assisted by distance
learning. Nickols evaluates the social factors that make the integration
of technology absolutely imperative for all colleges and universities.

>From the Editor
Using Information Technology Tools in Education: An Interview with Rodney
L. Everhart
James. L. Morrison
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Editor James L. Morrison interviews Rodney L. Everhart, president of SCT
Education Solutions and former CEO of LEXIS-NEXIS, about the forces
driving the use of information technology tools in education today.
Everhart names six: changing demographics, the demand for unlimited
access, spiraling costs, the issue of competencies versus degrees, the
knowledge explosion, and the increasing need for lifelong learning. Each
of these six factors contributes to an environment in which institutions
must become more competitive and more responsive to student needs than
ever before. Many universities have implemented computer systems that
offer flexible, self-service options to their students. Besides the
obvious advantages for students created by these systems, Everhart tells
Morrison, this technology allows schools to devote more attention to their
primary mission of education.

Trends and Events: Social
Something Old, Something New: The Virtual High School
Larry Gould and John Ross
Fort Hays State University

For years, many high school students have earned college credits for
completing courses covering college-level material in accelerated high
school classes. The precedent established by this "dual credit"
coursework, say Larry Gould and John Ross, has paved the way for a new,
technology-enabled option: the virtual high school. Virtual high school
projects, cropping up nationwide, offer online high school courses to
students seeking enrichment or acceleration. Proponents of these programs
say that virtual high school coursework will provide needed benefits for
rural schools wishing to diversify their curricula and for students whose
options might otherwise be limited by their environments. Gould and Ross
evaluate these claims and discuss the implications of virtual high schools
on traditional education, home schooling, and even public policy.

Trends and Events: Technological
A New Model for Computing: The Potential of Jini
David Schmidt
Fort Hays State University

David Schmidt knows that "middleware, because it is invisible, usually has
about as much appeal to the public consciousness as motor oil." But Jini
and T-Spaces, middleware products developed by Sun Microsystems and IBM,
offer significant advantages to computer users. The architecture used in
both programs enables the use of "plug and play" devices and allows the
networking of computers and peripherals on an ad hoc basis. As Schmidt
points out, this capability is important whenever someone needs to network
several computers quickly and simply, without developing the structure to
support a complicated, centralized server system. A professor teaching an
online course, a guest at a hotel looking for a printer to use during his
visit, or an emergency relief team setting up a base at the scene of a
disaster might use Jini or T-Spaces to communicate quickly and
efficiently.

Trends and Events: Economic
The Paradox of Project Management
Michael D. Kull
Running Light, Inc.

The principle of the economies of scale suggests that the more you do
something, the better you get at doing it faster, better, and cheaper. But
the new economics of project management suggests that the value of a
project is inversely related to the number of its iterations. In other
words, by the time you have done a project a few times, the competition
has probably copied it, the problems the project was designed to address
have changed, and your clients are clamoring for the next wave of
solutions. Michael Kull suggests that, with this in mind, we "redefine
what we mean by project success" to include the management of knowledge,
the transference of knowledge, and the development of the skills to
enhance and expand on knowledge.

Trends and Events: Environmental
Meshing Forest Pathology with Environmental Studies
Janet S. MacFall
Elon College

Environmental studies programs often incorporate interdisciplinary
approaches to their subjects, introducing topics ranging from biology to
physics to public policy. Janet MacFall suggests that forestry and forest
management are often omitted from environmental studies programs even
though questions of the proper use and preservation of forests often
generate polarized, emotionally charged discussions. Within forest
management, the specific study of forest pathology is often neglected,
with devastating consequences for these resources so precious to society.
Citing the case of the chestnut blight that has wiped out nearly all
American chestnuts and has even prevented the growth of new chestnut
trees, MacFall makes a convincing case for the urgent necessity of
incorporating forest pathology and forest management topics into
environmental studies programs.

Commentary
A Comment on the Horizon Interview with University of North Carolina
President Mollly Broad in Light of Recent Developments in the Courts
William W. Van Alstyne
Duke University School of Law

Van Alstyne takes issue with UNC President Molly Broad’s implication that
academic freedom is so well-protected by the courts that tenure is no
longer necessary. Though acknowledging President Broad’s sincerity in her
statements, Van Alstyne cites several court rulings suggesting that
academic freedom will remain in question as long as the practice of
tenuring faculty is jeopardized. For readers intrigued by Laurence R.
Marcus’s analysis of related issues in “Implications of the Attack on
Tenure” (OTH 7.1)—or for those who missed it—Van Alstyne’s article adds
another dimension to this critical discussion.

Tools
Free and Handy
Bernard Glassman
National Cancer Institute

Drawing on considerable experience on the Web, Glassman “make[s] a little
more sense out of the information explosion,” saving hours of time and
frustration for readers eager to find the latest and most useful internet
tools. In this article, he suggests some sites with efficiently organized
search engines and identifies a Web-based email site with the
best-designed features and most helpful customer support. And there’s
more: if you’d like to have an “agent” watch constantly for new postings
on a given topic or alert you when a product in high demand becomes
available, this article will direct you to a site where you can find one.



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