Subject: Distance Education Journal - Horizon - March 2000 Below is a description of the March-April issue of On the Horizon, which is available in the online version at http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/online/html/8/1/ As you may know, Jossey-Bass has sold OTH to a British publisher, Camford Publishing, effective April 20, 2000. OTH Online will be available on the Horizon server until that date, at which time it will be transferred to the Camford server (http://www.camfordpublishing.com/). If neither you nor your organization has an active subscription, you may access OTH Online by completing the subscription form for a free trial online issue (good until April 20) at http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon/subscribe.asp Jim -- James L. Morrison morrison@unc.edu Professor of Educational Leadership CB 3500 Peabody Hall Editor, The Technology Source UNC-Chapel Hill http://horizon.unc.edu/ts Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500 Editor, On the Horizon Phone: 919 962-2517 http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon Fax: 919 962-1693 IN THIS ISSUE Trends Transforming the Universities of this Century--Virtualize, Disappear, or Transform Sohail Inayatullah, Tamkang Professorial Research Fellow, Visiting Academic, Queensland University of Technology Jennifer Gidley, Educational Psychologist and Lecturer, Southern Cross University Sohail Inayatullah and Jennifer Gidley explore the future of universities world-wide, evaluating the effects of such factors as globalization, virtualization, and multiculturalism. While they do not advocate retention of the age-old traditional university environment, Inayatulla and Gidley argue that the growing influence of for-profit and virtual universities is cause for concern as we reexamine the roles of academics and other intellectuals in society. They warn, "As the human side of face-to-face collegiate collaboration and student-teacher contact diminishes behind the screen, the disillusionment already felt by many young people is unlikely to improve." The Emerging Knowledge Management Approach and Educational Organizations Eric C. Adams, Technology Coordinator, Diocese of Monterey Eric Adams assesses the state of knowledge management in our ever-changing digital age. He categorizes knowledge into four components--accessing, generating, embedding, and transferring--to explain the way in which the face of education is transforming, exceeding the bounds of the traditional classroom and permeating society at every level. Ultimately, Adams concludes, "Just as corporations need to redesign themselves as learning organizations, education needs to do a better job of integrating technology." FROM THE EDITOR Transitions James L. Morrison, Program in Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Founder and editor James Morrison describes the origins and development of On the Horizon in the last issue to be published by Jossey-Bass. He welcomes the transition to a new publisher and a new editor, and joins us in wishing both success. TRENDS AND EVENTS: SOCIAL Expectations and Reality: Delivering Financial Assistance to Distance Learners Craig Karlin, Director of Financial Assistance, Fort Hays State University For those seeking quick solutions to the problems that accompany university policies on financial aid for distance learners, Craig Karlin has a little advice--Be patient. As Karlin explains, financial aid offices are simply unable to accommodate the public's overwhelming response to distance learning courses and its subsequent call for financial support for those courses. And as is to be expected, governmental laws and regulations governing financial aid use are revised slowly. But according to Karlin, this evolutionary process should be a welcome transition for all involved, allowing learners everywhere to be 'big winners.' COMMENTARY Education at the Trans-Millennium David Snyder, Consulting Futurist America's public school system is in crisis. Assessing the implications of federal-mandated benchmark examinations, David Snyder argues that national efforts to improve the state of public education are widely ineffective, and he calls instead for greater privatization, noting that the technologies and teaching innovations employed by entrepreneurial corporations are increasingly profitable. Snyder concludes, "If there were such a thing as an ideal moment for a major public institution to invent itself, now would be that moment for education in America."