July 2004--The Gender, Diversities and Technology Institute at Education Development Center, Inc., invites you to join us for a week-long online dialog on "Facilitating and Sustaining Diverse Online Learning Communities." This email discussion will be held from 10 am on Monday July 19th until noon on Friday July 23rd, 2004. All times are U.S. Eastern Time.

GDTI has assembled an international panel of experts to engage in this important dialog that will raise, and suggest answers to key questions. What are the requirements for creating, growing and sustaining diverse online communities? Do current technologies support and enhance online learning equitably across all learner diversities, including race, SES, disability and gender? How do existing learning technologies reflect and reproduce current societal and cultural biases? Panelists include:

-Kevin Almeroth
Vice Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, University of Californa-Santa Barbara

-Christopher Dede (with Jody Clarke & Diane Jass Ketelhut)
Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies, Technology in Education program, Harvard Graduate School of Education

-Susan Herring
Professor of Information Science & Adjunct Professor of Linguistics, Indiana University Bloomington

-Nichole Pinkard
Research associate and director of educational technology at the Center for School Improvement at the University of Chicago

-Judy Ridgway
Assistant Director of Instructional Resources, Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education

-John Willinsky
Professor, Language and Literacy Education, University of British Columbia

You can join this conversation by subscribing to the mailing list for this dialog. Please go to: .

Or if you prefer, simply send your name and email address to to be subscribed. You will receive additional instructions on how to use the mailing list.
Related Link: http://www.edc.org/GDI

July 2004--Susan Jesuroga will lead an overhaul of the Communications Portal , with the goal of integrating the CP with NSDL.org. Document sharing, email lists, workspaces, and searching are important elements of the existing community site. Please send your ideas about what other features would be useful in helping you do your work with the NSDL community. Blogging? Communications improvements? Online events to Susan Jesuroga .
Related Link: http://comm.nsdl.org/

July 2004--Visit to register, submit proposals for workshops, panels, and posters for the NSDL Annual Meeting: Designing Strategies for Success. The deadline for submitting proposals for panels and workshops is August 6.
Related Link: http://nsdl.comm.nsdl.org/

July 2004--The Sustainability Standing Committee has elected Professor John Moore as Co-Chair. John is the W.T. Lippincott Professor Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and Editor for the Journal of Chemical Education.  We were also fortunate to have had Professors Gregor Novak (Department of Physics at the United States Air Force Academy) and Victor Shamas (Director of Instructional Development in the Department of Psychology at the University of Arizona) as candidates for the office of Co-Chair. Many thanks to these three individuals for contributing to the sustainability of the National Science Digital Library. This election was co-coordinated by Rachael Bower, Jeanne Narum and Yolanda George who are liaisons from the NSDL Policy Committee. 

For further information about the Sustainability Standing Committee and its activities to broadly contribute to the long-term sustainability of the NSDL, please visit the community website .
Related Link: http://sustain.comm.nsdl.org/

July 2004--A new caucus in the U. S. House of Representatives established by Representatives Ehlers and Udall will focus solely on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education issues.
Related Link: http://science.nsta.org/nstaexpress/nstaexpress_2004_07_06_extra.htm

July 2004--The Institute of Museum and Library Services is soliciting proposals to develop, pilot, deploy and evaluate an instructor-mediated online course to train library and museum personnel in planning and evaluating outcomes-based projects. Outcomes-oriented planning and evaluation are recognized as essential to strong museum and library programs; there is little information about how to impart those skills in a library/museum context; and few models exist to help institutions calculate the cost of calculate the cost of such training. The successful proposal will include a comparison of the effectiveness of an online course with a face-to-face workshop, as well as a cost model for developing and offering the course. The deadline for proposals is September 15, 2004 and the maximum award is $1 million for up to three years. (IMLS News Release June 2, 2004).--RLG's ShelfLife, No. 163 (July 1, 2004)
Related Link: http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/060204.htm

July 2004--A capacity crowd packed a large room at the American Library Association Annual Conference on June 28 to hear a panel speak on "The Future of Libraries: Disappearing Libraries and Invisible Librarians." Clifford Lynch of the Coalition for Networked Information noted that libraries will diverge in maintaining the twin responsibilities of access and stewardship. "In the digital world, if you're doing access, it's a pretty comfortable world writing contracts with service providers," he observed. "But if you worry, 'Is that going to be there in 200 years?' it kicks off a whole set of questions about redundancy and preservation." He said that major research libraries are starting to ask how much they should invest in stewardship, and how much they should "kick off" to national libraries. Lynch further observed that research libraries will devote much more effort to managing content that is created by scholarly communities but doesn't pass through publishers--including institutional repositories.--Library Journal Academic Newswire, July 8, 2004
Related Link: http://www.rawbrick.net/2004/07/12/22.37/

July 2004--Why be satisfied with a bicycle built for two? The unique and easy-to-maneuver ConferenceBike" comfortably seats up to seven people, sitting in a circle and biking together for an unforgettable riding experience. Originally commissioned exclusively for Hammacher Schlemmer, American artist and inventor Eric Staller has created what he calls a symbol for community, a tool for bringing people together. Almost anyone can ride on this distinctive trike, so you can use it for family reunions, summer gatherings, corporate retreats, outdoor education programs, or taking the neighborhood along for a ride.
Related Link: http://www.hammacher.com/publish/78743.asp?catid=20&promo=inthenews