Editor's Podium

The focus of this issue is Intellectual Property and Copyright Issues. The DMCA, Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is of course still with us. The increased activity of the past two years, particularly in the music-on-line arena, has complicated issues of the “creatively underpaid” (to coin a wonderful phrase from Stephen Downes).

We have presented thoughtful, well-researched articles advancing several positions. There is a comprehensive list of Copyright Links – also from Stephen Downes. We have included information from the Committee on Intellectual Property of the College Art Association on the fifth annual Copyright Town Meeting. Finally, in the 'Amicus Brief' we cover the implications of expansion of copyright law to curtail values within the First Amendment. Awareness is critical for those of us in knowledge sharing.

The U.S. Secretary of Education's Conference on Educational Technology: Measuring the Impacts and Shaping the Future is presented as the most current research and findings in this key area.