For a number of years the editors of Ed Journal have depended on the Internet as the primary link to researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs in industry and government circles worldwide. Authors can be reached easily with email, and articles come as attachments, and sometimes as web pages. We are grateful for the continued support or our authors and readers and for the continual flow of email and listserv ideas that lead to published articles. We are still in the process of reinventing the Journal for the Web, and hope that there will be budget for some printed versions of the publication.

Periodically there is an issue that demands our entire focus, like revision of the Copyright Law. As we draw articles from different networks and websites, we try to balance this with new articles from our readers. Many academic authors require publication for retention, promotion and tenure. As a refereed journal in distance learning, this is a role we take seriously. We know of numerous instances where publication in Ed made the difference!

The Web now offers an overwhelming volume of materials for teachers and students. Education related enterprises are providing materials and services as a way to attract teachers and students to their websites. The quality of some of these free resources exceeds our wildest dreams. We are currently researching lesson plans that conform to the new K-12 National Standards. The standards refocus objectives toward real-world applications. They are multidisciplinary and project oriented. Our next question relates to instructional materials. These are expensive and time-consuming to produce. In the interim, some existing media can be adapted; others require new instructional design and production.

This presents a challenge to distance learning professionals to produce high quality lessons that can be used by others. W need to increase the quality and reusability of media for teaching and learning. With renewed interest from industry and foundations in partnering with the education enterprise, are we capable of doing National Standards curriculum on a big enough scale and with high enough quality to make a difference?

Drs. Donald & Elizabeth Perrin
Managing Editors
Ed Journal and Ed at a Distance Magazine

USDLA Official Publications
3345 Pachappa Hill Riverside, CA 92506
Voice: (909) 369-4059 or (909) 408-446-3202
Cellular: (909) 236-2658
EMAIL: eperrin@pacbell.net or dperrin@pacbell.net