 | | |
 | | |
 |  | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
 | | |
PODIUM
What’s In A Name?
There are many versions of the name Ed at a Distance on our web pages. Is it ED, ED at a Distance, or Education at a Distance? We started looking at back issues of the printed journal and found Ed at a Distance Magazine and ED Journal in addition.
We tested the various names on search engines like Google, GoTo, Ask Jeeves, and Alta Vista. Our criterion was to be one of the first three listed. Each gave thousands of hits, but only once did we achieve the criterion and it was the third listing.
In desperation we tried USDLA Journal. All search engines on our desktop listed it first.
We needed an unambiguous Journal title to complete our application for an ISSN number. At this point we received a call from the catalog department at ERIC – the Educational Research Information Exchange. They found many alternative versions of the title within our web page and were totally confused as to which title was correct.
We polled within USDLA and shared our research data. There was unanimous agreement. There was only one unique and accurate title for the publication – USDLA Journal. We gave our decision to the catalog librarian at ERIC and she said, “COOL!” Also, she agreed to cross reference Ed at a Distance to USDLA Journal in the ERIC index. We received a similar response from the Library of Congress.
You will note a change in the banner to USDLA Journal, and corrected titles in the text on several web pages. For the present, we are continuing the square logo Education at a Distance as part of the masthead alongside USDLA Journal.
Now we can start counting the number of clicks to access journal articles and plan logical file names for those who like to type in their URLs.
The editors recommend you read and support this Action Alert from the Consortium of School Networking (CoSN). If you have further questions please contact Helen Morris: helen@cosn.org
ASK THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO MOVE S. 487, THE DISTANCE LEARNING COPYRIGHT BILL, THE TEACH ACT
Background
Earlier this summer, the Senate adopted the TEACH Act, S. 487, intended to update the distance learning exemption in the United States Copyright law for digital networks. The education and library community has advocated a change in the law for several years with the support of the United States Copyright Office. Among other things, the TEACH Act would extend the distance learning exemption to "anytime, anywhere" learning, permit educational institutions to use "reasonable and limited" portions of audiovisual works and sound recordings in distance learning courses without permission or payments and permit educators in certain instances to digitize and freely use works that are not already available in digital form.
The bill was expected to move quickly in the House of Representative and be signed into law by this fall. While the bill has passed the House Judiciary Subcommittee, the House Judiciary Committee seems to be slowing down consideration of the bill. Judiciary Chairman Sensenbrenner and Ranking Minority Member Conyers need to be encouraged to "mark up" and pass S. 487 without amendment. The bill is important, broadly supported, and should be marked up by the Judiciary Committee, passed by the House, and signed into law immediately. The bill can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov
Message
- The TEACH Act provides critical changes to copyright law that will enable educational institutions to develop the full potential of online distance education to expand educational opportunity, enriching educational content for traditional and nontraditional students alike, reaching students in their dorms and in rural locations,
- Providing lifelong learning for adults at home, at times selected by all student to meet their needs.
- The bill expands the categories and conditions of use of copyrighted material in distance education in ways that protect the interests of copyright owners.
- The TEACH Act is based on thoughtfully conducted study by the Copyright Office; is the product of extended, good-faith negotiations by representatives of the education, library, and content communities; and has the full support of all parties involved in the negotiations.
- The
bill was passed unanimously in the Senate and has been marked up by unanimous
vote of the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee.
Action Needed
Educators are urged to contact Chairman Sensenbrenner (202-225-3951) and Ranking Member Conyers (202-225-6504). Also, we urge you to contact your member of Congress to communicate with Representatives Sensenbrenner and Conyers to consider S.487 as soon as possible. House members can be contacted via the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 or at www.house.gov http://www.house.gov