EDTECH
Dept. Of Education To Gauge Tech Role In the Classroom (WP)
Researchers Address Gender Gap In Computing (SJM)
ANTITRUST
DOJ-FTC Merger Review Plan FOIA Request (CDD)
'The People' Weigh in on MS Case (WIRED)
WIRELESS
Cingular, AT&T Wireless to Team Up on Digital Network (WP)
EDTECH
DEPT. OF EDUCATION TO GAUGE TECH ROLE IN THE CLASSROOM
Issue: Edtech
Department of Education Secretary Rod Paige believes it's time to shift the
focus of his agency away from closing the digital divide in the nation's
schools toward a review of how technology can enhance learning in the
classroom. "It's not enough now to have computers and Internet connections
in schools, it's time for the next step," said Paige Friday at a national
summit on technology in education. According to Paige, the agenda now should
focus on using technology to improve the quality of education that students
receive. He noted that the recently passed education reform bill commits $15
million for a five-year study on how technologies and programs can help
teachers and students to learn more effectively.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Brian Krebs]
(http://www.washtech.com/news/regulation/14900-1.html)
RESEARCHERS ADDRESS GENDER GAP IN COMPUTING
Issue: Digital Divide
The challenge of recruiting female engineers, long a problem for high-tech
companies, begins as early as kindergarten, according to new research.
"Women have made great advances in medicine and law and some in politics,
but it has really been the hard sciences and the field of technology where
women have not broken the barriers," said Jane Margolis, a researcher at the
University of California-Los Angeles who has done surveys of computer
science students. Margolis and Allan Fisher, co-authors of a new book titled
"Unlocking the Clubhouse: Women in Computing," interviewed more than 100
Carnegie Mellon computer science students, both men and women. Partly as a
result of their findings, the university changed its admissions process and
curriculum -- and went from having 7 percent female students in its incoming
computer science class in 1995 to more than 40 percent in 2000. "We found
that men and women tended to come at computing with different orientations
and different goals," said Fisher. "The men were motivated primarily by
their interest in and enjoyment of technology; the women tended to be
motivated by what it was good for, how it could be used to help people."
[SOURCE: San Jose Mercury, AUTHOR: Margaret Steen]
(http://www.siliconvalley.com/docs/news/depth/women012902.htm)
ANTITRUST
DOJ-FTC MERGER REVIEW PLAN FOIA REQUEST
Issue: Antitrust
The Center for Digital Democracy submitted yesterday a Freedom of
Information Request (FOIA) to help make public details about the Bush
Administration's proposals to restructure the merger review clearance
process between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of
Justice (DOJ). The two agencies had planned to announce the changes at a
press conference, which was temporarily postponed, after an expression of
concern from Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest F. Hollings who had
been unaware of the plan.
[SOURCE: Center for Digital Democracy]
(http://www.democraticmedia.org/news/antitrustFOIA.html)
WIRELESS
CINGULAR, AT&T WIRELESS TO TEAM UP ON DIGITAL NETWORK
Issue: Wireless
Cingular Wireless and AT&T Wireless announced plans yesterday for a joint
venture to build and share part of a new digital wireless network, prompting
analysts to speculate on whether the deal might lead to a more formal union
between the companies. The deal comes at a time when the amount of available
wireless spectrum is becoming scarce and phone companies are faced with the
expensive challenge of upgrading their networks to provide Internet access
and other services. Cingular is the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier and
AT&T Wireless is the nation's third-largest.
[SOURCE: Washington Post, AUTHOR: Yuki Noguchi]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50875-2002Jan28.html)
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