Some selected articles from Educom that may interest you... *************************************************************************** Edupage, a summary of news items on information technology, is provided three times each week as a service by Educom -- a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. *************************************************************************** CYBERPHOBICS GALORE A recent Gallup poll conducted for MCI shows almost half of the 600 white collar respondents admitting they are cyberphobic or resistant to new technology. More than a third do not use a computer at all, either at home or at work, and nearly 60% don't use voice mail. Two thirds do not use e-mail at work, and about the same number don't carry a pager. The most common reason cited for anti-technology attitudes was a fear of loss of privacy. Close runners up were worries over information overload and a fear of losing face-to-face contact with associates. (Miami Herald 1/2/95 p.22) MORE INTERNET FACTS Traffic on the NSFnet grew a whopping 110% in 1994, and the number of countries online increased from approximately 137 in 1993 to approximately 159 this past year. There were 1,964 phone calls to InterNIC Registration Services during November '94. For more facts, check out http://www.openmarket.com/info/internet-index/current-sources.html. (The Internet Index, Number 5) "GIVE US YOUR MONEY, BUT KEEP YOUR OPINIONS TO YOURSELF!" A survey of small business executives conducted for IBM by Roper Starch Worldwide shows 65% of the respondents saying that building the information highway is a good use of government funds, but only 3% think the government should have "a lot" of influence on how the highway operates. Forty-four percent felt the government should have no influence, and 49% said they thought it should have "some" say in how things were run. (Inc. Technology Premiere Issue p.19) THE WIRED REVOLUTION While saluting Wired magazine's worthy premise as a publication that addresses the social and cultural effects of digital technologies, the director of the 21st Century Project at the University of Texas blasts Wired for its "fevered, adolescent consumerism, its proud display of empty thoughts from a parade of smoke-shoveling celebrity pundits, its smug disengagement from the thorny problems facing postindustrial societies, and most annoyingly, its over-the-top narcissism. If this is the revolution, do we really want to be part of it?" (New Republic 1/9-16/95 p.19) ************************************************************************ EDUPAGE is what you've just finished reading. To subscribe to Edupage: send a message to: listproc@educom.edu and in the BODY of the message type: subscribe edupage Sidney Carlton (assuming that your name is Sidney Carlton; if it isn't, substitute your own name) ... To cancel subscription to Edupage: send a message to: listproc@educom.edu and in the BODY of the message type: unsubscribe edupage. ************************************************************************ Educom -- Transforming Education Through Information Technology ************************************************************************ Written by John Gehl & Suzanne Douglas. V: 404-371-1853. F: 404-371-8057 == Johnathan Corgan "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." jcorgan@scruznet.com -Isaac Asimov