Author: Mariavittoria Mangini <hmt@itsa.ucsf.edu>
Date: 11/20/96
URL: http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/vidconf/instruct/instruct.html
Instructional Strategies for Two-Way Video
Instructional Strategies for Two-Way Video is valuable, clearly presented, timely, and practical. This site is presented in a very clear visual format that is very easy to read directly from the screen. The information is outlined in an initial table of contents that makes access to specific topics easy. Six strategies for improving the quality of videoconference presentations are offered, with details for implementing each. The authors are graduate students at San Diego State University's Department of Educational Technology, with guidance from faculty members Dr. Bernie Dodge and Dr. Farhad Saba. Instructional Strategies for Two-Way Video does not itself provide links, but is reached through Knowledge Network Explorer. This is a large collection of materials on Internet access and videoconferencing, sponsored by Pacific Bell, and accessed via URL: http://www.kn.pacbell.com. Links to related sites are available there.
I reached this site via Mirsky's Best (http://nurseweb.ucsf.edu/www/mirsky.htm), as part of a more general exploration of the distance education applications presented there. During that process I also visited the Arizona State University Distance Learning Technology site (http://www-distlearn.pp.asu.edu/).I did not find this site very useful, at least in the areas that I visited. There are a great many photos of the classrooms used and other campus sites, (which take forever to download!) and the information that I located was fairly specific to activities of ASU, as opposed to being of more general interest. I would give this site a negative assessment pending an opportunity to explore it further to see if I missed the point.
URL: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/deahome.htm
The Drug Enforcement Administration Home Page
This well-designed site is pleasant to look at but contains minimal distractions. It provides a directory of available information about the DEA and its activities including access to publications and press releases of the past two years. The most recent update located in this search is from Nov. 6, and concerns results of the Calif. and Ariz. ballot initiatives on medical use of scheduled drugs. The content presented reflects the official Department of Justice policy position on scheduled drugs and their use and abuse. I am confident that this perspective is represented accurately. Many survey results and the latest compilation of data from both law enforcement statistics and the DAWN (drug abuse warning network) permit monitoring of national trends in drug use and drug enforcement.
There are several comprehensive informational postings about topics of current DEA interest. For example, an extensive resource summary for legislators, community leaders and others who may be asked to participate in drug policy debates, Speaking Out Against Drug Legalization, is among of the recent publications. It provides background and practical answers to the most commonly asked questions about the legalization of drugs. This is organized in the form of a "briefing book" to facilitate its use. The authors point out that "the anti-legalization message is effective when communicated by representatives of the Federal Government, but takes on even more credibility when it comes from those in the community who can put the legalization debate in local perspective."
The Drug Enforcement Administration Home Page does not provide links to other sites of interest to those studying drug policy. Many other sites contain efficient and helpful links providing direct access to related sites, even those containing information and views opposed to their own. [For example, the Drug Enforcement Administration Home Page can be reached directly by a link from the site The War on Drugs is a Scam (URL: http://www.paranoia.com/~fraterk/wod.html)] Even for researchers with a distinctly anti-re legalization viewpoint, the information provided in sites representing the opposing view might be of use in anticipating the kinds of arguments and questions that may be raised in the drug policy debate. I give the Drug Enforcement Administration Home Page a positive assessment overall, but suggest that the inclusion of links to other areas related to drugs and drug policy might be useful.