Federal law cracks down on electronic piracy

The stakes just got higher for those who would pirate computer software, but members of the scientific community fear the No Electronic Theft Act will target them as well.

Experts say the NET bill, passed by Congress in October and signed by President Clinton on Dec. 16, will have little effect on schools.

"I don't think the impact on schools is going to be that significant because it's not really changing what's permissible and what's not permissible," said Michael J. McGuire, a Minneapolis attorney who handles school technology issues. "It's just changing the penalties."

The law, McGuire says, is aimed at "hackers and the folks out there in the computer world who see themselves as Robin Hoods."

For years it has been illegal to copy and distribute computer software. When the violation was done for profit, criminal prosecution was a possibility.

With the NET bill, any willful infringement of software worth at least $1,000 becomes a criminal violation -- regardless of whether a profit was involved. Penalties vary according to the dollar magnitude of the offense.

Publishers, software company executives, movie producers, and others who depend on copyrighted material for income are praising the law, but many in the scientific community say it will impede the distribution of information.

"The U.S. software and other creative industries lose billions of dollars annually to copyright theft, including piracy over the Internet," Robert Holleyman, president of the Business Software Alliance, told the New York Times. "The NET bill closes a narrow loophole in the U.S. copyright law and gives law enforcement officials the teeth to criminally charge individuals who mass distribute pirated software online -- putting the cop on the beat in the digital age."

But scientists say the NET bill can be used to catch more than software scofflaws.

"Most scientists do not own the copyright on their own material," wrote Barbara Simons of the Association for Computing Machinery in a November letter to President Clinton. "Instead, that copyright ownership is retained by the scientific journal which peer-reviews and publishes the research."

Under the new law, authors who post their research on the Internet could be prosecuted, she said. ". . . Scientists may have to choose between having their work peer-reviewed or making it widely available."

Simons' group said it intends to monitor how the law is applied.

Under the new law, a violator who makes one or more copies with a total retail value of at least $1,000 but less than $2,500 could receive up to one year in prison and be fined up to $100,000. For copies worth more than that, the violator could be imprisoned up to three years and fined up to $250,000. A second offense could result in a prison term of up to six years.

This Way to the Giant Fly If you've ever longed to see a 6-foot housefly (with a 10-foot wingspread), here's your chance: The Robot Zoo, a high-tech menagerie of giant mechanical animals, should be coming soon to a museum near you. The Robot Zoo -- named after a 1994 children's book that is, ironically, out of print -- features eight larger-than-life robot animals and more than a dozen hands-on activities that demonstrate the engineering genius of Mother Nature. Kids (and adults) can use computers to "paint" the screen behind a 10-foot chameleon, for instance, and watch the animal's "scales" -- a.k.a. television monitors -- change color to reflect the screen. With strut supports on wings and giant food processors for stomachs, the robots demonstrate the similarities between mechanical technology and natural mechanics. Kids pick up other useful facts, too -- like the way flies like to vomit on their food before eating. The 5,000-square-foot exhibits -- actually, there are two Robot Zoos crisscrossing the country -- are sponsored by Time magazine and Silicon Graphics Inc., the California computer company responsible for the animation effects in Jurassic Park. A Robot Zoo is now at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield, Mass., and the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Calif., where the exhibit has been such a crowd-pleaser that it's been held over an additional three months. The exhibits are scheduled to move on later this year to San Antonio, St. Paul, Baltimore, Atlanta, and Bloomfield Hills, Mich. More than 30 museums have scheduled the exhibit before May 2002, and some locations are still being booked.

Too many jobs, not enough geeks

If you've ever had any doubt about the importance of teaching technology skills to your students, a look at the current state of the U.S. economy should put that doubt to rest.

Economists and business leaders say the nation is facing a critical shortage of trained computer workers. In fact, a new survey conducted by Virginia Tech shows that one of every 10 information technology jobs in this country remains unfilled.

What's more, U.S. Commerce Secretary William Daley says the number of new information technology jobs expected to be created over the next 10 years has increased from 1 million to 1.3 million. And the Virginia Tech study estimates that 346,000 computer programmer and system analyst jobs are vacant right now in American companies with more than 100 employees.

To help fill the breach, the federal government has announced a broad range of initiatives to address the talent shortage, including $17 million to bring technology services to poor people and about $6 million in grants for industry groups to help teach technology skills to students. Another $3 million would fund demonstration projects designed to retrain workers for high-tech jobs.

How much of that money will end up in K-12 public schools is unclear. But the fact that the federal government considers this a serious economic problem could result in more help for schools in the future.

Better yet, the talent shortage likely means there will be plenty of job opportunities for your students.

According to the Washington Post, the Virginia Tech study confirms findings released last year that show businesses have failed to reduce the shortage of technology workers. Yet the technology industry continues to grow at a rapid rate.

"Right now, technology represents 50 percent of the nation's economic growth," Kelly H. Carnes, deputy secretary for technology policy at the Commerce Department, told the Washington Post.

However, according to the newspaper, some industry critics are saying the shortage estimates have been inflated by technology companies, in part, to convince the government to pay for new training programs. Others say that some of the suggested training programs might be shortsighted.

Brad Wieners, writing in Wired News, said the "projections of thousands of unfilled [information technology] jobs doesn't take into account that in 10 years, computer technology will have advanced to the point that less technical expertise will be required of the average symbolic analyst."

The federal government has not been swayed by those arguments. Though the U.S. economy is strong now, the Clinton Administration believes that if the shortage is not addressed soon, the economy could suffer consequences in the form of slower economic growth.

One way industry leaders plan to help bring more people into the business is by changing the "geek" image often associated with computer workers. As part of this image readjustment effort, industry officials will be distributing to high schools and colleges a Microsoft Corp. video starring actor Jimmy Smits, the costar of NYPD Blue, promoting computer-related jobs.

"One of the problems our industry has . . . is a feeling that a pocket protector is required paraphernalia if you're going to work in our industry," says Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, which commissioned the Virginia Tech study. "We need to change that image."

The amazing shrinking e-rate fund

If you haven't applied for your e-rate discount yet, better do it soon. The money might be running out sooner than expected. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decided in December to reduce the fees long-distance phone companies will pay to support telecommunications discounts to schools and libraries.

As a result, the telecommunications industry will contribute only $625 million instead of $1 billion to the Universal Service Fund in the first half of the year. The FCC made the move under pressure from the industry. AT&T and MCI are threatening to raise rates and add a line item to residential phone bills stating the source of the rate hike.

The FCC has not yet decided what the funding will be for the second half of the year. The year's total cap of $2.25 billion has not yet been reduced.

Lynne Bradley, a lobbyist for the American Library Association, told the New York Times, "We worry that if there is a slower ramp-up of the program, that the bigger schools with more professional technology operations will get their money first while the communities that have lacked access for which this program was intended will be left out."

If you haven't already received your application, forms are available online from the National Exchange Carrier Association site.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 established discounts for Internet hookups and other telecommunications services for school and libraries. It required telecommunications companies to contribute money to a Universal Service Fund; the money is earmarked for companies that provide these services to schools. The law put a ceiling on the amount collected each year at $2.25 billion for schools and libraries. Educators and some politicians had hoped that the FCC, under the direction of new chairman William Kennard, would collect the full amount of money allowed by the law.

'Gimme a C' Cheerleaders in Pottstown, Pa., pressed one of the hot buttons in school technology by flouting a school board decision and creating their own "unofficial" web site, thus drawing more attention to the question of what does and does not belong on school district sites. When the Owen J. Roberts School District cheerleaders proposed putting their names, pictures, and biographies on the district's new web site last fall, school officials demurred. The school board voted to outlaw student photographs on the site because, board member Richard Macia says, "there are too many sick people out there." The cheerleaders responded by launching their own web site. Douglas Everett, webmaster and father of one of the cheerleaders, says the cheerleaders' parents had all approved the information on the original site, but three -- including one who worked for the school district -- withdrew their permission when the issue became controversial. Those three girls are not mentioned on the site. Everett says he also removed the other girls' last names, used low-resolution images to make their photos less clear, and screened their e-mail. Their site has attracted "millions of hits," Everett says, and the cheerleaders have gotten "thousands of e-mails," most of them supportive. The renegade web site is seen, in certain circles, as heroic. Brock N. Meeks, a commentator for the web's msnbc.com, called the district's policies "unforgivable" and lauded Roberts cheerleaders as "Internet outlaws and rebels in the cause." Meeks, Everett, and thousands of others say they don't understand why most schools are so fearful of putting kids' names and faces on the Internet. What, they ask, is the difference between having a child's photograph in the newspaper -- or in a program handed out at football games -- and putting it on the Internet? Board member Macia sees a big difference: "The Pottstown Mercury is not read throughout the world." Besides, Macia says he does not see how the cheerleaders' pictures and personal information contribute to the educational or informational purpose of the district's site. The Roberts rebellion might be over. At press time Everett was considering removing the girls' web site. (Their tenure as cheerleaders ended with the last football game.) Some people are left wondering what the fuss was about. The cheerleaders certainly weren't the first kids to challenge a school district's Internet policies, nor were they the first to create an unofficial web site. (Some schools have several.) Everyone admits this rebellion drew more attention because it involved cheerleaders. "No one would have paid attention if the chess club had done this," Everett says. But that doesn't mean privacy, and security, and freedom to publish information are not important issues. Other districts continue to struggle with the question of putting kids' names and faces on their web sites. In Orange County, Fla., the district has posted its model release form for the world to see.

'I CAN STOP ANY TIME' Anyone who's surfed the Internet knows it can be enticing, time-consuming, and fun. Now a growing number of psychologists say it can be addicting, too. A New York psychologist coined the phrase "Internet Addiction Syndrome" about two years ago. Then Dr. Kimberly Young, a psychology professor at the University of Pittsburgh, established the Centre for Online Addiction. And recently, mental health experts at LifeStream Behavioral Center in Lake County, Fla., created what they believe is the first support group in the nation to deal with computer-dependency. The group began meeting in January. "The community and some colleagues might be skeptical," says LifeStream counselor Kathy Svenonius-Ronemus. "But we feel like this is definitely a real problem for some people." People like Lake County's Pam Albridge, for example, who lost custody of her two children last fall when a judge ruled she was addicted to the Internet and was neglecting them. Custody of the children, ages 7 and 8, was originally awarded to Albridge when she separated from her husband but was given to him by Circuit Court Judge Jerry Lockett. Many psychological factors could cause computer addiction, says Katherine Harriman, LifeStream's program supervisor. "For me, the goal here is to look at what is beneath the Internet addiction," she says. "It's likely just the symptom of an underlying problem." Elisabeth Pringle, a clinical psychologist in central Florida, has treated four patients with Internet addiction. She said the underlying problems could be anything from business troubles to family strife. "It's their loss of energy to the Internet that finally makes [Internet addicts] realize something is wrong," Pringle says. Posting policies pays Think nobody cares about school policies? Think again. When the Davis (Utah) School District began publishing proposed policies online in December, at least a dozen responses were logged from parents during one week alone. "We want to use it as a way of getting town debate, because it just doesn't happen at a school board meeting,'' says David Doty, who oversees school policy and law. Last fall, Doty came up with the idea of taking debate to cyberspace. A draft policy on student dress and school uniforms was the first online. "People who use the Internet will be able to have some input where they won't have to go to a meeting or go to the district,'' agrees board member Kathie Dalton. Drafts of new policies or revisions and updates on current ones will be online before their first reading at school board meetings, Doty says. Adopted policies are already online.

'Now, where did I put that phone?' That new car phone you got for the holidays might be doing more than just distracting your driving. A British researcher says it might impair your memory as well. Zenon J. Sienkiewicz, of Britain's National Radiological Protection Board, found that mice exposed to power-line-frequency magnetic fields learned tasks at a significantly reduced rate, according to a recent report in Scientific American. Now Sienkiewicz plans to do similar experiments with microwave-frequency fields. Sienkiewicz's results came from four separate experiments using a maze baited with food. It follows similar research performed in 1994 by Henry Lai of the University of Washington. Lai and other members of his team found that rats exposed to 45 minutes of microwave radiation appeared to experience slower learning. He tested his theory in a 12-armed maze, with each arm baited with food at the end. The effect occurred at microwave levels that might be absorbed by the brain of a cellular-phone user. George L. Carlo, chairman of an industry association called the Wireless Technology Research Group (WTRG) said that he is "quite impressed" by Lai's research and that WTRG is planning its own experiments. But he said the rats exposed to high microwave levels might have been distracted by the noise of the equipment, which could have affected their learning. Carlo expects the results of WTRG's study to be published this year. Meanwhile, a German company, Hagenuk, began advertising "low-radiation" cellular phones last summer. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said last year that there is "convincing evidence" that strong electromagnetic fields can affect animal behavior. Regulatory agencies are awaiting the results of the WTRG study before deciding whether regulations are needed, Scientific American said.

From president of the United States to school board member? That's not an impossible leap, according to "Local Heroes: Meet the People Who Run for School Board," part of an online resource about school governance on the Family Education Network, a web site for parents.

Bill Clinton has jokingly said he "might run for the school board" after he leaves the presidency. And if he did, the web site says, he'd be the "typical school board member -- a white, middle-aged, married male with an advanced degree who is employed in a professional position and earns more than $50,000 a year."

In addition to providing a demographic portrait of school boards, "Local Heroes" includes a quiz on board service and introduces five board members who tell how they got involved in school governance. The materials were produced by the National School Boards Foundation with a grant from AT&T. Information about the board's role, issues facing boards nationwide, and how boards communicate with their publics -- plus advice on running for the school board -- is also expected to be posted on the site.

. . . Happy camper. Last summer, students at Churchill Road School in McLean, Va., pilot-tested a new kind of summer camp: a two-week session on digital image processing in science and mathematics. Camp IPX, as it's called, is a national program created by the nonprofit Center for Image Processing in Education in Tucson, Ariz. Under the guidance of camp director/teacher Joanne Goodwin, the kids used Apple Power Macintosh AV computers, plus scanners and digital cameras, to morph and manipulate digital images. Results ranged from giant frogs to animations to 3-D castles and towns -- plus good fun and serious learning along the way. And to find out about running your own Camp IPX this summer, call (800) 322-9884. . . .

. . . Free Internet? Yes, it's possible -- for a short while, anyway. To lure K-8 schools to sign up for the Scholastic Network, Scholastic Inc. is offering a three-month trial run, good through June 1998. Dubbed the Internet Discovery Program, the offer gives schools access to more than 400 standards-based, age-appropriate, interactive projects and activities, plus a search tool and directory of more than 2,000 teacher-reviewed Internet sites. For info, call (800) 296-1876. . . .

. . . What happens when you bring "key technology champions" together? The conversation gets lively, as witness the Education Technology Leaders Summit held last fall by Pierian Spring Software in Portland, Ore. In "Discussions in Educational Technology," a summary document produced from transcripts of the summit, the talk touched on everything from teacher training to "authentic learning." Quotable quote: "If a supermarket can keep track of what kind of diapers I buy, [and] the rental agency can know how many times I have rented from my card and their hand-held computer, why can't teachers have technology to do assessment? Because it's just data.". . .