Operating in the Fast Lane

School Administrator, Oct, 2001

One major peril of managing a monthly magazine with a lead time of more than three months for production is timeliness. Unlike the heavily staffed newsweeklies that can update their content within hours of going to press, The School Administrator must hope that its coverage plotted months in advance can stand the test of time and arrives in our readers' hands still fresh and relevant.

So this month's editorial focus on the phenomenon of e-learning and online courses posed a particular challenge owing to the rapidly evolving educational and business environment. Every other day, it seems, we're hearing about new developments, new products, new players. Barbara Dean, an editorial assistant here who did much of the background research for this issue, likened our attempt to provide current information to giving a defined shape to an amoeba.

But charge ahead we did, putting together an issue that we believe offers a comprehensive overview of e-learning in schools, with special attention to the development and delivery of online courses to students and professional staff. You can read about school districts that are building their own set of online courses and the challenges involved in doing so. You can learn what to ask when a vendor comes in with a proposal to provide classes for your students and how to respond when teachers want to begin offering a course online. You also can learn about the contentious nature of funding these initiatives.

Recognizing this is an unfamiliar subject to many of our readers, we wanted this issue to be as helpful as we could make it. So you'll find a glossary of common terms (page 10) and a list of additional resources (page 12).

With this issue, we're also beginning a new process of soliciting reader feedback. A cross-section of you will receive a short, electronic questionnaire in the coming week asking about the value or usefulness of this issue. We hope you'll let us know by responding.

Jay P. Goldman

Voice: 703-875-0745

E-mail: jgoldman@aasa.org