A wealth of information and the results of numerous research projects in the fields of distance and e-learning are available on the Internet. With the help of Joop van Schie, active as an eContent-delivery expert for the Dutch Kennisnet and for Albeda College (FE) in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the R&D Committee aims to select the best and most useful items from this vast quantity, and make them easily available on this website. This will save members long searches for the content they want, and, the chaff having been separated from the wheat, will give them items of high quality and relevance. The aim is to make readily available information that really matters and that is immediately useful to the work of distance learning providers.

At this stage the project is obviously still in its infancy. All members are invited to contribute to its success. Just let us know (kveen@eadl.org) what kind of information you are particularly interested in, and share with us any items you yourself have found on the Internet and which you think are of interest to other members.

We will draw your attention to useful Internet sites in a monthly Newsflash. All members will receive this by e-mail. It will contain the month’s “harvest”: Internet addresses and brief descriptions of the content you can find there. This information will also appear on this site, and links to the selected sites will be established. This way, a comprehensive “knowledge library” will gradually be put together. Special attention will be given to cataloguing items and making them easily retrievable, and to keeping the library up to date. In addition to the monthly Newsflash there will be a more comprehensive bulletin on a twice-a-year basis and, starting in 2004, Joop van Schie will aim to attend EADL Conferences to give members information and to learn about their concrete needs for information.

• use of the Internet and of e-mail in marketing;
• experience in CBT, and coping with the technologies involved;
• criteria for the remuneration of Internet tutors;
• educational developments;
• teaching via the Internet/CBT: budgeting and profitability; assessment of its efficiency;
• useful tools such as "e-Notes" (as in the March 2003 Newsletter) and “Mailwasher” (November 2002 Newsletter). You can find links to both on www.eadl.org.

Joop will look for websites providing information or results of research, articles published on the web, book reviews, and web-based discussion forums in these areas. Please feel free to add to this list or specify your needs in more detail (kveen@eadl.org).