The idea of a 'Melting Pot' is to provide an environment where new ideas can be advised and advanced, where scholars can report work in progress and invite others to share their siminal thinking, where scholars can discover others working in similar areas and with whom they may wish to commence collaboration, where public and private exchanges can occur as we all try to move forward in our thinking and experience.

The following links to current research projects and development activities in progress are starting points for interested individuals or organisations to investigate further. All links checked and active as at September 4, 2001. Any additional contributions from the readership should be sent to the Executive Editor e-JIST.

Validating Scholarship in University Teaching

This detailed report (by Peter Taylor and Angela Richardson, Griffith Institute for Higher Education, April, 2001,115 pages, PDF) looks at the possibility of establishing a peer review system for ICT based teaching and learning resources or learning objects. It suggests that such a scheme would be a good idea and provides a comprehensive framework for setting one up. Excellent reading. The second (and current) stage of the project involves a trial of the scheme in a limited number of institutions and a limited number of disciplines and is due to be completed by mid-2002.

Further information can be obtained from peter.taylor@mailbox.gu.edu.au

Portal for Online Objects in Learning (POOL) The Portal for Online Objects in Learning (POOL) is an online repository for the storage and sharing of learning objects. POOL is still in the experimental stage, and is designed to manage broadband multimedia content and promises to be a valuable resource for practitioners, primarily in the post-secondary and corporate training sectors.

Managed by the New Media Innovation Centre in Vancouver, Canada, POOL is developing a learning content management system that leverages the power of advanced high speed networks and a new learning content management model that delivers benefits to instructional designers, instructors and trainers. For more information contact Nick Galan, Project Manager: nick@newmic.com

Information and Communication Technologies in Flexible Learning Project, Digital Media Centre - University of Wollongong - Funded by the Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC). The aim of this project is to maximise opportunities for university teachers to create engaging learning opportunities for students within high-quality, flexible learning environments.

This will be achieved by developing a range of software tools and templates based on fully evaluated learning designs drawn from previously successful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects and providing guidelines for the "good practice" of these tools. Crucial to the success of this project is the development of an evaluation mechanism that enables the identification of high quality learning experiences.

This project is a two-year endeavour and was launched on Friday 27 October 2000. The project team has already developed an instrument - the Evaluation and Redevelopment Framework - and has commenced evaluating a collection of learning designs using teams of individuals from a variety of educational institutions. For more information contact the Project Leaders, Barry Harper and Ron Oliver, or Project Manager Shirley Agostinho via email: shirley_agostinho@uow.edu.au