NEW YORK -- July 16, 2001 - A series of free online seminars from
renowned institutions including Columbia University, the London
School of Economics and Cambridge University Press are being made
available today by Fathom, the premier source for online learning,
and are being delivered on software by Prometheus, the leader in
open architecture courseware from the George Washington
University.
The Prometheus-Fathom partnership marries next-generation
technology with the most respected educational content. For the
first time, online seminars from leading universities, museums
and libraries will be made available for free to an international
audience through Fathom (www.fathom.com), a company founded by
Columbia University. Utilizing Prometheus software, the seminar
material is presented in a variety of media, including text,
images, audio, video and animation. Following this "virtual
lecture," participants can join discussion boards, take a self-
assessment test or learn more through related educational links.
Examples of the coursework to be made available for the first
time this summer include, "Women's Health: Not for Women Only"
from Columbia University, "The Globalisation Debate" from The
London School of Economics and Political Science, "How to Read
Joyce" from Cambridge University Press, "The Lindisfarne Gospels"
from The British Library, "Heading West: Mapping the Territory
1540-1900" from The New York Public Library, and "The
Theatrical Baroque" from The University of Chicago. The free
seminars are expected to take between a half-hour and two hours
to complete.
"Columbia is pleased to provide its faculty with an additional
opportunity to project their teaching and research to
intellectually curious students of all ages," said Michael Crow,
Executive Vice Provost of Columbia University. "The format for
these seminars provides an engaging and structured environment to
share knowledge and encourage student interaction."
"The LSE online seminars illustrate the excellence of our
academic resources, and demonstrate our commitment to developing
high quality online learning for an international audience via
Fathom," said Stephen Hill, Pro-Director of the LSE.
"Online seminars from The New York Public Library like 'Heading
West' allow participants to interact with the work of the
library's expert curators in a unique but structured manner while
exploring some of the Library's amazing treasures," added Rodney
Phillips, Director of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library
at The New York Public Library.
"These free online courses allow access to world-class
professional and enrichment education anytime, anywhere to
provide a quality learning experience," said Ann Kirschner,
President and CEO of Fathom. "Prometheus' academic affiliations
gives it unique insight into the needs of educational
institutions and was a major factor in our decision to partner
with them. Its open architecture software will provide our
member institutions with the ultimate in customization and
flexibility as they develop online courses according to their own
teaching methods."
"With the support of Columbia University, Fathom has built up an
impressive network of elite educational institutions that offer a
variety of unique learning experiences," said Bo Davis, Managing
Director, Prometheus. "As an extension of the George Washington
University, we are delighted that Fathom, with the support of its
member institutions, has chosen the Prometheus platform for these
online seminars," said Mr. Davis.
The series of free online seminars is one of the first of a
number of publicly-available online learning projects underway at
Fathom's member institutions. Columbia University has been
offering "Liberty and Slavery in the Early British Empire," an
online course developed with the BBC, and all Fathom member
institutions are in the process of developing a variety of online
lectures, seminars, courses and knowledge centers.
About Fathom Knowledge Network
Fathom (www.fathom.com) is the leading source for online learning
for professional development and lifelong learning. Fathom
brings together lectures, interviews, articles, and exhibits by
faculty and experts from some of the world's leading
universities, libraries, museums, and disseminators of research.
Online courses and seminars representing the best in online
education are available through Fathom, as well as books and
other products. Unique reference content spans all disciplines
and fields of study. Fathom's member institutions include
Columbia University, London School of Economics and Political
Science, Cambridge University Press, The British Library, The New
York Public Library, The University of Chicago, the University of
Michigan, American Film Institute (AFI), RAND, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution, Victoria and Albert Museum, Science
Museum (UK), and The Natural History Museum (UK).
About Prometheus
Prometheus is a community-based, open architecture software
platform that meets the online needs of educational institutions
and is backed by The George Washington University in Washington,
DC. In 1997, a team at GW began to develop their own online
learning software because the available software was not as easy
to use, flexible, or scalable as faculty and students at a major
university needed. As a result, the team created Prometheus, a
scalable software based on proven technologies such as leading
databases from Oracle and Microsoft as well as an open source
code application built in ColdFusion. Other leading institutions
that have adopted this proven, scalable technology include The
Wharton School, Teachers College at Columbia University, The New
School, The University of Wisconsin Learning Innovations,
University of Michigan College of Engineering, and United States
Open University. For more information on Prometheus, visit
www.prometheus.com or call 202.994.9384.
Contact:
Anne Rollow
Fathom
212-851-2920
anne.rollow@fathom.com
Marina Ein
Prometheus
202-775-0200
mein@eincomm.com
