Edu2000.org as an e-Learning Portal

Once started humbly as an ‘online magazine,’ the edu2000.org has evolved to be an e-Learning Portal. The development is the result from requests from member schools. After the first member, Bekasi State Junior High School 3 (SMPN 3 Bekasi), we have gained two prominent members.

First it’s Jakarta State Junior High School 1 (SMPN 1 Jakarta); anything start with number ‘one’ is the most prominent and this time from the capital Jakarta! Besides, the school already has a webmaster which regularly update the site, make it more lively and useful for students and parents! The educational contents are not yet superb, but acceptable for this very young portal. Do visit the site at http://smpn1jkt.edu2000.org

The second is Al Ikhlas, a progressive private muslim school at South Jakarta. The portal has been designed with the same flavor with the school website. Please visit both: http://alix.edu2000.org and http://alix.sch.id.

The ‘afforable and flexible’ approach of finacing has received excellent responses. Schools can even finance the e-Learning Portal as merely a ’server maintenance cost’!

I have been busy promoting the e-Learning Portal to various high school. Luckily I have colleagues who are now doing the same: in Jakarta, Bandung, Cirebon, Majalengka, Yogyakarta, Surabaya and also to state schools, Catholic schools, Christian schools, and Islamic schools. You’ll the result in not so distance future.

e-Journals for Indonesia

Using open source software OJS (Open Journal System), I started Discovery Indonesia Journal Hosting with a bioscience journal as the first member (Berkala Penelitian Hayati – Bioscience Research Journal), followed by others. Soon, I have been promoting this platform to prominent Indonesian universities: University of Indonesia, Bogor Agricultural University, Satya Wacana Christian University, Parahyangan Catholic University, Atma Jaya Catholic University, and many others.

Some journals has swiftly decided to join, such as HAYATI – Journal of Biosciences, which is THE most prominent journal in bioscience in Indonesia. The journal is well-versed with OJS since it has joined IJO (Indonesia Journal Online) initiative (you may visit its site at http://www.ijonline.net). The journal decided to join my platform since the IJO platform only serves as e-Journal Hosting, while it needs the Online Submission function from OJS.

IJO can be more or less a direct competitor since it uses exactly the same open source program (Open Journal System), but since the Online Submission function of OJS is not activated here, then it is not a competitor. While I charge a small fee to a member journal, IJO even PAY the journal to be a member! What an interesting business model, but I wonder if it would even grow, especially after no more funding from the Indonesian government.

Besides Discovery Indonesia Journal Hosting (http://journal.discoveryindonesia.com) which would host journal management function for Indonesian print journals, I have also started Edu2000 e-Journal (http://journal.edu2000.org). This platform is strictly for e-only journal and/or a start up journal or even a journal-wannabe. There are two members here already: Chinese Diaspora e-Files (http://chinesediaspora.edu2000.org) and Vernacular e-Archive (http://vernacular.edu2000.org).

Do visit these novel initiatives and let me have your two-cents worth!