The Foreign Service Journal, December 2008

der/Talbott.pdf ). Finally, in the immediate run-up to the election a series of seminars offered analysis and advice on the for- eign policy demands confronting the new administration. A Sept. 2 sympo- sium, “Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next Administration,” moderated by Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass at the Hum- phrey Institute in Minnesota, focused on immigration and border security, energy security, relations with Russia and trade, among other topics. The transcript of the discussion among CFR and Heritage Foundation pan- elists is available online ( www.cfr.org/ publication/17430/foreign_policy_ challenges_for_the_next_adminis tration.html ). “Foreign Policy and the Next U.S. Administration,” a program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technol- ogy’s Center on International Studies on Sept. 18, featured Barry Posen, director of the CIS Security Studies Program at MIT; Carol Savietz, from Harvard University’s Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies; and Taylor Fravel, MIT political science professor discussing the issues. The program is available online in video format ( http://mitworld.mit.edu/ video/605/#technotes ). Ready for Your Virtual Tour? A federally funded research effort, the Second China Project, is under- way at the University of Florida to develop virtual environments to aid in educating and preparing Foreign Service and other government profes- sionals for overseas assignments, according to a news release from the school ( http://news.ufl.edu/2008/ 10/29/second-china /). The team of computer engineers and scholars has used the popular online world, Second Life, to create a virtual Chinese city, one that hands a key to users who want to familiarize themselves with the sights and experi- ences they will encounter. “We hope this kind of environment can provide a bridge between knowl- edge alone and actually being in the real-life environment,” says Julie Henderson, an international program specialist at the university’s College of Pharmacy and co-principal investiga- tor and project designer for the effort. Simulated experiences aim at intro- ducing users not only to typical sights and the Chinese language, but also to expectations of politeness, accepted business practices and cultural norms. “We’ve built an environment around learning objectives,” says Paul Fishwick, lead investigator and a pro- fessor of computer and information science and engineering. In the office simulation, for in- stance, the user’s avatar chooses appropriate business attire and a gift, greets a receptionist, and is guided to a conference room to be seated, among other activities. A Web-based tutorial that users can click on as they navigate Second China supplements the experience. The project has been funded with a $1.35 million federal grant. This edition of Cybernotes was pre- pared by Senior Editor Susan B. Maitra. 14 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 0 8 C Y B E R N O T E S Site of the Month: www.campusexplorer.com The newest addition to the online college-preparation toolbox is Campus Explorer , a Web site with more than 6,000 schools in its database that is arguably the most comprehensive directory of higher education on the Internet. Founders Gerry Slavonia and Brian Hartnack launched the Web site to help remedy the poor ratio of college counselors to high school students — a nation- al problem — and the difficulty of choosing among thousands of schools. “Think of us as your personal counselor,” the Web site advises. “We’re available 24/7.” Barely a year old, Campus Explorer offers an easy-to-use school-search function, which sorts according to a variety of criteria such as location, major, size of student population, etc. Users can also compare their favorite schools in a single view and build a personal educational profile. They can dig into the details on their favorites, including photos, videos, maps, Wikipedia commen- tary and Yahoo!Answers discussion, as well as make direct contact with the schools. The site also offers assistance with financial aid, student loans, test preparation and student housing. What may be of most interest, however, is the site’s chance-of-admission cal- culator. This feature, limited to the larger schools, appears below the institu- tion’s database listing. The user is asked to enter SAT or ACT scores, high school grades, extracurricular activities and several other bits of information. Campus Explorer will then designate the school a Safety, Target or Reach for that particular student. Though an admissions calculator is not a unique feature, some may prefer Campus Explorer ’s more straightforward approach. In return for more infor- mation, College Board.com, for example, the doyen of guides-to-college Web sites, indicates where the individual stands in relation to the admissions profile of the school — data that could seem vague. In the end, nothing can replace the campus visit, but Campus Explorer is a useful addition to the process of getting there.