The instructional media created by microcomputers interconnected by modems to form long-distance networks present some powerful new opportunities for education. While other uses of computers in education have been built on conventional instructional models of classroom interaction, instructional electronic networks facilitate a wider use of…

The Ad Hoc Council on Educational Reform pointed out in 1987 that Japanese education must prepare for the ever-increasing information needs of the future, and in 1988, a proposal for the development of information networks was published by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Culture. This proposal recommended the utilization of a wide range of…

This paper reports on an exploratory cross-cultural study of the attitudes of first and second grade students toward the use of microcomputers in instruction. Questionnaire responses were compared among three groups: Japanese students in Tokyo, Japan; American students in Sanger, Texas; and Japanese students attending a special school for Japanese…

The educational potential of computer networks will be realized only when educators stop focusing on technical connections and start asking how educational activities that are supported on computer networks can make a significant contribution to education. Computer networks can contribute to accomplishing educational goals in language arts (by…

Discussion of the use of electronic networks for learning activities highlights the Noon Observation Project in which students in various locations measured the length of a noontime shadow to determine the earth's circumference. Electronic pen pals are discussed, and the roles of the network and of the class are described. (LRW)