The use of distance courses in learning is growing exponentially. To better support faculty and students for teaching and learning, distance learning programs need to constantly innovate and optimize their IT infrastructures. The new IT paradigm called "cloud computing" has the potential to transform the way that IT resources are utilized and…

Overviews efforts to obtain permission to duplicate or digitize multimedia materials for educational use and lists points useful in the process of permission seeking. These include identifying needs and materials, explaining the extent of distribution, asking for what is needed, establishing a rapport with a content proprietor, and using online…

Discusses types of Internet services and service providers. Urges rural social service agencies to evaluate use of the Internet as a means to alleviate professional isolation, become part of a larger community, and extend computing resources to clients. Lists 44 rural gopher sites, 37 freenets, 14 listservs, and 13 rural health links. (SAS)

Brief reviews and descriptions cover USENET (for those interested in exploring language and culture on-line); expansion of MINITEL service through interconnection with services in Spain, England, Holland, Germany, and Italy; CTLINK, which allows access to many networks; and EUDORA, an Internet-compatible mail program for MacIntosh computers. (CNP)

This paper identifies a paradigm shift that must take place in school networking. The ultimate goal is to retool the schools with a local technical infrastructure that gives teachers and students immediate access to communication systems and information resources, thereby supporting the implementation of advances in pedagogy and educational…

Describes recent innovations in distance learning technology, including the use of video technology; personal computers, including computer conferencing, computer-mediated communication, and workstations; multimedia, including hypermedia; Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN); and fiber optics. Research implications for multimedia and…

Maintains that traditional social studies education materials such as textbooks and maps are ineffective when compared with the tools of information technology. Describes the equipment and software necessary to set up online technology for communications and database searching. Includes descriptions of several classroom projects using information…

Explores the levels of collaboration required for successful distance education applications. Discussion includes a description of a continuum outlining the local (micro) to international (macro) levels of collaboration, a graphical depiction of components along the continuum, and implications for change in higher education institutions using…

Policy briefs are reports on the status of current issues in education from a national perspective; descriptions of actions and agendas in the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) region; and commentaries by experts from their particular point of view; and resources for further information. The focus of this report is technology…

The present state of the educational use of computer communications networks in Japan is outlined. Computer communication is now growing rapidly in Japanese society as a whole, and its educational community is not an exception. After giving general figures on the use of computers in Japanese education and describing government proposals on…

The use of educational technology in rural schools can maximize the natural advantages of rural schools and alleviate the disadvantages. Rural schools often face geographic isolation, shortages in specialized staff, low student enrollments, small numbers of special needs students, limited program offerings for students, and limited opportunities…

This paper considers questions related to the integrity and accessibility of new electronic information resources. It begins with a review of recent developments in networked information resources and the tools to identify, navigate, and use such resources. An overview is then given of the issues involved in access and integrity questions. Links…

Projected technological developments are described and analyzed for their relation to education, including very large scale integrated circuits and microcomputers, videodiscs, instructional networks, Dynabook, electronic publishing, devices for creative expression (word processor, electronic palette, music composition aids, computer-aided design),…

Twelve state-of-the-art articles discuss current developments educational media and technology. Topics examined include research, information technology, networking, and telecommunications. Four articles are also published as ERIC Digests. All of the articles contain references. (SLW)

This paper summarizes the development of educational technology in China from 1949-1966 and from 1976 to the present, and training in educational technology since 1980. It also summarizes research in educational technology--which has recently shifted from an epistemological to a methodological perspective--with higher levels of research being done…