The author has been a witness to the birth of the personal computer culture, with its intense one-on-one relationships with machines, and then to the development of the networked culture, with people using the computer to communicate with each other. In her most recent work on the revolutions in social networking and sociable robotics, she sees a…

When Lars Ulrich, drummer for the rock group Metallica, testified before Congress about his group's lawsuit against Napster in 2000, many people who followed copyright issues in the music industry were not surprised (Ulrich, 2000). Ever since downloading audio files became as easy as clicking a few buttons on a personal computer, charges of…

AgriData is an agricultural information and communications network designed for use by anyone with an interest in agriculture. It includes a business information service, statistics service, used equipment information, product information, an electronic mail service, and an online file service. (JOW)

Wireless Local Area Networks are the most widely adopted networking technology to hit the market in the last three years. They have the potential to make network applications and the Internet available anywhere on a campus so that students and faculty are no longer tethered to their offices or shared computer laboratories in order to connect to a…

Discusses electronic recruiting, a process which enables employers to directly access computerized college student resume information via modem. Addresses such advantages as providing up-to-date student information and alleviating paperwork. Provides an example of this system. (BHK)

Describes computer conferencing as a particularly useful alternative to traditional approaches to teaching college composition. Gives a basic outline of how an instructor might utilize computer networks to set up a composition course. (HB)

Explores technology planning possibilities via interviews with a district-level technology director, a state instructional technology director, and a state administrative technology director. Schools' biggest planning challenges are funding, professional development, and technology integration. The Web browser is becoming a "universal…

Discusses how useful desktop conferencing has become in library services. Describes how real-time conference tools are convenient, efficient, cost-effective, and beneficial for those who are not able to come to the library. Presents a guide to current guide for conference tools for PC and Mac OS. (ontains 8 references.)(AUTH/MZ)

The pervasiveness of powerful computers and computer networks has raised the specter of new forms of abuse and of concomitant ethical issues. Blurred boundaries, hackers, the Computer Worm, ethical issues, and implications for academic institutions are discussed. (MLW)

Explains how high school students may learn to use the Internet as a resource for writing research papers, and considers some of the special problems and dangers the new medium poses. Reviews basic hardware information and procedures for getting started on the Internet. (TB)

Presents a research agenda for examining learners' and teachers' conceptions of computers, language, and writing and their relations to one another. Claims that theories of computer usage are connected to notions of language and writing. Provides a theoretical foundation for proceeding with needed research. (HB)

Discusses the effect of computers and the World Wide Web on literacy, noting the need for teachers and students to be more accountable for learning of verbal and quantitative literacy. (JPB)

A study focused on teachers who have worked in computerized, networked writing classrooms at Purdue University (Indiana) for several year. Each of the subjects was a teaching assistant in the Purdue English Department, and the courses involved were upper division technical writing courses. Three theoretical approaches underpinned the study:…

Examines how interaction by means of computer-mediated communication affects the operation of both status differentials and power relations. Claims that power relations are reinforced in computer-mediated communications. Outlines a theoretical framework of the processes of "panoptic power" of such communications. (HB)

Examines the effects of time restriction on social interaction in computer-mediated communication through a meta-analysis of applicable research. Derives hypotheses from Joseph Walther's social information processing perspective. Supports these hypotheses on social communication. (HB)