Discusses the rhetorical aspects of avatars, or virtual selves, within multiuser graphical virtual realities (GVRs). Examines the development of GVRs and questions how representations of selves relate to online communication, focusing particularly on how bodies in GVRs are gendered. (Author/LRW)

The face is a small part of a human, but it plays an essential role in communication. An open hybrid system for facial animation is presented. It encapsulates a considerable amount of information regarding facial models, movements, expressions, emotions, and speech. The complex description of facial animation can be handled better by assigning…

Discusses plug-ins, software programs that connect to an World Wide Web browser and enhance its functionality. Highlights finding the software; downloading and using plug-ins; and educational applications, including the document viewer, real-time chat, multimedia, map viewer, spelling checker, news network, sound and video, and real-time…

Critical reasoning has been recognized as a valuable educational goal since the end of the nineteenth century. However, the educational programs to reach this goal have changed dramatically during the twentieth century and moved to a dialogic approach. The shift to dialogism in programs to promote critical reasoning brings challenges concerning…

This paper describes the design and development of a World Wide Web site associated with a Preparing Tomorrow's Teachers to Use Technology (PT3) grant that was awarded to the University of Houston at Clear Lake (Texas) by the U.S. Department of Education. The Web site that created the electronic community (e-community) was to meet the needs and…

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is an electronic medium that combines orthographic form with real time, synchronous transmission in an unregulated global multi-user environment. The orthographic letters mediate the interaction in that users can only access the IRC session through reading and writing; they have no access to any visual representations at…

This paper describes the development of a campus wide information system (CWIS) at Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD) in Colorado. The paper discusses the background of the college, its computing environment, interactive voice response system, and information technology plan. The CWIS was first implemented on gopher. Gopher was…

This paper describes the creation of a computer competency requirement at Mary Washington College (Virginia). The goal of the The goal of the requirement is to ensure that students acquire meaningful skills with technology, and that faculty increase their technological proficiency. The plan was developed based on a review of literature on other…

Describes results of a project to develop a distance education associate in science (AS) engineering degree program through Northern Virginia Community College. Highlights include combining self-paced independent learning with interactive/collaborative learning asynchronously; transmitting graphics, equations, and formulas via computer-mediated…

Students and teachers need to develop skills in using available technological capacities. The curriculum described here is designed to familiarize students and teachers with equipment and software available at the Escuela Internacional Sampedrana's Primary School (EIS) in Honduras. Key features of the curriculum include the use of the Internet and…