Describes the development, implementation, operations, and benefits of the ATHENS (authentication system) access-management system which was introduced in 1996 and extended in 1997 to provide access-control facilities to online resources for all the national data centers and services in the United Kingdom. Outlines future plans for ATHENS. (AEF)

Web 1.0 has demonstrated immense powers for connecting learners, teachers, and materials. How much more broadly will this connective matrix grow under the impact of the openness, ease of entry, and social nature of Web 2.0? This article examines openness, microcontent, social software, and social bookmarking (blogs, wikis, trackback, podcasting,…

The current educational arrangements of advanced liberal democracies continue to isolate various ethnic and racial groups. Disadvantaged minority students attend inferior schools. The overreliance on the curriculum as a design for teaching and learning renders school learning less relevant for "knowledge work" jobs in network societies.…

Society today is facing unprecedented challenges. Organizations are facing internal and external pressures from globalization, changing technologies, reassessment of mission and values, changing demographics and competition. Such pressures are indicative of a transformation from an industrial society to a knowledge society. Organizations can…

This article will first look past the hype at the broader technological list of existing and proposed strategies, which may be grouped under the umbrella of peer-to-peer, in terms of both information and communications technology networks, and the applications, which can leverage those networks. This will lay a base for a discussion of what these…

This article talks about a new school built, which is called "School of the Future," which was born of a partnership between the Philadelphia public schools and the world's leading software-maker, Microsoft Corp. A gleaming white building on the edge of a blighted West Philadelphia neighborhood, the $62 million school garnered wide attention when…

In recent years laptop computers have become increasingly popular in educational settings; wireless connectivity is a more recent development which is only now being fully explored, and which has led to the creation of the "wireless laptop lab." In this article, the authors share some of the experiences and concerns that they have encountered…

Eight papers are presented from the 1994 CAUSE conference track on professional development for information professionals in higher education institutions. The papers include: (1) "New Opportunities in Training for Information Systems Professionals," which discusses staff training at Miami-Dade Community College (Florida) (Desiree…

Eight papers are presented from the 1995 CAUSE conference track on professional development issues faced by managers of information technology at colleges and universities. The papers include: (1) "Developing as Information Technology Professionals: Profiles and Practices" (Diane Balestri and Ruth Sabean), which discusses professional…

A collaboration among teachers, education researchers, and computations scientists is described. The collaboration sought to apply advanced information technology in the K-12 classroom. In the Syracuse University Living Schoolbook project, developers created prototype Education Information Infrastructure (EII) services, conducted teacher team…

This paper describes the current policies and initiatives regarding the application of technology in Canada, Mexico and the United States. It also analyzes the need for policy development regarding technological networks, equipment, and educational content. The report also includes recommendations regarding specific initiatives for tri-national…

The Internet creates a unique opportunity for building virtual professional communities. The Lamda Community Project was created to use the Internet to support science and technology education as part of the Israeli national program to advance science and technology education in Israel. A virtual community was created as a meeting place and…

This paper proposes a communication network for the European Community and beyond which would provide a unique meeting point for participants from the fields of education, training, technology, research, industry, and service to engage in productive forms of dialogue and collaboration; which would be financially self-supporting after a few years;…

This description of the Model Edspec, which can be used by itself or in conjunction with the "Format Guide of Educational Specifications," serves as a comprehensive planning tool for the selection and application of technology. The model is designed to assist schools in implementing the facilities development process, thereby making…

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…