This report discusses the growth of the National Information Infrastructure (NII), or the information superhighway, and its implications for people with disabilities. Advantages for people with disabilities include: increasing the ability of individuals with some types of disabilities to access and use information; decreasing personal isolation…

As one Illinois district found, using educational technology cannot guarantee that students will learn any better. Educators must first change the classroom/school ambience, work within the new high-tech environment, apply appropriate tools for using technology effectively, and connect student achievement and technology usage. (MLH)

A discussion of the "virtual library," use of a variety of cost-effective information technologies to provide high-quality library services to every sector of the community, considers implications for the nature and quality of public library services, especially those of branch libraries and libraries in rural areas. (MSE)

Argues that much work needs to be done to assess the impacts of global networking on academic institutional performance. How the academic networked environment can be defined, possible assessment criteria, the need for a user perspective, and specific research needs are discussed. (Contains 11 references.) (KRN)

The report outlines how the University of Alaska (Fairbanks) could move toward institutionalizing a chief information officer and merge campus academic and administrative information systems. The chief information officer would have such responsibilities as strategic planning participation, information systems planning, development of…

A teacher at a Beijing international school describes some exciting, unexpected benefits of providing all 10 eighth graders in the school with laptop computers. During a three-month pilot program, students quickly became proficient at using, caring for, and managing their personal laptops. Teachers learned that some subject areas were more…

The Blue Ribbon Committee at Utah State University (USU) was charged with the study of information systems, telecommunications, and library services at the university, and challenged to look for ways to better manage, coordinate, and capitalize on both opportunity and investment in telecommunication and information technology and resources. The…

Automation of many college human resources management activities can lead to changes in office strategies, resource deployment, development needs, and career planning. The World Wide Web and local area networking have a variety of applications in this area, including tracking of transactions and forms. Careful planning and an understanding of the…

In a time of fiscal belt tightening, many states will hesitate to launch new multimillion-dollar distance education network projects. Instead they will concentrate on regulatory initiatives to stimulate the development of affordable advanced universal service by the private sector. Discusses the limitations of state regulatory strategies in the…

Libraries need to adapt their systems for the collection, preservation, organization, and distribution of information to take advantage of new technology and communication tools. Libraries that successfully adapt these systems will become a more central institution in the community served. (AEF)

This report is a written synthesis of opinions and observations on the role of emerging information technology in Finnish society. It surmises that such technology will benefit the educational system and increase research activity, thereby creating new channels of information access for the public, as long as national policymakers commit…

In October 1993, more than 70 educational decision makers and practitioners from across the country met to discuss ways to support and promote school networking and to formulate recommendations for the National Science Foundation (NSF) to use in establishing funding priorities, goals, and evaluation strategies. This report presents the…

Internetworked communications restructures relationships among educators, learners, and knowledge and information, and promises a systemic acceleration of the pace of educational change. In this report, the Task Force on Education Network Technology identifies the following rationales for deployment and utilization of such communications: to…