Our paper reports findings from a two-phase deployment of iPod Touch and iPad devices in a large, urban Canadian school board. The purpose of the study was to gain an understanding of the infrastructure required to support handheld devices in classrooms; the opportunities and challenges teachers face as they begin to use handheld devices for…

Discusses the use of online networks for distance education based on a workshop sponsored by the Australian Open Learning Information Network. Topics addressed include Pegasus, an Australian electronic network; the perspectives of teachers and students who were involved with online distance education courses; and services provided by ILANET…

Describes results of a Delphi study that was conducted to gather information to assist in defining the future of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in higher education. Results indicate that applications of CMC will focus on supporting classroom activities and facilitating cooperative learning and that one obstacle is faculty attitudes. (31…

Most instructors today feel that using computers in classrooms to create electronic forums automatically results in a more egalitarian setting, but technology can become an effective cloak for otherwise oppressive practices. These settings can potentially reinscribe dominant ideologies, stifling students rather than empowering them. These…

Increasingly, colleges are debating whether or not to require students to own computers. Issues include whether computers are the best use of student resources, how to pay for the cost of both computers and campus networks, faculty perceptions of the need for computers, and computer access versus computer ownership. (MSE)

This second volume of a two-volume report is based on the experiences of teachers who participated in a project at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) which assessed the effectiveness of a Virtual Classroom (VC), in which students and teachers communicate through a computer-mediated system called the Electronic Information Exchange…

Discussion of the use of microcomputers in secondary schools in the United Kingdom focuses on classroom use versus separate computer laboratories. Group dynamics among students working at computers are discussed; teachers' attitudes are considered; single microcomputers versus computer networks are examined; and case studies from geography classes…

The five papers in this collection discuss various aspects of the Electronic Learning-Package Factory (ELF) project at the University of Bradford in England. In the first paper, "Adoption of CAL in Higher Education: A Cooperative Approach to Research, Development and Implementation," Philip Barker considers the opportunities for…

The purpose of this paper is to describe and discuss some communicative opportunities currently emerging in networked classrooms and their implications for didactics. In particular, I examine multiple contexts that appear and how they give rise to diverse practices. However, such practices often have their origin in out-of-school contexts and not…

Microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) are believed to have significant potential for improving laboratory experiences in science classrooms. A study funded through a grant project called STEPS to Better Science sought to broaden the knowledge base by examining MBL use by teachers and students in a variety of science classrooms in six high…

Describes efforts in the United Kingdom to integrate information and communication technology (ICT) into schools and the government's aim to have teachers acquire network literacy. Discusses innovation and change in education; results of a study that investigated teachers' attitudes about the impact of ICT; and the need for teacher's professional…

This study investigated the effectiveness of introducing e-mail applications into preservice elementary science methods courses at two distant universities. Interviews with instructors and analysis of correspondence between students indicated that, despite problems of incorporating e-mail into the course, interest level in and attitudes toward…

The purpose of this study was to identify the strategies used by learners in an open-ended hypermedia information system. Four participants were drawn from an introductory technology-for-teachers course incorporating a unit on telecommunications. Participants completed a survey measuring reported knowledge in three domains (metacognitive, system,…

Summarizes the methodology and results of a questionnaire survey of the use of microcomputers in university humanities departments in the United Kingdom. Highlights include faculty, staff, and student usage; applications of use; networking; opinions and perceptions on problems and benefits; mainframe computer services; and availability of computer…

This paper describes a method that utilized technology to collect and collate quantitative and qualitative data about pre-service teachers' use of networked technologies during a 12-week undergraduate course, and the impact of this use on their pedagogical beliefs regarding the integration of information and communications technology (ICT). The…