A networked improvement community can be a tremendous resource for people who share a common interest and desire to learn from each other, and, thanks to technology, this can occur even when participants are separated by a large distance. This article discusses Virginia Advanced Study Strategies' Rural Math Innovation Network, a four-year project…

As educational technology continues to rapidly become a vital part of a school district's infrastructure, desktop virtualization promises to provide cost-effective and education-enhancing solutions to school-based computer technology problems in school systems locally and abroad. This article outlines the history of and basic concepts behind…

Inside campus libraries and dormitory rooms, thousands of students connect to the Internet not only to study with online systems like Blackboard but also to watch movies and TV shows on Netflix. Computers, smartphones, wireless printers, tablets, iPods, Xboxes, handheld gaming systems, e-readers, smart TVs, Blu-ray players--students now bring an…

Radford University was recently configured with a campus-wide wireless local area network. Using these new capabilities, a classroom-based Honors section of Concepts of Biology was conducted solely using electronic technologies (paper was never transferred from professor to student). To accomplish this, students used common software and freeware.…

The phenomenological study explored the lived experiences and perceptions of a purposive sample of 20 IT professionals (managers, engineers, administrators, and analysts) in the state of Virginia, Texas, and Washington DC. The focus of this research study was to learn the perceptions of IT professionals who are or once were in a decision-making…

This special section contains dispatches from the school technology frontier and four feature articles. Lars Kongshem shows how a rural Virginia community connects citizens and schools. Donna Harrington-Lueker describes a North Carolina "virtual high school." Richard J. Coley summarizes a study on school technology effectiveness.…

Describes the design, construction, and implementation of a statewide library Gopher for Virginia that was developed as an Internet navigation tool for users of the Virginia Library and Information Network (VLIN). Highlights include resources for Gopher developers, examples of menus, coverage of locally produced materials, and Virginia information…

Describes the development of an electronic community network created by Virginia Tech for the Blacksburg area called the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEV). Discusses information systems; telecommunications infrastructure; Internet traffic patterns; BEV as a role model for other communities; and student participation. (LRW)

Virginia's Public Education Network (PEN) was one of the first statewide public school Internet systems. PEN began as a regional pilot that led to the establishment of a regional prototype, Teacher-LINK. Teacher-LINK in turn became the basis for the statewide K-12 Internet system. Topics include PEN's educational content, Internet services, and…

Explains MOOsburg, a community-oriented MOO that models the geography of the town of Blacksburg, Virginia and is designed to be used by local residents. Highlights include the software architecture; client-server communication; spatial database; user interface; interaction; map-based navigation; application development; and future plans. (LRW)

Describes a pilot study to help develop instruments appropriate for a full-scale assessment of the Blacksburg, Virginia, community network. A brief overview of the methods employed in the pilot evaluation is given. The results of focus group interviews, lessons learned, and future plans are presented. The 17-item focus group questionnaire is…

Discusses the development of computing networks for elementary and secondary schools in Virginia and Texas. Highlights include establishing a statewide infrastructure; Internet access; distributed computing; instructional resources; the changing role of State Departments of Education; teacher training and support; and policy issues, including…

Discusses a possible national education computer network that would include elementary, secondary, and higher education institutions. Topics addressed include Internet; common standards; distributed computing; open access; equity concerns; and examples of two successful public school networks in Virginia and Texas that are linked through the…

The U.S. Department of Education is supporting a 3-year program involving Virginia Tech's computer department and a rural public elementary school. The project seeks to determine whether immersive access to networked computing by students and their families has measurable effects on long-term student achievement. A fifth-grade classroom was…

The first of two phases of this study consisted of assessing the need for a more formal library network in Virginia by surveying libraries, conducting site visits, interviews, and regional hearings, and reviewing documentation on existing levels of automation and networking in the commonwealth. Information gathered during this phase supported both…