Describes online resources that address environmental issues. Highlights include information sources on the Internet; electronic bulletin boards, including those from departments of the federal government; online databases; databases on diskette; CD-ROMs from government and commercial suppliers; and nonelectronic sources of information. (LRW)

Discusses distributed information retrieval systems that take into account the weights of descriptors from thesauri. Topics addressed include a mathematical model for information retrieval subsystems; organization of inverted files; models for the distributed homogeneous information systems; a distributed information retrieval system based on…

Provides small companies with limited resources some suggestions for undertaking a hypertext project. Describes how to create various forms of online documentation systems. (HB)

The 1990s will usher in increasingly sophisticated interactive multimedia technologies leading to widespread employment of virtual reality. The arts (visual, music, drama, dance, and creative writing) are intimately involved with instructional technology's future. The arts provide both adult (commercial) creators and contributors to the programs…

In response to concerns about the cost of keeping up with individual desktop computing technology, several new solutions have emerged. Referred to as "thin clients," or network-centric computers, they include two types of desktop device: the network computer and the Windows terminal. Purchase cost, life span, support costs, and overall total cost…

Discusses the use of firewalls for library intranets, highlighting the move from mainframes to PCs, security issues and firewall architecture, and operating systems. Provides a glossary of basic networking terms and a bibliography of suggested reading. (PEN)

After 2 decades of effort and investment, new technologies remain tangential in most American classrooms. To integrate technology, schools must clarify learning goals, identify classroom opportunities, provide funding and equipment, stress robust staff development, combine rich information with powerful tools, match rigorous program assessment to…

Presents suggestions to assist distance educators in making instructional development choices to maximize the effectiveness of available bandwidth. Discusses identification of available bandwidth and describes four variables that can be manipulated to reduce the consumption of bandwidth (time/place, fidelity, degree of realism, level of…

Describes a project of the Coalition for Networked Information, founded in 1990 to advance scholarship interest in the networked-computer environment. The project coordinated work of seven higher education institutions in conducting assessments of their campus networks. Topics discussed include the networking climate on campuses, why assessment is…

Examines the interconnected issues surrounding domain naming. Discusses "dot" ownership, top-level domain expansion, control of second-level domain names, and trademarks and copyright protections. Outlines the history extending from the development of the pre-Internet ARPANET to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers…

Describes how the Lawrence Township Public Schools (Lawrenceville, NJ) passed a technology referendum that provided money for classroom computers, networks, and software. Explains how teachers were first provided with laptop computers to allow for teacher training that ensured the success of the classroom technology. (LRW)

Canadian universities now have the fastest research network backbone in the world, CA*Net 3, claiming it can transmit the contents of the Library of Congress in one second. In the United States, network officials feel that their competing Internet2 project supports more research into new network applications than the Canadian project. CA*Net 3…

Nearly three years after the beginning of the Internet2 project, designed to enhance research by building a superfast version of the Internet, few professors are finding it revolutionary. Most participating institutions have not upgraded local networks to take full advantage of the two interconnected high-speed networks used by the project.…

Describes the design and development of the Computer Logging of User Entries (CLUE) system for evaluating computer network-based learning courseware, or Web-based distance-education courseware. CLUE is an innovative evaluation system that combines computer-logging techniques with self-reporting methods used widely in the field of formative…

Discusses the importance of planning for information technology in higher education and the ongoing nature of planning needed due to the constant evolution of computers and networks. Topics include leadership; applications to a liberal university community; the development of a national information infrastructure; bandwidth; and intellectual…