Setting up a wireless network is easy enough. Place a few access points in strategic areas, then watch the network traffic fly! That approach may hold up reasonably well for a few dozen users, but there's no way it would support a schoolwide 1-to-1 program. Once students take to it with their wireless devices, "they're going to kill it,"…

Students of every age have their own ideas about things...and they certainly have their own ideas about the best ways to learn. Project Tomorrow's annual Speak Up survey asked students from kindergarten through the 12th grade a simple question: "If you could create the ideal mobile app for learning, what would it look like?" Researchers received…

This article introduces Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF), a specification for data sharing among educational software applications that has grown to 10 disparate software applications. This new version (code name Columbus) is likely to give districts more vendors to choose from--maybe a lot more--because it will be arriving with a profound…

Data integration is one of the single most challenging tasks any district can face. Fortunately for school districts throughout the country with data scattered in disparate systems, an open specification known as the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) is mitigating that challenge. SIF has emerged as a cornerstone of K-12 data warehousing,…

Provides an overview of satellite-based global positioning system (GPS) technology and includes some illustrations of how GPS is introduced in field-based exercises in the educational setting. Highlights forestry and geography classes, but also discusses archeology, geology, and wildlife science. Benefits include affordability, flexibility,…

Discusses standards for the design and implementation of the electronic data networks developed for, and adopted by, the Pittsburgh Public Schools as district policy. Describes the layered approach which includes the physical layer, the protocol layer, and the application layer, and recommends hardware. A sidebar features court television in high…

Discusses the design and implementation of Indiana University's course management enterprise system, Oncourse. The Oncourse project provides a technical framework for the dynamic creation of Web environments and Web-based supplementary functions for every course section offered in the university. (Author)

Discussion of the Florida Learning Support Systems, being developed by schools and businesses to better utilize information technology in education, focuses on use of the Internet as background communication, or communication between applications running on different computers without human intervention to develop new kinds of instructional and…

Presents the results of several years of designing and implementing a Web-based multimedia distance learning system at Nova Southeastern University. Includes the methodology used, design issues for the software and hardware environment, user interfaces, functional aspects of the system including controls used by both teacher and learner, the…

Describes the development of CARAS (Computer-Assisted Risk Accountability System), a school-based case management system for at-risk students that is being pilot-tested in several school districts in the state of Washington. Highlights include needs assessment; monitoring and follow-up; problems; program evaluation; and future plans. (Contains two…

The Alabama Learning Exchange (ALEX; www.alex.state.al.us) is a network-based education system designed and implemented to help improve education in Alabama. It accomplishes this goal by providing a single location for the state's K-12 educators to find information that will help improve their classroom effectiveness. The ALEX system includes…

Reports on the installation of a local area network (LAN) at East Carolina University. Topics include designing the network; computer labs and electronic mail; Internet connectivity; LAN expenses; and recommendations on planning, equipment, administration, and training. A glossary of networking terms is also provided. (AEF)

Illustrates the possibilities and educational benefits of virtual learning environments (VLEs), based on experiences with "Thirst for Knowledge," a VLE that simulates the workplace of a major company. While working in this virtual office world, students walk through the building, attend meetings, read reports, receive e-mail, answer the telephone,…

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is everywhere. The technology lets users make and receive phone calls over the Internet, transporting voice traffic alongside data traffic such as instant messages (IMs) and e-mail. While the number of consumer customers using VoIP increases every week, the technology is finding its way into K-12 education as…

Ten ways to design an effective Human-Computer Interface are explained. Highlights include material delivery that relates to user knowledge; appropriate screen presentations; attention value versus learning and recall; the relationship of packaging and message; the effectiveness of visuals and text; the use of color to enhance communication; the…