The study of discourse genres as social action has steadily displaced more traditional views of genre, proposing the organic and ecological model that any consistent pattern of response to a recurrent rhetorical situation might constitute a genre. Observation of the life cycles of genres as transient social events can occur in a classroom using…

Articulates how the term "community" has been used to identify, describe, and construct online contexts and groups--online communities. Discusses how one particular online discussion group, SpreadNet, attempts to socially construct and negotiate the meaning of the term and how such negotiation influences the (inter)actions, values, and social…

At Valdosta State University (Georgia), a philosophy course, "A Virtual Classroom: The Electronic Agora," was developed and conducted entirely through computer media. Twenty-one students were in the class. The two main activities, addressing the central objectives of a philosophy course, were: (1) research, and (2) class discussion and…

As K-12 schools connect to the Internet, a new method of communication opens up to educators and their students. This ERIC Digest describes some sample services and resources that are available to the K-12 community by electronic mail over the Internet. Question Answering services, listservs, and Usenet newsgroups are listed. (Author/AEF)

ListServ allows all parties to speak in the same manner, regardless of their level of technology and bandwidth access. The entry barrier has always been lower than other related technologies. While the hyperbole continues to swirl around the Web as an educational medium, the quiet e-mail message, magnified through the use of ListServ, continues to…

Offering participation in courses via modem can benefit both colleges, which are often coping with downsizing or insufficient classroom space, and students, who may face prohibitive work schedules, a need to remain at home, physical handicaps, or incarceration. This study assembles demographic information on higher education students who…

The use of computers as a tool for learning has traditionally focused on individualized methods of instruction. Social interaction, however, is taking an increasingly important role in current learning theories and instruction prescriptions including computer-based delivery systems. Concurrent with these recommendations, global computer networks…

As interest in distance education increases, many university instructors are experimenting with listserv discussion within their courses. Six educational technology professors at four universities initiated a listserv discussion group within their various classes for 52 graduate students. Discussion topics were four general themes within…

Provides basic information for using the Internet, and discusses benefits of e-mail, World Wide Web, Internet search engines, Web sites, and listservs for early childhood educators. Notes how the Internet can facilitate research and communication with colleagues and parents and can be a teaching tool as well. Includes lists of early childhood Web…

Explores new forms of publication that are gaining wider use in scholarly communities, including on-line journals, listservs and other on-line discussion groups, and self-publishing. Discusses how these are influencing the kinds of scholarship taking place in on-line contexts and how they raise new questions about criteria used for academic…

With tens of thousands of information providers and millions of users, Internet is an enormous and growing resource for guidance counselors and other personnel service professionals. In this digest Internet resources of particular interest to the guidance community are identified. Listservs are electronically facilitated (through the use of…

This brochure provides teachers, students, and parents with information on how to connect to a computer network; describes some of the education offerings available to network users; and offers hints to help make exploration of computer networks easy and successful. The brochure explains the equipment needed to connect to a computer network; ways…

Electronic mail, the World Wide Web, and listservs can be used in exercises in undergraduate sociology courses. This article briefly describes "Seminar Sheet," an individual exercise in collecting Web-based information to be shared in the classroom; establishing instructor/student communication through e-mail assignments; and having students…

Details the experience of designing, implementing, and evaluating an online course in audience analysis at the graduate level. Describes how the educational culture of the Land Grant Mission flowed into efforts to create a quality learning experience. Discusses how the Web modules and asynchronous (listserv) and synchronous (MOO) conversations…

Building a community of thinkers is a goal for education. In a world in which technology provides a means to communicate quickly and efficiently, educators need to develop models for the use of technology as an integral part of building an environment for teachers to thinking critically and creatively. Technology was used to help create a…