Open and distance learning (ODL) activities aim to meet the expectations and needs of different individuals, societies, and systems by ensuring the continuation of learning with a lifelong learning philosophy and an egalitarian policy for everyone, regardless of time and place. Support services, which address the differentiated expectations and…

This first volume of a two-volume report describes 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 System (EIES). Chapter 1 provides background on project…

This document presents the final report on the Evaluation of the Pennsylvania Teleteaching Project, which was designed to accomplish six objectives: (1) to provide students with the opportunity to take courses that would otherwise be unavailable; (2) to provide students with a higher level of learning; (3) to be usable across a wide variety of…

The first year's observations of projects funded by the Annenberg/Corporation for Public Broadcasting in its New Pathways to a Degree project are summarized. The project was designed to help colleges use technologies to develop academic degree programs that are accessible to the new majority of learners, those who have jobs, home responsibilities,…

The Intermountain Community Learning and Information Services (ICLIS) project was begun in 1985 to provide rural communities in Colorado, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming with greater access to information and educational programming. Computer centers were housed in nine rural public libraries to provide services related to literacy, career guidance,…

Existing knowledge of computer conferencing is synthesized to indicate how it could address some of the current professional difficulties faced by Ontario teachers with regard to computers in the classroom, and strategies and guidelines for introducing such a computer-mediated learning approach into educational activities are provided. This report…

The Online Reference and Document Delivery Service Library Network developed at Eastern Oregon State College and operated in Eastern Oregon provides rural east Oregonians improved access to information sources via computers, telefacsimile, and telecommunications. Microcomputers have been placed in public, school, community college, and hospital…

Due to its sparse, rural population and long distances, Alberta province (Canada) has been providing education at a distance since 1923 for students in grades 1 through 12 and adults who wish to complete their high school education through correspondence. This handbook is published as a resource for Alberta schools that offer distance learning…

Educational technology planning and investment activities in the 15 states of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) area are described. Information was gathered through an informal telephone survey, brief state reports, and a recent survey of state contacts. States that currently have educational technology plans locate central authority…

Ohio's Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) evaluates education-related activities funded wholly or in part by that state. SchoolNet initiatives seek to increase Ohio K-12 schools' access to computers, networks, and other technology, with a particular emphasis on low-wealth districts. This report addresses the gap between the…

This paper reports information received from responses to a survey questionnaire from the presidents of 46 universities and their affiliated colleges across Canada. The questionnaire (circulated to all member institutions of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada) included queries about the experiences of the universities with…

These two documents summarize the findings of the 1994 and 1995 rounds of the Technical Institute Information Technology Survey, which is conducted annually to gather information about a broad range of technology uses at Georgia's technical institutes. Both reports included the responses from all of Georgia's 33 technical institutes regarding…

This report focuses on the present and projected usage of technology within United States school districts and schools. The trends and projections outlined in this report are based upon an analysis of 1995-96 school year data as compared with similar data collected since 1987. Data are presented in four major sections: (1) Methodology, (2)…

During June and July of 1997, the Maryland Community Colleges Technology Council conducted a survey of all 18 community colleges in Maryland to determine the existing state of campus instructional and administrative technologies, and to learn the technology needs and plans of the colleges for the following five years. The survey asked about…

This paper focuses on the Interactive and Distance Education Assessment (IDEA) laboratory, an assessment system developed by psychology students and faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (New York) that incorporated learning styles, teaching styles, and other measures of individual difference into the evaluation of interactive and distance…