Describes the role of South Dakota's governor in initiating technology plans for schools that would promote distance education. Discusses a conclave of leaders in technology and distance education that addressed the successful implementation of the Digital Dakota Network, a statewide intranet developed to help students, empower the workforce, and…

Describes the first efforts at teleteaching in Belarus at the Belorussian Polytechnic Academy that will be used for secondary and higher education. Topics discussed include convincing the government of the importance of distance education programs offered to national development, economic constraints, and Internet electronic mail goals. (LRW)

Describes the Iowa Communications Network, a statewide fiber optic network capable of transporting interactive, two-way audio, video, voice, and data signals. Topics include statewide cooperation among educational and state organizations; classroom design, including interactive classrooms; access to the Internet; and use by noneducational…

The Office of Technology Assessment authorized a series of case studies in 1989 to investigate how technologies, services, and programs are implemented in distance education projects. The studies were also intended to look at the role of local, state, and federal agencies, and other public and private entities in providing educational services to…

Describes fiber optic technology and discusses its use in distance learning and educational reform. Highlights include the quality of communications transmission systems; costs; Federal Communications Commission rules and regulations; cable television; networks, including the National Research and Education Network (NREN); government versus…

Discusses issues and trends affecting Canadian academic libraries that were major themes at the 1996 Canadian Library Association annual conference in Halifax (Nova Scotia). Topics include government funding decreases; restructuring in education and library services; consortia; library cooperation and collaboration; computer networks; interlibrary…

The accelerating development of distance education and the use of technology-mediated instructional materials over interactive computer networks has given rise to heightened interest and thought by faculty and administration alike about related copyright issues. The evolution of distance education from early morning television broadcasts to…

Presents trends and future possibilities in the areas of distance education; handheld wireless information delivery devices; computer applications; academic and administrative computing; electronic communications, including the role of government and public subsidies; and the national information infrastructure, including user needs. (LRW)

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…

The Chugach Conferences on the future of communication in Alaska are working conferences in which participants play as important a role as the speakers. The 1991 conference alternated public sessions with small-group discussion of communications issues such as rural circumstances, telephone policy, evolving communication technologies, distance…

This paper explores the challenges and opportunities facing libraries as they evolve into the electronic networked environment, and looks at options for libraries in the year 2000 and beyond. The internationally networked environment has fundamentally changed the way in which people acquire and use information resources and services. The paper…

This booklet focuses on issues that schools encounter as they become involved with distance education and electronic networking. The E-Rate (i.e., the Education Rate resulting from the federal Telecommunications Act of 1996) is discussed in the introduction. Five sections cover the following topics: (1) distance education and electronic…