In the past decade, virtual worlds have progressed from isolated sectors of the Internet, inhabited by computer and fantasy role-playing enthusiasts, to one of the fastest growing sectors in the gaming industry. In the process, they have established themselves as promising venues for the delivery of online instruction. Unfortunately, during that…

Describes the development of McGill medical school's online, multimedia-enhanced, undergraduate medical curriculum. Pedagogical values were deemed to include: (1) the ability to use the media to implement adult learning principles such as learner-centered, self-directed, and guided learning; (2) the inherent interactivity of the technology; and…

Factors that increase the likelihood of sustainable on-line learning community success fall into four general categories: the selection of an ease of learning and ease of use application permits an adequate default setting to begin operation yet permits users and managers to customize their on-line environment; creation and support of users,…

This book looks at the developing understanding of approaches to online teaching and the emergence of pedagogies that will ensure online teaching and learning materials are effective. Contributors to this volume were participants at an expert seminar held at the International Center for Learner Managed Learning at Middlesex University, London, and…

Discusses categories of common approaches K-12 and higher education faculty members take to adapt their courses for distance delivery. Describes the "dive-in technique," the "chunking approach," and the "start-from-scratch" approach. These different approaches to the problem of distance education illustrate that there are a variety of ways to be…

Describes local networking approaches that encourage student interaction and better information access for the school community, while maintaining security measures. Discusses computer-supported collaborative work, simultaneous online discussion, educator support and curriculum development, courses on the Internet, and implementation. (AEF)

One of the critical components in the curriculum is evaluation of students' knowledge or the amount they learned in the course. Over time, the assessment process has not changed significantly; it is only recently that university instructors are turning to technology for assistance in this labor-intensive task. There are disadvantages and…

This collection of essays focuses on practical applications of technology in public schools; it provides a perspective by teacher practitioners and others on how technology is currently being used or could be used in Connecticut's classrooms for effective schooling. The following papers are included: "Preparing for the Information Age"…

Describes the importance of integrating technology into the religious education curriculum. Identifies skills necessary to use technology in the classroom and notes the development of new interactive software for religious education. Encourages the formation of parish instructional computer committees. (DJM)

This brief information guide presents a model for developing a global classroom using computer-based technologies. The first chapter provides a working definition of global education and the reasons it is needed. Global networks enable students at all grade levels to acquire the knowledge and develop the skills to understand and guide their world.…

This report presents a discussion of important issues surrounding the use of interactive instructional technology by vocational educators. It considers interactive instructional television system components with special attention to system interface considerations, software considerations, and design and development of interactive instructional…

This paper describes the use of a management process, Systematic Curriculum and Instructional Development (SCID), for developing online multimedia modules. The project, "Collaboratively Creating Multimedia Modules for Teachers and Professors," was funded by the USWEST Foundation. The curriculum development process involved teams of…

Discusses results of a Delphi study of secondary school library media specialists that identified difficulties of students in using online and CD-ROM databases, suggested design elements and curricular and instructional strategies to make them more valuable as learning resources, and determined policy issues relating to electronic information…

Because it is a well-accepted fact that young persons have more than their share of automobile crashes and because the task of driving is a complex one that requires practice to be mastered, it is proposed that a careful human factors analysis of the task of driving be undertaken based on empirically demonstrated differences among driver groups.…

Maintains that elementary social studies teachers who wish to engage students in the social studies must see educational technology as both instructional tools and as content. Concludes that technological literacy will become as important as science or civic literacy. (ACM)