The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the perspectives of Texas school district administrators concerning the virtual school programs being implemented in their districts. Interviews with the eight participants were analyzed in an effort to provide a comprehensive explanation of their lived experiences (Moustakas, 1994).…

The need for school psychologists across the county has reached critical levels. In addition, faculty positions for those training school psychologists are going unfilled. With such an identified need, training programs play a key role in closing the gap. In order to address this need in Indiana, the authors, with support for the Indiana…

If the media center is seen as an extension of communitywide educational services, then its major creators must be local educators, librarians, students, and community users of the proposed program. Creating such a center becomes an opportunity for schools and libraries to regenerate their services to their constituencies. (Author)

Educators have long acknowledged that not all learning occurs in a classroom. This paper describes an innovative educational program in Minnesota, where the educational facility was built in a dedicated space at the Mall of America. The program is based on an outcomes-based, transdisciplinary curriculum for 16- to 19-year-old youth, featuring the…

Distance learning programs, services and clients since 1975 at California State University, Chico, are described. Background, funding, and the teleconferencing network are discussed. (CW)

The development of new communications technology is likely to transform everyday life in the coming decades, and a central question for educators is whether and how such technologies can be used to advance the education of both the historically disenfranchised and of those who are already educated but desire or need more education. In an effort to…

In January 1981, a committee at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) began work to design a system to deliver non-group instruction to homes, businesses, and other off-campus sites. The committee first established criteria for the program to ensure that the Extended Learning System (ELS) would be compatible with and complementary to other…

Describes Manpower Services Commissions Open Tech Programme, a developmental, project-based program begun in 1982 to open adult access to updating and upgrading training at technical and supervisory skill levels. Discussion includes issues arising in the program's management, administration, and the design and process of open learning and impact…

Presents guidelines for effective distance education planning that confront the issues of planning/organization, technology, and faculty development/academic policies. Concludes that understanding the unique characteristics and constraints of any particular program or target audience is the first step in selecting appropriate distance education…

This report provides a description of the conceptualization and methods required to perform a cost effectiveness analysis in the field of instructional technology. The case study discussed involves a cost effectiveness comparison of four alternative systems for delivering continuing education instruction in management to several geographically…

Discusses how the Web is used and applied in online learning in Taiwan. Presents five different aspects of how Web-based online learning is facilitated--courseware-, theory-, instruction-, community- and assessment-oriented--with detailed descriptions of projects implemented over the last several years. Emphasizes a call for a localized approach…

Argues that the tendency to focus on the technical aspects of distance learning contributes to the infrequency of distance learning methods usage in education and training. Discusses the technical and human dimensions of distance learning, resistance to change, user perspective, and inertia and entropy. Outlines 10 human dimension principles…

The Rapid City Academy is the alternative high school program for South Dakota's Rapid City Area Schools, which has an enrollment of about 13,000 K-12 students, with five middle schools feeding two large traditional high schools and the alternative program. A high percentage of students at the academy are considered "at-risk" due to…

This paper describes the resources, processes and outcomes involved in the development of an introductory Management Information Systems (MIS) course designed to utilize as many of the technologies as possible to redefine the teaching/learning paradigm. The MIS-Online project at Northwest Missouri State University encompasses the available campus…

Distance education has become a major teaching and learning tool. Distance education typically uses technology to reach learners in the following ways: (1) audio communication through one- or two-way radio or telephone; (2) audiographic links such as computer-to-telephone setups; (3) freeze-frame transmission of visual images; (4) one-way…