In "The Information Age: Economy, Society, and Culture," sociologist Manuel Castells argues that information and communication technologies are associated with a new kind of economy, society, and culture that he calls "informationalism." In this new economic order, knowledge generation, information processing, and symbolic communication--"the…

In academic settings, battling Internet threats and coming out unscathed is uncommon. Unfortunately, on many college campuses cyber-security concerns rarely extend beyond the IT staff and are addressed in a disparate, ad-hoc fashion. Yet, while many universities and large corporations were hit hard by the recent NetSky and Sasser worms, fewer than…

The schools of the National School Network Testbed, through their affiliated Internet-based telecommunications projects and consortia, represent the leading edge of elementary and secondary school use of the emerging digital communications network. The Baseline Survey provides a statistical portrait of the charter group of school members of the…

The campus data network, WABnet, at Wabash College (Crawfordsville, Indiana) provides students with access to the campus Novell servers, the library catalog, and the Internet. The College attempted to minimize the support load for the Intel-based PCs (personal computers) by developing a self-install procedure for student PC connections. The…

Technologies can play a role in restructuring schools, but they can also effectively support existing school structures depending on how they are designed and used. This paper contrasts the organizational impact of two technology systems in terms of the physical location in the school, the curriculum, how time is scheduled, and the opportunities…

The purpose of this guide is to provide basic networking information and planning assistance for technology coordinators and others involved in building networks for K-12 schools. The information in this guide focuses on the first few steps in the networking process. It reviews planning considerations and network design issues facing educators who…

Reviews all netcourses for teachers in mathematics and science, highlights the advantages of netcourses, and discusses the differences between conventional and network-based courses. Uses this analysis to predict the early emergence of netcourses for the professional development of teachers. (12 references) (JRH)

Discusses how to develop effective security education and awareness programs to help the wide and varied groups of people on campuses understand their role in campus security, examining: target audiences (e.g., students, parents, faculty, researchers, and administrators); effective delivery methods (e.g., online quizzes, handbooks, and videos);…

An upstate New York school district approached technology integration by setting up pilot programs using computer clusters in the classrooms of interested teachers. The first wave of teachers evaluated and incorporated third-party software into their regular teaching. A second wave of technology involved multimedia applications. A third wave will…

Discussion of the appropriate use of technology for distance education focuses on the need to examine why a delivery system is selected and proposes a method for selecting the medium based on course curricula and the need for motion. Use of the Internet for delivery is also considered. (Author/LRW)

Presents planning guidelines for wiring specifications for K-12 schools by reviewing advantages and disadvantages of using copper, fiber-optic, and coaxial wire. Addresses the future of network wiring and educational technology, and makes recommendations. A sidebar describes the physical appearance of different types of wire and a table compares…

Careful planning is required for teachers to take full advantage of the cross-cultural learning opportunities afforded by electronic networks and telecommunications. Networking with more than one classroom and using a well-defined group project integral to other classroom activities are recommended. (EA)

Describes dialogue exchanges arising from an Eastern Michigan University telecommunications project in which teachers enrolled in a university graduate course and fifth graders dialogued about literature. Outlines the benefits of electronic dialogues to both teachers and students. (MG)

Describes the Edison Project, a plan to integrate technology into schools and school systems that will support communication, collaboration, research, text and multimedia authoring and publishing, resource access and management, assessment, and administration and management services. Computer networks that link schools and external sources are…

Planning for tomorrow's educational technology should consider access over specific hardware and software packages. Five essential planning components are networking, telecommunications, connections, teacher training, and funding. Some networking applications include well-distributed and well-integrated software that is easily adaptable to…