The instructional media created by microcomputers interconnected by modems to form long-distance networks present some powerful new opportunities for education. While other uses of computers in education have been built on conventional instructional models of classroom interaction, instructional electronic networks facilitate a wider use of…

Discussion of the use of electronic networks for learning activities highlights the Noon Observation Project in which students in various locations measured the length of a noontime shadow to determine the earth's circumference. Electronic pen pals are discussed, and the roles of the network and of the class are described. (LRW)