Discusses the use of computer networks and software in libraries and/or classrooms. Benefits for students and teachers are described, including improved communication between students and between students and teachers; guidelines for selecting hardware are suggested, including workstations and printers; and planning considerations are discussed.…

This paper provides participant observations regarding the use of computer and broadcast television technology at a suburban public elementary school in Athens, Georgia during the 1995-1996 school year. The paper describes the hardware and software available in the school, and the use and misuse of computers and broadcast television in the…

Five papers from the 1990 CAUSE conference's Track III, Organization and Personnel are presented. The papers share ways in which professionals are preparing organizationally for the challenges and opportunities of managing information technology in the future, including such subjects as the kinds and availability of human resources that are…

This Technology & Innovations in Education (ITE) publication is a description of how a strategic technology planning process unfolded in four small, rural South Dakota school districts -- Britton, Isabel, Langford, and Sioux Valley. Goals 2000 grants were allocated for each district to develop a technology-based school improvement plan,…

This paper describes the characteristics of "smart schools" and offers guidelines for developing such schools. Smart schools are defined as having three features: (1) they are computer networked via local area networks in order to share information through teleconferencing, databases, and electronic mail; (2) they are connected beyond…

This testimony discusses ways in which some federal government agencies use technology to provide the public with cheaper, faster access to a wider range of information which can be searched and manipulated in ways never possible on the printed page. Technologies included in the discussion are compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM), electronic…

Formerly reserved for use by scientists, researchers, and computer buffs, computer networks now have capabilities that make them extremely useful to science teachers and their classes. This digest is designed to provide educators with some basic background on computer communications and to provide a few examples of computer networks that are…

Microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) are believed to have significant potential for improving laboratory experiences in science classrooms. A study funded through a grant project called STEPS to Better Science sought to broaden the knowledge base by examining MBL use by teachers and students in a variety of science classrooms in six high…

Part of the always-changing field of microcomputers is the growing use of electronic mail/message systems (EMMS), a general term for describing the transmission of messages using computers and telecommunications facilities. As a result of these advances, it is possible for administrators, teachers, staff, and students to have immediate access to…

In many school districts throughout the country, the unplanned and inequitable distribution of computers has tended to widen the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged, male and female, and majority and minority students. One of the missions of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is the task of achieving equality of educational…

Predicting that a large component of the library of the not so distant future will be an electronic network of file servers where information is stored for access by personal computer workstations in remote locations as well as the library, this paper discusses innovative computer technologies--particularly CD-ROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory)…

For many librarians and information specialists, the World Wide Web presents a challenge, not only in terms of organizing information, but in creating a visual package that piques the user's curiosity and interest as well as provides orientation to a site. Creating original graphics gives a Web site a unique identity, and forces the designer to…

Shows how a university embarked on a major endeavor to increase the innovative use of microcomputers in instruction and research. The effect on instruction and research has been dramatic. Notes that over a four year period IBM donated 1248 computers. (MVL)

Discusses the concept of electronic workstations and describes four different types: (1) the academic workstation; (2) the reference workstation (i.e., for end users); (3) the information specialist workstation; and (4) the workstation for management information. The creation of a new integrated information center (ICC) is also described. (11…

Discusses the influences of mass media and other communication technologies on small linguistic communities using examples from the Catalan and Occitan/Aranes communities of Spain. Highlights include hardware, linguistic software, national character sets and sorting, spelling checkers, automatic translation, multilingual software, networking, and…