The authors, both of whom are working at the Musselman library, relate how they are always looking for ways to improve and update their reference service. When they introduced a chat reference service to their online library services, they received only four inquiries in the entire year 2002-2003. The authors found out later that the paltry number…

Presents guidelines for effective Internet communication. Discusses rules for creating e-mail messages; posting messages to online discussion groups and newsgroups; and using initialism and "emoticons." Presents a glossary of common Internet terms. (AEF)

Discusses netiquette, or rules of etiquette when using computer networks, for online communications such as electronic mail and public online forums. Print and online sources for netiquette are given, and examples of poor communication are included. (LRW)

A number of present-day authors have noted factors that can work against or pose a threat to a sense of community, including the American propensity for individualism, industrialization, and the growth of mass communication and information technology. Some scholars have begun to suggest that schools, in particular, should get beyond mere…

Technology is making home schooling easier on parents as well as more interesting for students. In addition to taking classes online, home-schooled children are researching projects on the Internet and communicating with other home schoolers. (MLF)

A qualitative study of a successful e-mail mediated help service which incorporated content analysis of service logs and interviews with staff and users revealed two models of ideal service exchanges: concise question/response dyads and extended dialog. Staff tend to consider dialog typical, while users almost exclusively consider the minimum…

The Internet's addressing system, the domain name system, provides geographic information on Internet activity. This study shows that cities, as well as institutions of higher education in the cities, are driving, rather than simply participating in, information-based phenomena such as the expansion of the Internet. Some implications of this…

Discusses the advantages and challenges of using e-mail in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learning, focusing on synchronous versus asynchronous computer-mediated communication; what online English is like; the advantages of computer-mediated communication; and how to make communication available to ESL learners. (SM)

Examines the growing demand for e-mail reference (Aska) service and how librarians can best manage an electronic help desk. Discusses problems of minimal information and anonymous patrons, followed by views on restricting/not restricting access to the service. Suggests ways to try to screen requests and specify a clientele. Notes the importance of…

This paper describes practical issues involved in using LISTSERVs as a means of enhancing graduate-student education. During the spring semester of 1995, two classes in the Educational Administration and Educational Technology Departments of the College of Education, Kansas State University, utilized LISTSERVs as a means to continue class…

This study investigated the use of various forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC) to support the formation of a knowledge-building community (KBC) in teacher education. A KBC involves students working in small and large groups to solve "real world" problems, and in the process develop skills of negotiation, communication, and…

Explores asynchronous communication perspectives and experiences of undergraduate students in an online course. Interviews with 22 preservice teachers, student-to-instructor email transcripts, asynchronous discussion transcripts, and two independent reviewers' reviews of the asynchronous discussions were used to collect and analyze the data.…

Investigates how graduate students participated in online discussions over a two-week period to determine the utility of synchronous and asynchronous modes of discussion. Types and amounts of communication statements participants made in chats and threaded discussions were analyzed. Results indicate that both types of discussion are liked and…

Argues that networked classrooms offer a number of opportunities for effective writing instruction. Argues that shared discourse in the networked-computer classroom has three levels forming a continuum of interactivity: students sending messages "at,""to," and "between" each other. Offers classroom examples of each level of discourse. (SR)

This study of the online communications of 10 teams of SMEs (subject-matter experts), classroom teachers, and K-12 students focused on the functions, frequency and flow of e-mail messages exchanged in the context of curriculum-based projects. Eight tables and figures present findings. Contains 35 references. (AEF)