Reviews current federal legislation that concerns the National Information Infrastructure. Highlights include telecommunications deregulation; activities of cable and telecommunication industries, including Regional Bell Operating Companies; allowing telephone companies to provide video services; plans of the Clinton administration; and concerns…

Examines the relationship between the National Information Infrastructure (NII) and the new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Topics discussed include the reduction or elimination of tariffs on NII products; protection of copyrighted works; unresolved trade issues, including the European telecommunications market; standards; and privacy and…

Describes distance education programs in Iowa, including the Iowa Distance Education Alliance developed through the Department of Education's Star Schools Program; the use of fiber optic technology; and the Iowa Communications Network that links colleges, universities, and secondary schools with public television. (LRW)

Provides critical reviews of four online databases: (1) Quotations Database, available through DIALOG and CompuServe; (2) Consumer Reports, through Prodigy, CompuServe, and Nexis; (3) HealthNet, from CompuServe; and (4) encyclopedias through America Online, CompuServe, GEnie, and DELPHI. Special features of access techniques or content of the…

Compares Frame Relay with digital and analog alternatives for connecting sites on a Wide Area Network. Cost considerations, the concepts on which the technology is based, its carrying capacity, the use of CD-ROM and Graphical User Interface (GUI) on Frame Relay, and engineering bandwidth limitations are covered. (KRN)

Provides technical recommendations for wiring of college campuses to provide for current and future computer network needs, considering wiring in and between existing and new buildings. The effects of trends in networking costs are discussed. The importance of higher education's involvement and influence in various information technology issues is…

The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers recently approved a high-speed wireless standard that enables devices from different manufacturers to communicate through a common backbone, making wireless local area networks more feasible in schools. Schools can now use wireless access points and network cards to provide flexible…

The process that Catonsville Community College (Maryland) went through in moving from a copper to a fiber network is outlined. The discussion addresses the following: describing the need in real terms; building consensus for the project; gaining support by college management; justifying the need for consultant support; writing the request for…

This guide is intended as a brief orientation to the Bulletin Board System (BBS) used by the California Educational Research Cooperative (CERC) in a continuing effort to expand support services to its member districts and ancillary providers through operation of an electronic networking system. This facility provides a means through which…

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) promises to integrate voice, data, text, and video services within the context of existing telephone networks. It is a set of standards, or engineering design specifications, that will permit anyone to attach any innovative device to it as long as it abides by the network's protocols. (MLW)

The fifth session of IT@EDU98 consisted of four papers and was chaired by Nguyen Thanh Son (University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). "Distance Education at University of Hawaii" (David Lassner) investigates the technologies in use at the University of Hawaii, including: SkyBridge; HITS (Hawaii Interactive Television System);…

There is a whole infrastructure that must support a successful universal student computing requirement. Conventional approaches would have the students plugging into a wired network. That would necessitate network wires and hubs or many ports in each classroom. Students would need access to course-related software. Because the needs would change…

This document contains the enrollment application form and line-by-line instructions for subscribing to LincOn, a statewide network, administered by the Illinois State Board of Education, that allows public K-12 schools to access the Internet. An overview of LincOn and a checklist for implementing LincOn membership are also included. Appendices…

Responses from 102 of 140 Iowa secondary agriculture teachers revealed attitudes toward the interactive communications network (ICN), a two-way fiber optic telecommunications system. Teachers were concerned about such obstacles as scheduling ICN use and managing laboratory and supervised agricultural experience activities. They were undecided…

Twelve school districts in Alberta are networked in a distance learning system that provides a wider range of programs to small schools in a cost effective manner. (MLF)