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…

This annotated bibliography lists print and electronic resources for learning about distance education. The print resources section lists 22 reference materials that are organized into these categories: three dictionaries and bibliographies; four sources on philosophical background and history; four sources of technical information; three sources…

The social construct of gender is laced throughout society and carries stereotypes through the use of language, arts, literature, and social practices. As more women begin using computers more frequently and in new ways, stereotypes become evident in the patterns of communication in cyberspace. One of the characteristics of computer-mediated…

This document outlines a proposal for the implementation of "The Virtual Campus" program in New Brunswick, a distributed online learning environment that will support the participation of all regions of the province and all sectors involved in learning and training. It also supports the development of multimedia courseware at all…

Based on the premise that computer networks are changing the way people think and interact, this Digest discusses some features of electronic discourse as a relatively new form of discourse and examines the current research on computer mediated communication text. The Digest suggests further research on how other features of electronic discourse…

This paper addresses problems and issues that arise in electronic communications, and offers guidelines and etiquette. Topics covered include: (1) drafting an electronic message, including width of messages, abbreviations and smileys, salutation, name, author address, and responding to a message; (2) "Webtiquette" (i.e., guidelines for…

Digital reference services (also known as "AskA" services, as in "Ask-an-Expert") provide subject expertise and information referral over the Internet to their users. This ERIC Digest provides an overview of the growing digital reference movement and its implications on sponsoring organizations, and examines current practices…

The 12 essays collected in this book suggest both practical and theoretical approaches to teaching through networked technologies. Moving beyond technology for its own sake, the book articulates a pedagogy which makes its own productive uses of emergent technologies, both inside and outside the classroom. The book models for students one possible…

The perception and acceptance of the Internet as a personal communication channel, and the functional characteristics of the Internet, provide a new means for geographically separated friends and family members to communicate with one another. This paper presents a theoretical framework for the study of family communication and electronic mail. A…

According to the chair of the English department at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.), NATALK, a telecommunications subconference on BreadNet for Native American students, has merits and possibilities for cross-cultural communication. Giving students the chance to "publish" their writing electronically can motivate reluctant…

One of the challenges of asynchronous online discussions is soliciting student responses that involve critical thinking. Too often students answer one another with "I agree" or "That's what I think" and the discussion dead ends. By providing students with models of good questioning techniques instructors will see the class…

This study aims to investigate Instant Messaging from the new rhetorical genre perspective. Considering IM as a primary genre (Bakhtin, 1986) I intend to examine its social motive and social and textual features. Also, using Vygotsky's (1978, 1986) concept of situated learning, I will explain how IM users learn the genre to communicate through it.…

Like most high schools, St. Mary's District High, Tasmania, Australia, has a regular annual orientation day for students in transition from Grade 6 to Grade 7. In 2000, an online element was introduced (by the author) to supplement this process for students moving to Grade 7 in 2001. Elementary classrooms are traditionally child-centered…

This 43-minute videotape is part of the on-going Internet education series exploring the fascinating resources of the Internet. It was produced directly for those in society that did not have computers growing up. One exceptional point of the video is its simple approach. It demonstrates World Wide Web, e-mail and other Internet applications.…

The Internet has provided the world with an almost instantaneous communication vehicle. The traditional approach to sharing academic publications has been to prepare written articles for submission to the appropriate journal, then wait for the 6-month to 2-year delay before publication. With these built-in delays from occurrence to publication,…