Contrasts the dominant mode of formal education today with new interactional frameworks enabled by new technologies, including teleapprenticeships and tele-task forces. Explores alternative physical settings for education, including neighborhood learning centers, to combine the strengths of face-to-face interaction with computer-mediated…

A course conducted between classes in Sweden and Ohio used online debate via synchronous and asynchronous computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) to augment intercultural understanding. Assumptions about CMC discourse were challenged by the international context. The process was restructured to allow asynchronous conferencing for predebate…

Discusses how a networked classroom environment--either to supplement or to replace traditional face-to-face class discussion--offers English teachers opportunities that can help make class discussion more engaging, more worthwhile, and significantly more effective as a teaching tool. Considers how to use new technology in the classroom to enhance…

Develops a simple tool to measure interactive learning in the context of computer-mediated communication (CMC). Describes the Measure of Interactivity in CMC (MICMC) and examines the reliability and validity of this measure. Subjects were fifth- and sixth-grade students in an inner city elementary school. Data analysis indicates MICMC is a useful…

This review of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on the Internet focuses on empirical research in noninstitutional and nonorganizational contexts. Highlights include modes of CMC; appropriate uses; social effects; effects on language and communication; freedom of expression; community; personal impacts; privacy; ethics; democracy;…

Describes how a high school social studies teacher used an online threaded discussion forum in his classes. Describes integrating the forum into classroom practice. Notes that nearly half of the students surveyed actively used the forum, even though participation was optional; and that 73% reported that it aided their understanding of concepts…

This paper reports an exploratory study of questions about English grammar sent in by a group of Hong Kong English-as-a-Second-Language teachers to a teacher support network, "Telenex." The study examines the questions Hong Kong ESL teachers ask about the English language. (Author/JL)

Describes a video conferencing project involving distance education Masters students in Australia and Hong Kong. Highlights purpose, dialogical approach, and nature of interaction, and presents the project evaluation findings. Concludes that the project demonstrated the feasibility, viability, and effectiveness of teleconferencing as a mode of…

Surveys how a group of students in a recent computer mediated communication (CMC) course attempted to develop referencing conventions to suit their learning purposes, relying heavily on actual quotations (citations) from previous messages. Suggests that success in using referencing correlates with success in a CMC course. (Author/VWL)

Presents options that travelers can use to keep in e-mail contact. Discusses equipment/access issues related to traveling with a laptop; Internet cafes; free e-mail services; accessing home mail via a Web page; and new options e-mail access for travelers. Includes Internet resources on Internet access providers. (AEF)

Uses the perspectives of sociology and computer science to compare face-to-face (f2f) and computer-mediated communications (CMC) from the viewpoint of their respective abilities to form and sustain communities. Identifies a third type of community--a hybrid--that is based on a combination of f2f and CMC or offline and online communications. (AEF)

This article presents the services available on the Internet for creativity and discusses their applicability to electronic brainstorming. Services include bulletin boards, electronic mail and listservs, chat groups, file transfers, and remote login. Opportunities provided by the World Wide Web are discussed, along with tools available to…

Compares the traditional model of the reference interview with a new model based on online information process. Findings offer new perspectives on the reference interview process and lend support to the adoption of a new reference model which shifts its venue from a person to person process, to one in which information itself provides the platform…

Defines "plain old telephone service" (POTS) and broadband communication, comparing costs and performance of cable modems with POTS modems. Describes Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and digital subscriber line (DSL) services. Discusses broadband wireless and satellite networks. Three sidebars illustrate differences between…

Reports the results of a conference on the Internet and anonymous communication organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Discusses how anonymous communications can be shaped by the law, education, and public awareness, and highlights the importance of involving all affected interests in policy development.…