An advanced placement calculus program is described that incorporates IBM personal computers, conference telephone connections, modems that transmit computer signals over the phone lines, OPTEL graphics that allow the users to "write" on their computer screens, and a sophisticated package of calculus software used for homework…

Argues that development in distance education can be structured into three generations of technological innovation: correspondence, telecommunications, and computers. The technological innovations and resulting paradigm shifts in the delivery of distance education are analyzed through the concepts of interaction and independence. (MBR)

This paper explains the similarities and differences between electronic mail and computer conferencing, and identifies the features one should look for in a modern conferencing system. It also clarifies some related terminology. Advantages of computer conferencing are first outlined, including: time- and space- independence; text-based medium;…

This paper reports on the progress of a group of adults who have been connecting by telephone to learn to speak Deg Xinag, the language of the Deg Hit'an (Ingalik Athabaskan). The Deg Hit'an are the westernmost of the Athabaskan peoples, living near the confluence of the Yukon and Innoko Rivers in Alaska. Since Deg Xinag speakers, all elders,…

A study was undertaken to understand the role of electronic communication technologies (ECTs) in maintaining work-related communication. The study site was Sun Microsystems, a company at the high end of the curve in terms of its commitment to and employees' experience with ECTs. An electronic focus group (n=40, 4% response) and an e-mail survey…

In 1998 the Charleville School of Distance Education (SDE) in Queensland, Australia, began using telephone teaching to replace high frequency radio as its means of communicating with rural and remote students. A study investigated the extent to which telephone teaching has contributed to the development of a constructivist teaching and learning…

Carrying out argumentative discussion online has become rather common in higher education. This task is traditionally supported by asynchronous collaboration tools, but this paper suggests that also synchronous supports could be useful. This paper focuses on scaffolding the knowledge construction: the work of two student moderators jointly…

The aim of the DEDICATE (Distance Education Information Courses with Access through Networks) project, funded through the European Union, is to develop distance education courses in training for information literacy. The DEDICATE courses are based on the use of the Internet and World Wide Web; communication between participants and tutors and…

Universities and colleges have attempted to enhance education through the use of video teleconferencing. This paper reports on a videoconferencing effort between two campuses of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University using synchronous two-way audio and video equipment to allow two groups to interact. The teleconference was…

Proposes and discusses the implications for the learner-instruction relationship of "future" seminars combining the use of interactive television, teleconferencing, and personal computers, and contrasts each of the new training methods with one of today's traditional formats: classroom lecture, group discussion, and independent study or homework.…

An introduction to planning interactive health education teleconferences via satellite discusses participant recruitment, satellite transmission coordination, scheduling considerations, format design, and use of site facilitators. Teleconference training of community service providers and community leaders should combine passive delivery of…

Discusses groupware, a form of computer-mediated communication that supports interaction and cooperative work among group members regardless of location. Highlights include computer-supported cooperative work; electronic mail; computer conferences; group decision support systems; an example of a classroom groupware project with undergraduates; and…

Explores how participants in Web-based conferencing establish and maintain common ground in order to reach deeper levels of interaction in case-based Web discussions. Describes a Web-based conferencing course that included preservice teachers and mentors from three universities, and showed the need for written feedback and peer support to…

Describes how a project in Great Britain designed to promote learner independence in English-as-a-foreign-language students clarified issues regarding the need to provide guidance in any student training program. Notes how e-mail and computer conferencing were used to encourage learners to work together, independent of the tutor, to learn English.…

Describes the planning and implementation of an online writing center for adult students of SUNY Empire State College, a non-residential, independent-study distance-learning institution. Highlights informational and facilitative properties of hypertext and the need for a personalized instructor "voice." Components of the program included…