Teacher-directed content, immovable subject divisions, and rigid scope and sequences perpetuate mismatch between middle school curricula and young adolescents' needs. Teachers at one Florida middle school are experimenting with Coalition of Essential Schools processes such as backward curriculum design and units of joy. Curriculum becomes an open…

Argues that there is a need to develop dynamic systems for structuring data to create information access and for allowing users to incorporate that information into their own knowledge base. Describes a system built on a simple, powerful content model. (DDR)

Summarizes the GartnerGroup's views on issues in the information technology and telecommunications (IT&T) industry debate in Australia. Topics include attracting overseas investment to create a globally competitive industry; the government's role; perceived problems; the Internet and electronic commerce; and future issues, including…

Technology is a tool that can support good teaching and well-managed schools. To assure taxpayers and parents that investments in educational technology are worthwhile, schools can emphasize access, focus on teaching, link it to reform, encourage research, and plan for the future. Lists Web sites for finding information about the effectiveness of…

The planning and design of educational facilities is impacted by developments in information technology and telecommunications. Potentials for improving education, the realities facing educational facilities planners, and achieving these potentials are examined. Planning principles followed by the influences educational facilities may have on…

The most critical challenge for higher education institutions in the near future will be to develop capacity for change, remove constraints to rapid response, remove unnecessary processes and administrative structures, question existing premises and arrangements, and challenge, excite, and empower all members of the academic community. (MSE)

Potential problems for college and university computing functions posed by arrival of the year 2000 (Y2K) are discussed, including arithmetic calculations and sorting functions based on two-digit year dates, embedding of two-digit dates in archival data, system coordination for data exchange, unique number generation, and leap year calculations. A…

A review of 19 university libraries in 12 African countries compared the benefits and drawbacks of information technology (IT), concluding that IT will not reduce the need for books and journals and that IT's biggest potential is in increasing intra-Africa communication and providing links to the outside world. (PEN)

Many historically black colleges and universities have developed several projects to improve technology on campus and promote its use. Some see it as a key to institutional survival. Projects emphasize training students and faculty in computer use, making joint purchases, sharing on-line instructional experiences, and seeking grants to install…

Discusses access to the Internet and participation in global communications. Highlights include telecommunications; personal experiences with information technology; information technology and communities; the need for scholarly publication and interaction; differences from older media; and future possibilities. (LRW)

Presents case studies on information ecology. Includes a chapter on librarians as "keystone species" in that they are very critical to the functioning of the ecology. Discusses the massive amounts of information available on the Internet and the role of librarians. Cites the need for Librarians to be more proactive in their local…

Describes the New York State Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Clearinghouse that is run by the New York State Library and discusses hands-on GIS technology used as an enhancement to its reference services. Topics include community building, in-house projects, library database development, outreach, and the future of GIS reference. (LRW)

Offers guidelines for integrating technology-enhanced education into the curricula: (1) support faculty and administration in developing technology-enhanced education; (2) identify information technology skills that graduates will need; (3) assist in planning support systems; (4) work with stakeholders to develop realistic estimates of needed…

Discusses information literacy and information-technology literacy, focusing on the responsibility of academic libraries to impart necessary skills. A sidebar by Kimberley M. Donnely "Learning from the Teaching Libraries" gives examples of four models of information-literacy development by colleges and universities. (AEF)

Describes a project developed in Portugal to create a virtual enterprise that associates small, rural enterprises and allows the formulation of competitive strategies based on information technology. Highlights include entering a global market, use of the Internet, communication networks, motivations, and an implementation model for setting up an…