Recent developments in multimedia and hypermedia have simplified the creation of high-quality presentations so that they are becoming a viable instructional option for both teachers and students. One potential use of integrated media technology is in student-created programs. To demonstrate this point, novice student programmers, who used simple…

This document provides a portfolio of resources for educators involved in rural school improvement. The Federal Interagency Committee on Education developed a national research and development (R&D) agenda for rural education that focuses on six themes: rural school effectiveness, curricular provisions, school-community partnerships, human…

This reference guide provides Alberta (Canada) teachers of French as a Second Language with instructional ideas and teaching methods. The guide outlines features of Alberta's new French curriculum, describes pedagogical principles behind the program's philosophy, and proposes a methodology for instructional planning consistent with the curriculum.…

In the past, environmental scanning reports produced by Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Ohio were designed to provide a brief, eclectic, and provocative overview of major trends and issues likely to influence the development of the institution during the upcoming fiscal year. The 1993 Environmental Scan report speculates about long-term…

The Renaissance Group, a consortium of 19 universities, was created in 1989 to improve the education of teachers and to facilitate efforts to reform teacher education nationally. One of the group's first priorities has been to analyze the growth of several largely environmental conditions such as the changing structure of the American family and…

Issues in collecting data on the classroom performance of teachers are discussed, with a focus on written descriptions of teacher behavior in contrast with videotaped observations. The central issue in this comparison is the comparability of the information when it is observed live and when it is simply recorded on videotape. The fundamental…

Although the work of Celestin Freinet has exerted considerable influence on European education, it remains largely unknown to English-speaking educators. The Modern School Movement (MSM), which Freinet founded in 1926, is worldwide in scope, and has affiliated organizations in 13 countries with correspondent groups in more than 20 nations. The MSM…

In the context of the modern global society and economy, foreign language instruction is placing more emphasis on students' cross-cultural understanding and on using language to develop students' communication skills. These goals are evidenced by the current interest in Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum (FLAC) courses, which teach languages…

The purpose of this packet is to assist school districts and other agencies in establishing a technology education program based on the computer mentor model. An "Executive Overview" is provided, along with the "Computer Mentoring Course Guide" and "Computer Mentoring: A Case Book." The Computer Mentor program was…

This paper describes a cybercourse model that was designed and created by infusing the following four beneficial telecomputing activities into a World Wide Web-based learning system: collaborative learning; demonstration; interactive discussion; and problem solving. Differences between the regular Web-based distance learning system and the…

This theme issue includes five articles that focus on technology for education to benefit all students, including limited-English-proficient, minority, economically disadvantaged, and at-risk students. "Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program Students Meet Peers Via Video Conference" (Linda Cantu, Leticia Lopez-De La Garza) describes how at-risk…

The overall theme of this book is the relationships between government and organizational policies and the work of practitioners in open and distance learning. The book explores a selection of international examples, many of which concern the use of new technologies for opening education. The contributors, many of whom are recognized experts,…

This paper describes a system called ANDES, designed for the management and delivery of distance education courses. ANDES enables students to study at home at their own pace, as well as interact with instructors and other students in virtual classrooms. It uses World Wide Web technology for transmission and delivery, with extensions relevant to…

LearnShare is a consortium of non-competing companies that share training expertise and innovative practices. Evolving the concept of a collaborative approach to training, LearnShare combines the best training practices and programs of the partners with leading-edge distance learning technology. The result provides LearnShare members electronic…

This paper presents the results of an experiment using videoconferencing in a distance graduate course in the Computer Science Department at the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). The purpose of the experiment was to test two videoconference technologies that are widely used on the Internet, Cu-SeeMe and Real technology, and to assess…