Describes the innovations in general and distance education at Pennsylvania State University in an effort to bind the goals of general education, to those of distance learning. Asserts that one emerging role of general education is to create the skills needed for effective citizenship in a global, information-rich society. (VWC)

An instructor taking an online course presents her view from the perspective of student. Discussion includes assuring the online course was acceptable for traditional course transfer credit; registering; e-mailing assignments while the Web conferencing system was down; class demographics; the backlog that occurred from not checking the system…

The Education Network of Maine, the distance education arm of the University of Maine, delivers courses over an interactive television system, and has begun offering courses using the Web, videotapes, and other modes. Evaluations reveal that students have been satisfied with: logistics of courses offered, professors, and technology. An area of…

Focuses on the several levels of questions that need to be considered before planning and implementing a distance education program. Discusses systems procedures to be followed in developing pilot lessons (modules) prior to "rapid prototyping." Concludes by providing a generic research plan for ensuring the development of sustained quality…

Describes a website designed to allow students to publish their own accounts of school science investigations they have carried out. Makes suggestions for initiating computer-mediated student discussions of the nature of science based on information contained in the website. (WRM)

Presents an excerpt from "Network Science, A Decade Later: The Internet and Classroom Learning", a publication based on four years of research that examines the role of technology in fostering inquiry-based approaches to learning. (Author/NB)

Analyzes perceptions and attitudes of a two-way video tele-educational system between on-site students and remote-site students in elementary schools in a rural area of Korea. Concludes that instructional design and strategies should be approached separately to accommodate the different interactions involved in on-site and distance education. (AEF)

Addresses the effects of an after-school computer club network, the Fifth Dimension, on children's computer knowledge development. Compares Fifth Dimension novices and "experts" who had attended several times previously. Concludes that despite the absence of formal instruction, children's knowledge about computers is enhanced. (AEF)

Discussion of the linguistic character of electronic mail (e-mail) looks at technology's role in shaping spoken and written usage, the growth of e-mail as a new communication genre, and formal linguistic properties of e-mail. Proposes a model of e-mail as a creolizing linguistic modality, analogous to pidginization and creolization processes well…

Provides an overview of the services offered by Texas A&M University's Sterling C. Evans Library via the World Wide Web. Included are public relations, instruction, searching capabilities, enhanced communications, and exhibit options. Future applications of the Web in academic libraries are also addressed. (AEF)

ComWeb is an analog/digital hybrid computer network providing communication between students and teachers directed from the teacher's workstation that can be adapted for deaf and hard of hearing students in a mainstream environment. This article describes the implementation of a ComWeb-based class in computer literacy classroom and compares…

Provides some cursory guidance on the mechanics of establishing and instructing in a virtual classroom. Briefly discusses the history and central issues of distance education, describes how to teach an online virtual seminar, and offers recommendations for future courses. Discusses such issues as instructor availability, directing discussions,…

Discusses the recent plethora of Web sites that are sponsored by racist organizations in Canada. The Canadian Human Rights Commission is exploring whether they have jurisdiction over some of these activities according to the Canadian Human Rights Act. Briefly profiles some of the groups and their activities. (MJP)

Explores new forms of publication that are gaining wider use in scholarly communities, including on-line journals, listservs and other on-line discussion groups, and self-publishing. Discusses how these are influencing the kinds of scholarship taking place in on-line contexts and how they raise new questions about criteria used for academic…

Describes the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations (ICONS) Project that teachers college students about cross-cultural communication, including the role of foreign language in diplomacy and the complexities of the international system. Discusses the role playing element, Web-based communication between teams, active student…