This document contains all of the articles from an "Education Week" special report examining technology's role in bringing schools and homes closer together. Articles include: (1) "Homeward Bound" (Peter West), about one of the nation's first "virtual teachers" and the effect of the changing dynamics of the…

This set of proceedings assembles papers presented at the 1995 Council for Higher Education Computing Services (CHECS) conference, held at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico. CHECS members are higher education computing services organizations within the state of New Mexico. The main focus of the conference was the Internet…

The Systems and Procedures Exchange Center (SPEC) surveyed Association of Research Libraries (ARL) institutions to measure the degree of electronic resource sharing in ARL libraries; to discover which resources are being shared and between what kinds of institutions; and what documentation is available. Of the 119 ARL institutions surveyed, 53…

The 12 papers in this volume explore the development of electronic texts in the humanities and describe the possible roles for libraries as electronic books take the place of printed ones. The diverse perspectives of librarians, publishers, system administrators, scholars, readers, and writers are brought into conjunction, and a number of…

This study examined the efficacy of a class discussion conducted by listserv which was used instead of classroom meetings for a graduate seminar. Research focused on whether this mode of communication was successful for the purpose of the course, and how this mode of communication could be improved as a means for replacing or supplementing…

This paper presents tips for educators to integrate and facilitate virtual learning teams within online courses. The techniques are grounded in current research and theoretical foundations of systems theory and group dynamics. Tips emphasize facilitation of virtual learning teams, assembled for the purpose of formal education and supported by…

This descriptive study examined the meaning of student responses to computer-mediated communication in a distance learning setting. The theoretical framework of the study was based on social and collaborative learning theories within a constructivist perspective. Participants were 13 studio and 24 off-site students enrolled in a distance learning…

This book is organized in three parts that address the following broad topics related to educational computing: discursive practices, i.e., who speaks of educational computing and how (chapters 1-4); classroom practices (chapters 5-6); and democratic possibilities, i.e., the constructive potential of the technology (chapters 7-9). Following an…

This paper discusses problems confronting the use of group-based project work as an instructional strategy in higher education, and describes two technical courses (i.e., courses in online learning and applications of business information technology) at the University of Twente (Netherlands) in which course-specific World Wide Web environments are…

This paper describes a World Wide Web-based introductory course titled "Hypermedia Structures and Systems," offered as an optional part of the curriculum in computing science at the Eindhoven University of Technology (Netherlands). The technical environment for the current (1996) edition of the course is presented, which features…

This paper presents a set of guidelines for the design of computer-supported distance multimedia that enables collaborative distance learning. The first section provides an overview of distance learning and discusses teacher and student roles in a collaborative distance learning environment. Conditions for effective collaborative learning are…

In 1996, the Tennessee Department of Education collaborated with Appalachia Educational Laboratory to conduct research on the use of the Internet as a tool for instruction in Tennessee K-12 schools, focusing on ways in which experienced teachers use the Internet to enhance students' intellectual development. This study explored the following…

While Online Learning Environments (OLEs) can potentially support learning that is more autonomous and authentic in nature than traditional instructional environments often allow, students do not always use OLEs in the ways expected or desired by their tutors. This paper examines the findings of a recent evaluation of an OLE designed for…

The purpose of this study was to examine the potential of asynchronous discussion forums (ADFs) as a medium to facilitate reflective thinking among preservice teachers. Of particular interest was the extent and manner in which this potential varies with respect to (a) the structure of the ADF, (b) the focus of the ADF, and (c) group dynamics.…

The case study evaluated a distance education program offered by a land-grant university agricultural college. The study used Holmberg's and Moore's theoretical frameworks of didactic conversation and multiple interactions to determine the importance of interaction on the efficacy of distance learning. The mixed methods approach used an original…