This book is designed to give teachers ideas about how to effectively integrate the Internet into the classroom, based on teaching practices throughout the world. The book is organized three sections. The first section provides an introduction to Internet use and applications. Chapters include the potential of the Internet to support learning,…

The Video Instructional Development and Educational Opportunity (VIDEO) Program encourages all public educational institutions in Missouri to supplement educational opportunities through the use of telecommunications technology, including instructional television programming and satellite broadcast instruction. Three subprograms within the VIDEO…

Prepared by the manager of a virtual reality (VR) laboratory at North Carolina's Haywood Community College, the three papers collected in this document are designed to help instructors incorporate VR into their classes. The first paper reviews the characteristics of VR, defining it as a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional…

This paper describes current efforts to collect data on classroom instructional processes and to recommend ways to advance those efforts. The paper begins with a review of current survey methods for gathering such data; it continues with an evaluation of their appropriateness for use in the Teacher Followup Survey (TFS) (Schools and Staffing…

This report by 27 college and university presidents stresses the primacy of efforts to provide full and equal access to institutions of higher education, especially land grant institutions, and to the full range of programs and services they provide. Three challenges are identified in increasing access. First, price, although public university…

This paper describes the development, design, and implementation of an educational multimedia program. The program, "Jungle Quest," combined HyperStudio and word study in a game for classroom use. Methods for word study provide a carefully sequenced teaching of phonics, vocabulary, and spelling following children's natural stages of…

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 called for the U.S. Department of Education to prepare an Annual Performance Plan which links the Department's budget request with its Strategic Plan. To meet that directive, Volume 1 of the Department's Strategic Plan for 1999 is presented here. It includes objective performance plans and shows…

In 1996, Tennessee became the first state to connect every public school to the Internet via a single network, ConnecTEN. This case study examines the staff development opportunities made available to teachers for training in the use of computer-based technology, focusing on teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the training and their…

This collection of articles on distance learning reflects the perspectives and concerns of the learner and the facilitator of learning in distance education setting. Eight chapters are included: (1) "The Evolution and Advantages of Distance Education" (John E. Cantelon) traces the history of distance education and demonstrates how it transcends…

This document consists of one volume year (four quarterly issues) of the journal "Telecommunications in Education News." Each issue contains a call for articles and three regular columns: "Editor's Message" (Trevor Owen), "President's Message" (Chuck Lynd), and "NewsBits" (Gleason Sackman, Ed.). Article…

Research on the use of computers and other educational technology with young children has become increasingly sophisticated as their use has increased in early childhood educational settings. This paper reviews the research on computers and social interaction, teaching with computers, and curriculum and computers. The review finds that computers…

This paper critiques the notion that technology can solve the problems of rural schools. The critique begins with the recognition that the United States is an economic empire, that technology is the instrument of empire, and that national objectives for education are concerned with promoting economic competitiveness. While rural places are…

This study describes a program designed to increase student background knowledge in order to improve reading comprehension. The targeted first grade class is located in a Midwest, middle class, metropolitan community. More than half of the school's population is identified as low-income. Evidence for the existence of the problem was obtained…

This survey was designed to acquire information on the opinions of college employees regarding various institutional departments. The questionnaire used both Likert-type and open-ended questions, with six response choices ranging on a scale from 1 to 5, from very dissatisfied to very satisfied to no opinion. Of the 640 questionnaires distributed…

This document contains the Conference Agenda, followed by highlights from 42 Spotlight School systems across the country. The schools briefly share their experiences, evaluation techniques, and tell their success stories about the positive impacts technology is having on teaching and learning. Conference research materials are then presented.…