This early look at the E-Rate is part of a new initiative, funded by the Department of Education, and is based on an analysis of E-Rate administrative records covering the first two years of program operation, that were linked to detailed national data on all public and private schools and libraries in the U.S. Key findings indicate that public…

Educational researchers have employed various self-efficacy instruments in a wide spectrum of disciplines and academic settings. However, self-efficacy measures specific to the online environment have not been developed yet. This paper provides a brief history of the online environment and discusses the development and validation of an instrument…

The Northwest Regional Literacy Resource Center worked in cooperation with the Northwest Educational Technology Consortium and the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory to learn how best to use a variety of technology-based resources to complement literacy instruction for English-as-a-Second-Language adults. This document comprises a…

This document contains 59 papers presented at a conference in England on approaches to lifelong learning and higher education through the Internet. Representative papers include the following: "The University of the Highlands and Islands Project: A Model for Networked Learning?" (Veronica Adamson, Jane Plenderleith); "The Costs of…

This guide on technology gives parents and community members an understanding of how information technology is an essential part of children's education in Vermont's schools. The first section provides an overview of technology, including: using technology to collect, share, and analyze information in ways that were impossible ten years ago:…

This paper, which focuses on technology planning by community colleges, is part of a series published by the Center for Community College Policy, designed to support state and local policymakers, as well as educational leaders who are interested in policy issues related to the two-year postsecondary sector. State policymaker's enthusiasm for…

This CD-ROM is designed to help school leaders recognize, promote, and evaluate effective technology use in their schools. The CD-ROM is divided into the following seven program areas: (1) "You're the Leader" helps administrators examine their roles as technology leaders and identify barriers to integrating technology into their schools,…

This study sought to determine whether kindergarten students in a "twenty-first century classroom" would have a greater gain in concept age than students in a traditional kindergarten classroom. Subjects were students, randomly assigned, in two kindergarten classrooms. The twenty-first century classroom incorporates five computers into the…

Inquiry is an essential component of science. Furthermore, what students learn and how they engage in inquiry supported by technology is important to understand in order to promote science education reform. This paper presents an overview of work in curriculum and technology development and professional development. Collaboration with the Detroit…

This document represents a major component of Nevada's Truckee Meadows Community College (TMCC) strategic planning activities and elaborates on the technology functions found in the college strategic plan. Information resources at TMCC are grouped into five areas: (1) administrative computing, the area of information processing that supports the…

The purpose of this paper is to promote and improve needs assessment in distance education through the exploration of eight questions: (1) what is a needs assessment?; (2) how are needs assessments related to successful distance education?; (3) where have needs assessments been used in distance education?; (4) which approach to needs assessment…

This report focuses on one technology initiative, the Technology Literacy Challenge Fund (TLCF), and on five states as they attempted to implement the program in the first year of funding, 1997-98. The five states selected--Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, and Washington--varied in their location, size, minority population, poverty…

This publication presents key findings from the New York City Teacher Survey, which examined teachers' perceptions regarding their professional preparation, how their perceptions differed according to type of preparation they received, and whether perceptions differed from those of a national sample of teachers and from a sample of teachers who…

In an effort to increase access to education and set up a comprehensive qualification framework, Hong Kong's Education Commission made key recommendations to the government in May 2000. Those recommendations included the development of a diversified, multi-channel, multi-layer higher education system. Three of Hong Kong's higher education…

This digest examines how technology can support multicultural education. Multicultural education represents an approach to education and the teaching-learning process that is grounded in the democratic ideals of justice and equality. Five critical dimensions of multicultural education are: content integration, knowledge construction, prejudice…