Discusses one teacher's methods for familiarizing vocational education students in a business computer applications class with computers. Describes a Christmas project in which the students became Santa's elves to elementary children in the telecommunications community. Describes the project's expansion into an overseas communications service…

Between the infancy and the adulthood of online communications stand years of generational haggling between educators raised on the book and those hooked on the byte. The telecommunications infrastructure (phone lines, electronic bulletin boards, and international networks) can already help teachers bring within reach a world of people and…

Deregulation of the Australian telecommunications industry requires university managers who understand telephone system operations and maintenance and careful selection among various telecommunications options. Required are an institutional telecommunications policy and comprehensive records of the technical performance of a telecommunications…

Provides an overview of the articles in this issue that address the role of teachers and instructional technology; preservice teacher training in telecommunications; voice mail; courses using computer conferencing; and various aspects of software and courseware development and usage, including the portability of courseware to China. (LRW)

Discusses recent books and articles on the minimalist model of education, children as users of information systems, the new information superhighway in relation to schools, the future of reading and computers, and children's use of online information resources. (EAM)

Summarizes the GartnerGroup's views on issues in the information technology and telecommunications (IT&T) industry debate in Australia. Topics include attracting overseas investment to create a globally competitive industry; the government's role; perceived problems; the Internet and electronic commerce; and future issues, including…

The planning and design of educational facilities is impacted by developments in information technology and telecommunications. Potentials for improving education, the realities facing educational facilities planners, and achieving these potentials are examined. Planning principles followed by the influences educational facilities may have on…

Discusses access to the Internet and participation in global communications. Highlights include telecommunications; personal experiences with information technology; information technology and communities; the need for scholarly publication and interaction; differences from older media; and future possibilities. (LRW)

The Universal Service Fund for Schools and Libraries, or "E-Rate," is a cooperative business/government program allowing needy public schools and libraries a 20 to 90% discount on new telecommunications technologies. Schools must have technology plans, complete various forms, and contact participating vendors to determine appropriate…

Examines six instructors' experiences with computer conferencing and documents how these instructors understood computer conferencing's educative process and its relationship to themselves and their students. Findings reveal that instructors' varied personal philosophies of learning were foundational in delineating their relationship with the…

Describes the Hewlett Packard (HP) E-Mail Mentoring Program. Lists the program's four main components (teacher contacts, student participants, HP employee members, HP itself) and the application process. Relates how a library media specialist at Rosholt (Wisconsin) High School experienced the program. Concludes with the benefits of…

Explores 19 elementary and five middle school in-service teachers who served as regional leaders to provide 13 two- and four-day workshops for 235 inservice teachers using $30,000 worth of instructional equipment in their classrooms. Lead teachers believed this extensive project made a permanent positive impact on the quality and quantity of…

Describes the development of a strategic plan for information technology at Indiana University that involved, faculty, staff, and students. Discusses advanced networking and convergence; telecommunications infrastructure; advanced networking architecture for high-performance applications; and wireless networks. (LRW)

Examines ethical and policy issues confronting higher education as a result of increasing use of new information and communication technologies for online teaching and the increasing globalization of higher education institutions and constituencies. The article questions the forced options of boosterism or rejectionism, along with other…

Reports on results of Community Attitudes Toward Mentally Ill questionnaire given to undergraduates. Significant differences emerged on subscales based ranking of primary source of information about mental illness. Results do not imply causality but rather that electronic media is powerful mechanism for spreading the stigma of mental illness.…