This paper describes the characteristics of "smart schools" and offers guidelines for developing such schools. Smart schools are defined as having three features: (1) they are computer networked via local area networks in order to share information through teleconferencing, databases, and electronic mail; (2) they are connected beyond…

This testimony discusses ways in which some federal government agencies use technology to provide the public with cheaper, faster access to a wider range of information which can be searched and manipulated in ways never possible on the printed page. Technologies included in the discussion are compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM), electronic…

This paper takes the position that the completion of the Internal Market Programme of the European Community will require free movement of persons, goods, capital, and services, which, in turn, will require a service infrastructure that enables fast and reliable flows between the Member States. The paper begins by explaining the rationale and…

Intended to suggest ways of implementing the potential of NovaNet beyond its current applications, this report begins with an overview of current educational applications of telecommunications systems. It is noted that NovaNET is not only a successful computer system for presenting instructional courseware, but that it also supports…

This paper posits that exploration of and judgment about distance learning at this point in time require the examination of three interrelated topics: (1) What new forms and images for school have been created and tried? (2) What issues arise as experiments in distance learning are developed and maintained? and (3) What is the effect of these…

Many colleges and universities are undergoing cultural changes as a result of extensive voice, data, and video networking. Local area networks link large portions of most campuses, and national networks have evolved from specialized services for researchers in computer-related disciplines to general utilities on many campuses. Campuswide systems…

Growing from a 1988 conference on educational technology, the Ocotillo Action/Research Groups of the Maricopa Community Colleges in Tempe (Arizona) have continued to explore ways of enhancing and developing the use of instructional technologies in the community colleges. This report presents the following annual reports of the groups, which…

This report analyzes the implications of computerized medical information and the challenges it brings to individual privacy. The report examines the nature of the privacy interest in health care information and the current state of the law protecting that information; the nature of proposals to computerize health care information and the…

This booklet provides a basic introduction to the application of electronic telecommunications networks to the challenge of meeting the nation's education goals. Topics covered include telecommunications networks; the Internet; the Network Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and network technology, including SPEEDE/ExPRESS (Standardization of…

The increasing presence of electronic materials, databases, and networks in society's institutions raises a number of new questions related to copyrighted and intellectual property in cyberspace environments (e.g., How will the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law and practice be extended to electronic situations?). Such questions have…

Formerly reserved for use by scientists, researchers, and computer buffs, computer networks now have capabilities that make them extremely useful to science teachers and their classes. This digest is designed to provide educators with some basic background on computer communications and to provide a few examples of computer networks that are…

This document consists of the final report and executive summary of a distance education technology study conducted on behalf of the Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (WECB) during 1992-93 in order to provide information to assist the educational institutions of the state in formulating strategic directions for the development of distance…

Microcomputer-based laboratories (MBLs) are believed to have significant potential for improving laboratory experiences in science classrooms. A study funded through a grant project called STEPS to Better Science sought to broaden the knowledge base by examining MBL use by teachers and students in a variety of science classrooms in six high…

Part of the always-changing field of microcomputers is the growing use of electronic mail/message systems (EMMS), a general term for describing the transmission of messages using computers and telecommunications facilities. As a result of these advances, it is possible for administrators, teachers, staff, and students to have immediate access to…

This membership meeting of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) opened with an overview of the challenges facing research libraries and the relationships between the three U.S. national libraries and the members of ARL by Sidney Verba of Harvard University. The directors of the national libraries then spoke on their current programs and…