Discusses the current status and potential for automated library reference services in the areas of community information systems, online catalogs, remote online reference services, and telephone reference services. Several models of the reference procedure which might be used in developing expert systems are examined. (19 references) (CLB)

Considers ways in which telecommunications can ameliorate the staffing crises of small colleges. Describes West Virginia Northern Community College's efforts to serve remote instructional sites using an interactive telecommunications system. Reviews the college's problem, the design and installation of equipment, and selection and training of…

Discusses the inappropriate and inefficient uses of new technologies in education, recent trends creating a pressure for educational change, and barriers preventing such change. Provides specifications for a new technologically enhanced learning system allowing individualized instruction and evaluation, curriculum network development, and…

Describes satellite-delivered education for isolated learners, in which students interact with both teacher and fellow students using voice, video, and data. Reports that students were highly motivated to write a teleplay and poetry collaboratively and that the burden of distance education was eased for parent, teacher, and learner. (RS)

Outlines recent developments in educational technology, benefits derived from incorporating these developments into the educational process, and barriers that are frequently encountered in attempts to implement technological advancements. The discussion covers two model programs currently in place, one using audio telecommunications and the other…

Reviews the effects of the first stage of the Better Elementary Science Teaching Project to overcome teacher isolation and help staff development. Describes the participants and features of the project. Reports the results of using telecommunication and academic achievements. Discusses implications for the project. (YP)

Describes an interactive television network utilizing two-way audio and video. Notes a local cable television company donated three forward and three return channels to the project. Indicates students and teachers at different high school locations were able to see and hear each other. (MVL)

The study, involving 48 hearing-impaired (HI) students, found that HI middle school students using microcomputers to telecommunicate with other hearing-impaired students tended to outperform (in language skills) HI students telecommunicating with normal hearing peers and HI control group students receiving microcomputer instruction without…

Discusses the need to reassess the objectives of online public access catalogs and how those objectives might be met before costly investments are made in electronic versions of "other data" for online catalogs. Several objectives are outlined and their feasibility in the modern telecommunications environment is examined. (two references) (CLB)

These two articles explore the arguments for and against the liberalization of natural monopolies in general and the privatization of the telecommunications industry in particular. The discussion covers the reasons for and consequences of deregulation of telecommunications in the United States, United Kingdom, and other Western European countries.…

Discusses Canada's Public Advisory Council on Information Highway Policy (PACIHP) project, including attempts to involve the online community in policy making, the techniques used, the response, and the impact; and the Canadian regulatory and political environment. Thoughts are presented on the future of computer mediated communication and its…

Presents a practical guide to use of the Internet. Topics discussed include getting connected; the UNIX operating system; electronic mail; FTP (File Transfer Protocol); Finger; Telnet; Archie; Veronica; Gopher; teacher education; the Yanoff List; and expansion of the Internet. (three references) (LRW)

Discusses problems in access to journals and conference proceedings published in Third World countries, including government roles, the lack of use of information networks due to costs, serials agents' roles, poor distribution and marketing, poor bibliographic control, postal service and telecommunications, language barriers, and lack of…

Describes the use of ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks) in homes, home offices, and offices as a way of transmitting data in audio and video form. Explains how ISDN works and reviews computer equipment needed to change existing telephone service into ISDN service. A chart presents product information for ISDN modems. (JMV)

Discussion of the role of new computer communications technologies in education focuses on modern networking systems, including fiber distributed data interface and Integrated Services Digital Network; strategies for implementing networked-based communication; and public online information resources for the classroom, including Bitnet, Internet,…