Describes the Internet component of an undergraduate course at St. Xavier University (Illinois) in which a librarian helps mass communications students survey state-of-the-art technologies and predict future possibilities. Active learning techniques are discussed and examples of class exercises and the final assignment are included. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the development of a national information superhighway. Highlights include the National Information Infrastructure; NREN (National Research and Education Network); private networks, including Prodigy; repositioning in the telecommunications industry, including telephone, cable, and entertainment companies; government regulations;…

Provides an overview of the importance of user-based evaluations of networked information services; reviews data collection techniques that provide a user perspective when assessing networked information services, including focus groups, user logs, interviews, observation, and surveys; and offers practical suggestions and guidelines for using such…

Presents selected results from an empirical investigation into the use of computer networks in aerospace engineering based on data from a national mail survey. The need for user-based studies of electronic networking is discussed, and a copy of the questionnaire used in the survey is appended. (Contains 46 references.) (LRW)

Discusses the availability of virtual communities on the Internet. Stresses that there are online environments for nearly everyone, and offers advice for those designing new communities by relating experiences from the development of the specialized MediaMOO, a multiuser dungeon. Discusses restricting access, shaping development of the community,…

Describes how some K-12 teachers became moderators of educational telecommunication projects, and presents results of a survey of 100 moderators about their roles. Reviews types of networks that provide online learning environments: electronic bulletin boards, Internet lists, World Wide Web, and networks. Tables list expressions that describe…

Three articles focus on many classroom activities and experiments inspired by the voyage of two canoes, built of traditional materials, from Hawaii's Hilo Harbor in 1995. Nationwide, students followed daily satellite tracking, accessed the Internet for updated accounts of the canoes, talked directly with navigators, and watched television…

Describes projects in schools using innovative educational technology. These programs include an interactive television and computer network; an initiative to use the Internet in rural areas; a telecommunications network to share information throughout Tennessee; and an announcement of the Marlowe Froke National Award for Leadership in Educational…

Describes a beginning Internet course at Mankato State University (Minnesota) designed for preservice and inservice school library media professionals and students. The course addresses the following topics: electronic mail; LISTSERVs; news services; gophering; FTP; and telneting. Other skills such as downloading and locating resources are also…

Lists resources useful for school library media specialists and other individual users of the Internet as well as some that can be used to teach others. Titles include background and philosophical contexts, journals, network access and service providers, ERIC resources, fiction, videos, textbooks, and the U.S. Department of Education Online…

Describes how innovations in educational technology contribute to motivation and achievement in the Berkshire Union Free School District (New York), a public school for at-risk students. Highlights include classroom presentation stations, examples of student multimedia projects, and state and federal recognition for the school. A list of producers…

Describes the Gopher system developed at the University of Minnesota for accessing information on the Internet. Highlights include the need for navigation tools; Gopher clients; FTP (File Transfer Protocol); campuswide information systems; navigational enhancements; privacy and security issues; electronic publishing; multimedia; and future…

As higher education institutions plan for the future, common agreement to build open distributed computing environments (DCE) using common standards such as those of the Open Software Foundation can help exploit new application design approaches that promote application sharing, a more efficient way of meeting upcoming challenges. (MSE)

Strategies at several private and public colleges and universities to support advancing information technology are described. Trends include distributed computing, database connectivity, and increased computer use in teaching. Common instructional concerns include facilitating use of technology and developing "supertech" classrooms.…

The Harvard University (Massachusetts) central computing and development offices collaborated to develop a prototype client/server fund-raising system that allows personnel to easily and quickly access and share prospect information. Its successful development is attributed to use of some traditional project management principles and practices.…