Considers recent developments in Web-based community networks. Examines fundamental attributes and describes various types of paradigms. Presents considerations for the planning process, which address implementation, technical, budgetary, design, operational, and functional issues and concerns. (Author/AEF)

Describes a training system designed and developed by the Portuguese Welding and Quality Institute of Macau for all aspects of open learning. Highlights include the technical training of teachers, using the Internet; the Asian version; and new challenges resulting from new training technologies such as shared multimedia networks. (Author/LRW)

Argues that information technology can influence elements of the curriculum. Discusses several concerns related to the application of information technology in science education in the Arab world. Contains 27 references. (DDR)

Details the development of the Tardigrade Survey, focusing on the questions related to how to present projects. Recommends challenging high school students in ways that stimulate their interest in the investigatory approach. (DDR)

Colleges and universities are discovering that planning is the most effective way to make decisions about spending for new technology. A national survey shows fewer institutions are using one-time budget allocations, more are using a plan for amortizing costs. For state institutions, budgeting is often up to legislatures. College and university…

Examines mobile agent coordination and presents TuCSoN, a coordination model for Internet applications based on mobile information agents that uses a tuple centre, a tuple space enhanced with the capability of programming its behavior in response to communication events. Discusses the effectiveness of the TuCSoN model in the contexts of Internet…

Discusses provisions of interest to college administrators and faculty in the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, focusing on two sections: limitations on infringement liability for "service providers," and prohibitions on circumvention of technological-protection measures. Definitions and legal implications are examined, and actions…

Describes the model used to assess the cost and quality of student computing at Indiana University, Bloomington, and its application in a recent assessment. Three families of measures (quality, cost, value) are used to assess the performance of the campus system. (MSE)

Concepts from Strategic Alignment, a technology-management theory, are used to discuss the Information Commons as a new service-delivery model in academic libraries. The Information Commons, as a conceptual, physical, and instructional space, involves an organizational realignment from print to the digital environment. (Author)

A discussion of the role of new technology in university outreach efforts begins by looking at the history of the university's direct scientific and technological contributions to society, from the 1300s through the evolution of the land-grant university. The potential for another significant change in the university's institutional role in…

Investigates growth and complexity of research publications from 1972 to 1996. Evaluates status of the various geographic regions in promoting distance-education activities by means of their publication data. Findings revealed the following: the highest level of publication was in the last 10 years; environmental factors influenced growth of…

Describes findings of a report issued by the United States Department of Commerce that revealed the "digital divide" between households of different races and income levels is growing. Highlights two partnership projects offering computer training and equipment donations. (AEF)

Describes how the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (Pennsylvania), a regional consortium of six private colleges and universities, in experimenting with video conferencing and other online forms of technology-based collaboration, developed into the 101-member Community of Agile Partners in Education. This organization, by being…

Discussion of the development of distance education in Switzerland focuses on a history of the Swiss Virtual Campus and an explanation of the role of the Educational Technologies Unit of the University of Geneva (TECFA). Topics include the integration of information technologies, teacher training, and the management of metadata. Contains 35…

Reviews the resources available through the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) Web site, a consortium of the libraries of the 39 state-assisted colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. States that VIVA provides, in an equitable, cooperative, and cost-effective manner, enhanced access to library and information for these higher…