Describes legal challenges and opposition to the Communications Decency Act (CDA) provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Groups opposing the CDA provisions argue that forbidding the distribution of explicit materials over the Internet is a form of government censorship. World Wide Web sites that contain Telecommunications Act…

Presents an overview of the hardware and software required to network CD-ROMs in schools. Topics include network infrastructures, networking software, file server-based systems, CD-ROM servers, vendors of network components, workstations, network utilities, and network management. (LRW)

This paper presents a guide to help teachers learn to use the Internet, describing what the Internet is, what they will need to access the Internet, how to speak Internet, and how to connect with online services. A final section presents eight recommended Internet resources for teachers. (SM)

Over 2,000 schools in 49 states are using the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program as their Chapter 1 or learning-disabilities programs in grades 4-7. The program works consistently for a wide range of students and circumstances, relies on a state-of-the-art curriculum, and provides intensive teacher training. HOTS does not benefit…

Explains how to retrieve graphics that are available on the World Wide Web and add them to a Web page using a word processor that can save documents in an ASCII (American Standard Code Information Interchange) text format and a new version of Netscape. A list of various, unrelated Internet resources is also included. (LRW)

Audio seminars, or conference calls, have been used to facilitate reflective practice through collegial conversations for a group of teachers, administrators, and other practitioners from a seven-state region involved in a long-term staff development project. The article describes audio seminars and presents recommendations for successful…

Argues that humor can be accomplished in computer-mediated communication and can be critical to creating social meaning online. Analyzes the humor of the USENET news group rec.arts.tv.soaps (r.a.t.s.), which discusses soap operas. Combines user surveys with message analysis to show the prevalence and importance of humor in r.a.t.s. (RS)

Discusses efforts to define and simplify working with copyright law. These efforts include the Fair Access and News Media Conference, the IALL Permissions Project and Copyright FAQ. Copyright is an evolving law, with definition arising from court cases, accepted practices, and untested interpretations based on expert opinions. (CK)

As a college alumni organization designs a World Wide Web site for communication, it should consider why it is creating the site; features that will appeal to its audience; the effort it will take to keep information timely; adding to the site's value by offering useful, interesting information not available anywhere else; and touring other sites…

Describes some of the most useful gateways that can be used to access state and local government information on the Internet, including StateSearch, Council of State Governments, U.S. House of Representatives Internet Law Library, LC MARVEL, CityNet, California Home Page, and New York State Library Gopher. (LRW)

Professionalization, accreditation, and a shift in government support toward work-based skills mean that learner-centered literacy learning is in danger of being subordinated to unsatisfactory purposes in order to retain funding. (SK)

Discusses the concept of social intelligence (SI), including its history and contexts in which it may be valid; assesses SI from the perspectives of information management, information policy, and information economics; reviews tools and techniques associated with SI, including networks, hypermedia, and connectionism; and considers education and…

Describes the "Rutgers Inventory of Machine-Readable Texts in the Humanities" that provides bibliographic information through RLIN (Research Libraries Information Network) for electronic texts in the humanities. Highlights include adaptation of MARC format; access points; search strategies; and unresolved issues in the bibliographic…

Focuses primarily on design issues and practical concerns involved in creating World Wide Web documents for use within an organization. Concerns for those developing Web home pages are: learning HyperText Markup Language (HTML); defining customer group; allocating staff resources for maintenance of documents; providing feedback mechanism for…

College administrators recently appealed to students and faculty to change their computer passwords after security experts announced that tens of thousands had been stolen by computer hackers. Federal officials are investigating. Such attacks are not uncommon, but the most effective solutions are either inconvenient or cumbersome. (MSE)