Examines recent trends that will have a significant impact on how virtual library services are designed and implemented in the future. Discusses end-user instruction; staff training and professional development; database design; the metadata movement and the Dublin Core; and changing roles of librarians and library services. (AEF)

An examination of the salient characteristics and benefits of a technology-enriched curriculum for second-language learners underscores the pivotal role technology can play in second-language teaching. The current challenge is to adequately train teachers in the effective use of such curricula. (MSE)

Focuses on technology, on advances in such areas as aeronautics, electronics, physics, the space sciences, as well as computers and the attendant progress in medicine, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Describes educational resources for elementary and middle school students, including Web sites, CD-ROMs and software, videotapes, books,…

Explores the need for teachers and students to ask critical and reflective questions concerning the mediated experiences they receive in school as part of the official curriculum. Discusses mediated experiences as representations; the nonneutrality of media and the technologies of storage and delivery; the falsity of notions surrounding the…

Analyzes the transaction logs of MAGIC, the University of Connecticut's Map and Geographic Information Center's Web accessible collection. Identifies the users of the digital collection and what information they use most. Twelve figures present statistics. (AEF)

Lists 31 useful physics-related Internet sites to help physicists who are just starting to use the Internet. The sites are also useful in teaching or to assist students in doing research. Sites have a range of sponsors including physics organizations, government agencies, universities, and corporations. (PVD)

The Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) used to create Web pages is an attractive alternative to the proprietary authoring software currently used to produce multimedia content for CD-ROMs. Discusses advantages and limitations of HTML as a nonproprietary and cross-platform CD-ROM authoring system, and the more general advantages of HTML as a data…

Outlines steps and considerations in planning a technology infrastructure for a rural school: the need for a long-term plan; the elements of a well-articulated plan; questions to consider in assessing needs and interests in selected technologies; staff development; software and equipment selection; and funding issues. Lists resources on technology…

Recently, Microsoft Corporation has become more aggressive in its attempts to sell products on college and university campuses, promising new licensing deals for colleges, free Microsoft training for computing officials, and advice on structuring university information-technology budgets. Critics are concerned that the trend will reduce…

Presents observations about developments in information technology that will influence the information industry and libraries of the future. Discusses search engine capabilities; push technology; electronic commerce; WebTV; and optical discs with links to Web sites. Ten figures provide illustrations and charts. (AEF)

Culture represents the complex of social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and personal factors that individuals use to create meaning. When these are missing from instructional materials, achievement may be imperiled. Examples of how cultural variables can be incorporated into instructional decisions are presented to illustrate the potential…

Discusses distance undergraduate education programs for paraprofessional librarians and suggests how to evaluate institutions: accreditation, academic program, communication, curriculum, and delivery methods. Highlights the AS degree in Library and Information Technology distance-education program offered by the University of Maine at Augusta.…

Describes EINS (European Information Network Services), a cooperative federation of information service providers with the objective of enlarging the information market, volume, and quality by offering scientific and technical information to members' users via the Internet. Highlights include implementation, cooperation, technology, operation, and…

Begins with a tribute to Professor G. Ram Reddy (founder of Indira Gandhi National Open University), then focuses on the challenges for India of education in the coming decades. Highlights include global problems that future generations will inherit; educational investment needs; a new group of educational clients; skills needed in the 21st…

Begins with a tribute to Professor G. Ram Reddy (founder of Indira Gandhi National Open University), then focuses on enhancing the role of open universities in providing borderless distance education. Highlights include the need for open distance-education; philosophy and vision; the distance teaching system; the role of information technology;…