This White Paper examines the components that determine effective instruction and tutoring in English spelling, based on current scientific research and experience gained in field testing while developing an innovative educational technology. Basis for the findings were repeated field studies conducted in small groups with students grade 3 and…

Sustainable development, biological diversity and conservation of tropical forests are only a few of the hot environmental and political topics where the actors involved have started to make use of the world-wide computer networks. The Internet (as a transport medium of information exchange) and the World Wide Web (as the favorite service to…

The rapid growth over the last few years of online services designed to appeal to a mass market audience in the United States encouraged many of the companies operating these services to consider launching them in Europe. This paper concentrates primarily on the European market of online services. The services fall into three categories: United…

In December 1996 UNESCO commissioned the Australian Broadcasting Authority to conduct a pilot study which considered a range of online issues; this report outlines the findings of the pilot study, based on data collected between February and May 1997 and updated in July 1997. The objective is to identify the main types of Internet content which…

It is widely accepted that scholarly journals will have to be available in digital formats; what is not settled is whether they can be much less expensive than print journals. This paper is divided into five sections, including an introduction. Section 1 highlights publishers' views on costs of electronic journals and the replacement of free…

Not intended to replace traditional style and grammar manuals, this manual digs into questions that the "Chicago Manual of Style," the "AP Guide," and "Strunk and White" do not even imagine--it aims to give the user a feel for the new language that is evolving in the digital age. The manual might be considered an…

This paper addresses online classroom and electronic library issues which include the myriad of technical difficulties encountered, along with physical and intellectual property rights. It also makes a statistical comparison of two proportions of Internet access between city and rural schools. An inescapable time lag between the introduction of…

This digest examines the practical significance for rural communities of the emerging national information infrastructure, highlights some potential pitfalls, and draws connections to rural education. During the 1980s, computers and computer networks became increasingly commonplace, and in the early 1990s, the Internet and World Wide Web emerged…

This study examines how preservice educators utilized Internet resources in an integrated thematic unit at the elementary school level. A cohort of 64 senior-level preservice elementary education students were required to use Internet resources to create lesson plans and teach integrated units during the semester. Three surveys were carried out to…

The topic of networking the learning community with home-school links is addressed in four papers: "Internet Access via School: Expectations of Students and Parents" (Roy Crotty); "The School Library as Community Information Gateway" (Megan Perry); "Rural Access to the Internet" (Ken Eustace); and "NetDay '96:…

The following four papers focus on the topic of evaluating Internet information services: "Some Evaluation Criteria To Assess Internet Information Services" (Carmel Galvin); "The Teacher Librarian's Role as Evaluator of Internet Information Services" (Pru Mitchell); "How Students Evaluate Internet Information…

This paper explores the claims of technology's ability to enhance citizen participation, with particular attention focused on the Internet. The claims are grounded within the larger context of political theory, specifically the tension between representative and direct forms of democracy. Sections of the paper are: Introduction; "What's Wrong with…

On-line learning presents significant new challenges for faculty, students, and the colleges and universities where they teach and learn. The overriding challenge for all parties is to ensure that technology is used to enhance, not degrade teaching and learning. DePaul University, Illinois, which grew from two to six campuses, expanded the role of…

A study was conducted to determine how the information highway affects today's children and to develop a set of national children's goals and an action plan for achieving them. The study's methodology included a review of relevant child development and telecommunications literature, identification of model programs, analysis of experiences with…

An intensive college English Literature course provided a special learning opportunity through its innovative reading and writing assignments. From the beginning, students learned by individually selecting, finding, and reading texts and writing descriptive reports intended for class sharing and interaction. The final project involved a formal…