Describes the role of South Dakota's governor in initiating technology plans for schools that would promote distance education. Discusses a conclave of leaders in technology and distance education that addressed the successful implementation of the Digital Dakota Network, a statewide intranet developed to help students, empower the workforce, and…

The growing importance of multiple-income strategies in the changing rural Appalachian economy is discussed via a case study of a network of female home-based machine-knitters. Social networks are an important part of the knitters' recruitment and training process, promote leadership development, and help overcome some of women's economic…

Thirty students with learning disabilities (LD) in inclusive third-to fifth-grade classrooms and 60 educators were interviewed regarding social support at school. While students with LD felt part of a social network, many reported socially related loneliness. Results indicate a discrepancy between students' and teachers' choices of preferred…

This study implements a networked peer assessment system based on the use of a Vee heuristic. Students submit their homework via the underlying network, then assess each other's homework by offering suggestions through the network. Preliminary results revealed that the networked peer assessment model and Vee heuristic facilitated pre-service…

The Internet's effects are spreading. Schools are purchasing computer programs, assisted by state, federal, and corporate grants. K-12 schools spent nearly $7 billion on instructional technology in 2000. The digital divide is narrowing; Generation I kids have greater computer access at home and at school. In a sidebar, Sandra Feldman urges…

Reports on a survey of middle and high schools in eastern North Carolina's Clinical Schools Network that examined the current status of computer networking and how the role of school media specialist is being affected. Results are reported related to perceived instructional needs and network problems, as well as proposed instructional and…

Presents security procedures for protecting a library's computer system from potential threats by patrons or personnel, and describes how security can be breached. A sidebar identifies four areas of concern in security management: the hardware, the operating system, the network, and the user interface. A selected bibliography of sources on…

Overload and fragmentation combine to reduce educators' motivation for working on reform. Since educational change is essentially nonlinear, existing school cultures and structures are antithetically opposed to systemic reform activities, including networking. The lesson of systemic reform is to adopt strategies that mobilize large numbers of…

Reviews the literature on Internet information policy: an awareness of new policy issues, attempts to apply existing legal regulations to new processes, and the need for new policies for the Net. Explores policy issues that affect the structure of government, the economy, society, designers of the Net, and international issues. Contains 658…

Describes a three-year project designed around a model that extends the traditional student teaching practices by using electronic networks. The model brings together university coordinators, student teacher supervisors, school district teachers, and public school students. The discussion centers on three factors impacting the quality and…

The technology team in a suburban Cleveland (Ohio) school district saved thousands with do-it-yourself wiring work in four schools and the district office and kindergarten building. Classrooms, labs, and libraries have been wired, and selected areas in each facility are now being connected to the Internet. (MLF)

Examines the effectiveness of four Web-based search engines--Alta Visa, infoseek, Lycos, and Open Text--from users' perspectives. Results show that although Lycos has the best relevance ranking performance and highest precision ratio, Alta Vista has the best connectivity, highest user satisfaction ratios for precision and three components of…

Discusses the use of networked technologies to add value to the learning experience during vocational placements of undergraduate students. Presents a case study showing the design and implementation of such networked support, and concludes that networked technologies such as audio conferencing and Web-based support have definite advantages for…

Principals should consider redirecting school counselors' responsibilities to include directing safe-school teams; establishing networks to identify at-risk students and violent behavior signs; developing conflict-resolution activities; assessing and counseling misbehaving students; devising crisis- management plans; and helping staff predict and…

Explores the emergence and evolution of nongovernmental organizational forms and actors engaged in transnational advocacy in the field of education. Focuses on the genesis of a nongovernmentally sponsored Global Campaign for Education and its efforts to shape the World Forum on Education in Dakar and the future of Education for All activities of…