Reports mixed evidence regarding the success of charter schools after 10 years, especially on the issue of academic achievement. Includes brief summaries of four recent studies on charter schools. Describes growth of for- profit and online charter schools. (PKP)

Discusses changing traditional higher education courses to a Web-based environment, focusing on faculty workload, and describes the development of online courses at Ohio University by a cohort of faculty from the College of Education and College of Music. Highlights include technical problems; instructional design; and psychological concerns of…

Proposes that literature may be a valuable tool in adapting teaching methods to the online environment, particularly developing experiential exercises, and in helping students become better international managers by building communication skills, team building skills, and contextual understanding of cultural diversity issues. Includes an example…

Observes the use of educational technology in four middle-school classes at the Ameritech Electronic University School Classroom located on the campus of Kent State University. Draws implications for the effective use of educational technology (both hardware and software) in the classroom. (PKP)

Describes development and implications for public schools of cyber (online) charter schools such as Ohio's Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow (eCOT). (PKP)

Business faculty (n=138) rated the effectiveness of 20 teaching methods. More participatory methods (internships, one-on-one, live cases) scored highest. Computer-based methods were rated lower. Web-based methods that included more interaction received higher scores than less-interactive computer methods. (Contains 27 references.) (SK)

Online refresher courses were designed for geographically isolated nurses returning to work. Course design incorporated principles of effective distance education: humanizing the learning environment, engaging participants, using the right message, and eliciting feedback. Issues of technical support, testing, and faculty preparation had to be…

Selected nursing courses offered in both traditional (36 students) and online (20 students) formats were evaluated using final grades and a student satisfaction questionnaire. No significant differences in learning experiences were found. Following this successful pilot, the whole curriculum was migrated to online. (SK)

Investigated the influence of training modality on attitudes toward lesbian and gay issues. Analyses revealed that both modalities (In-Person Training and Internet Training) resulted in substantial reductions in levels of homophobia following training. Furthermore, these reductions in homophobia remained stable from the post-test to the follow-up…

Measured the effects of specific white space features on undergraduates' learning from instructional Web materials and investigated learners' beliefs regarding Web-based instruction. Achievement results indicated that if overall content and structure are sound, minor differences regarding table borders and vertical spacing in text do not hinder…

Includes "The WWW of Distance Learning: Who Does What and Where?" (Abernathy); "Live and Online: A WBT [Web-based Training] Primer" (Black); "The Case for Learning Styles" (Goldstein); and "Classrooms without Walls: Three Companies that Took the Plunge" (Lohmann). (SK)

Discusses Web-based learning, also referred to as distributed learning, and outlines eight areas that are part of a framework to use to design successful Web learning environments. Includes pedagogical issues, technological factors, interface design, evaluation, management, resource support, ethical issues, and institutional considerations. (LRW)

Nursing students took a course via videotape (n=28), remote live broadcast (n=31), or in the classroom (n=54); 84% in the classroom were traditional, 70% of distance learners were registered nurse to bachelor's degree students. Classroom students rated interaction, instructor communication, and facilitation of learning higher. Overall satisfaction…

Describes the development of an online physical anthropology course at Palomar College (California) that evolved from online tutorials. Discusses the ability to update materials on the Web more quickly than in traditional textbooks; creating Web pages that are readable by most Web browsers; test security issues; and clarifying ownership of online…

Discusses a year-long study of time spent teaching and maintaining two comparable mature university courses, one offered online and one on campus. Results showed that the distance course required more frequent attention, but the total teaching and maintenance time per student was less than that for the traditional course. (Author/LRW)