Outlines the Follet Report, the United Kingdom's Electronic Libraries Programme, and the Focused Investigation of Document Delivery project, and describes document delivery research projects in the areas of resource sharing, network communication, scanning, and electronic delivery systems. Suggests that librarians reassess their roles, and calls…

Utah and Kentucky are among the states with the strongest public-private partnerships in technology policy for public schools. The key ingredients are strong executive leadership, a legislature that works with the governor, and agreements between the public and private sectors leading to affordable telecommunications linkages. One table is…

Florida State University has implemented a financial aid delivery system that uses electronic fund transfer and an administrative voice message system to automatically notify the student of all financial aid transfers and provide detailed information on transactions. The system has streamlined the delivery process, and user response has been…

Audiographics is a low-cost delivery system for distance learning using a telecommunications link between computers and an audioconferencing medium. A study of the interactions between teachers and 10- to 12-year-old students in Western Australia indicated that, although audiographics can support interactions of many forms, teachers used a limited…

Examines consumer services delivered via the Internet. Discusses social and political factors (regulation, commercial alliances, copyright), specific applications (home banking and shopping, distance education, electronic mail, games, telecommuting), and constraints of data transmission. Since many applications are based on videoconferencing,…

Reviews four studies that capture the present and potential impact of videoconferencing and outlines what needs to be done before videoconferencing is commonly used in education. Discusses instructional effectiveness, cost, factors that affect its success, and videoconferencing compared to other forms of communications. (Author/LRW)

Describes the WEB Project that used multimedia and telecommunications to change teachers' instructional practices and form a learning community among schools and cooperating institutions in discussions of student work. Discusses online design conversations; online dialogue and guidelines for participation; impact on student performance; and…

Discusses three school activities--electronic messaging, problem solving, and database searching--that make use of computer telecommunications. Multipurpose services, equipment and software, training and support, low-cost start-up ideas, and the role of the library media center are also covered. Two recommended publications on telecommunication…

Describes the development of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) conformance testing sites, conformance testing tools, and conformance testing services. Discusses related topics such as interoperability testing, arbitration testing, and international harmonization of conformance testing. A glossary is included. (24 references) (SD)

The convergence of education and the economy is dramatically illustrated by the emergence of the global marketplace and the changing nature of work in the U.S. The problem is not jobs, but finding qualified, skilled workers. Project Literacy U.S. (PLUS) is using broadcast communications to address the nation's functional illiteracy problem. (MLH)

Predicts that, over the next several decades, technological advancements in large scale database construction and maintenance, high speed digital transmission networks, and highly precise intelligent searchware will result in a worldwide information system. A projected model illustrates pricing and retrieval rate changes that may be expected over…

Describes projects developed through the Long Distance Learning Network (LDLN) that experimented with using telecommunications in classrooms in the United States and in other countries. A creative writing project involving elementary school students in the United States, Canada, and Australia is described, and a seventh-grade geography project is…

Results of a study involving 300 high school and middle school students indicated that students whose homes were called with a computer dialing device when the child was absent from school had a better overall attendance record than students whose homes were not called. (IAH)

Describes the use of communications technologies for distance education projects in universities and secondary schools in Manitoba. Topics discussed include educational radio; educational television; teleconferencing; computer conferencing; computer-assisted personalized system of instruction (CAPSI); and cooperation between industry and…

Describes a computer-based communications network linking the University of New Mexico and six isolated Bureau of Indian Affairs schools. Discusses network structure, staff training, and network delivery of instructional programs and in-service teacher education and staff development programs. (SV)