The challenge of distance learning is to create purposeful working relationships through distance communication systems. Distance learning systems that overemphasize educational technology, materialism, and modularized approaches to learning run counter to individual processes of growth and change. (SK)

Discussion of the use of telecommunications for curriculum development focuses on activity structures which can be used as instructional design tools. Rather than replicating lesson plans or other ideas from the Internet, activity structures encourage the creation of individualized, context-appropriate environments for learning. (LRW)

Responses from 102 of 140 Iowa secondary agriculture teachers revealed attitudes toward the interactive communications network (ICN), a two-way fiber optic telecommunications system. Teachers were concerned about such obstacles as scheduling ICN use and managing laboratory and supervised agricultural experience activities. They were undecided…

Customer service centers, call centers, engineering, and research and development divisions of a British telecommunications firm were examined to determine the effect of technological change on the development of competencies. Technology had different impacts on employment, career paths, skills, and competence development in different areas.…

An electronic requisition and purchase-order system helps Louisville's schools stay legal and efficient. Designated individuals in schools create requisitions electronically and route them to the purchasing department, which generates and sends out paper purchase orders after checking the requisitions for correctness and legality. (MLF)

Typically, the adult bureaucratic values of control, efficiency, and accountability set the climate for teaching and learning in the schools. The traditional teaching-as-transmission model of education should be replaced with one in which teachers and students are co-creators of the curriculum and collaborators in learning. (Author/JOW)

Provides an overview of the Internet 2 project, being developed by research universities and affiliate members to accelerate Internet development for higher education with the next generation of communications technologies based on the capabilities of broadband networks. Costs and funding and implications for non-members are discussed. (LRW)

National surveys of telehealth networks, 1994-99, examined program characteristics; clinical activities (telemedicine); nonclinical activities related to continuing medical education, paraprofessional training, health promotion, administration, and research; technology; and barriers to growth and sustainability. Despite growing utilization,…

Describes a program at the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Morrisville (SUNY-Morrisville) developed with IBM called ThinkPad University that integrates computers into the teaching and learning environment. Explains a partnership with Raytheon that provides wireless connectivity; and discusses changes in…

Interviews with 36 adult learners in information-communications technology (ICT) settings, using the concept of learning trajectories, revealed barriers to widening participation through ICT. In addition to technical shortcomings, social, economic, cultural, and political issues hinder the process, including lack of innovative instruction and…

Describes study that compared the costs of online searching on six databases in four systems. Costs of the search phase and the output phase are analyzed separately; transmission rate and telecommunication costs are examined; and the effects of pricing structures on online searches are discussed. (five references) (LRW)

Discusses the use of technology to enhance literacy programs in libraries and suggests ways for librarians to increase their understanding of potential applications of technology to their programs. Technological tools are briefly described, and the activities of several public library literacy technology projects are summarized. (three references)…

Pennsylvania's distance education programs are a part of a national and international new trend in educational delivery. Planners need to work closely with school district officials and teachers in designing facilities that will enhance this new educational technology. (Author)

Electronic communication networks can provide facility planners with a rapid forum for the exchange of ideas and a quick survey process. Provides information about the Facilities and Services Listserv (FACSER), designed for the exchange of ideas related to higher education, and other services and networks such as BITNET, ARPANET, and INTERNET.…

Discusses issues facing the field of educational telecommunications, including the expansion and deregulation of the telephone industry; the blurring of institutional identity; the need for federal support of public television, compatible technical standards, and clearer outcomes assessment; the privatisation of educational technology, and the…