Explains MentorNet, a national program that pairs undergraduate and graduate women from engineering, science, and mathematics for mentor relationships. Considers mentoring an accepted strategy to provide guidance and advice for students. Sees electronic mentoring as a new opportunity in mentoring programs. Discusses the structure of the program.…

Discusses the geographic diffusion of telecommunications services, particularly the Internet, and analyzes the development of Internet backbone networks. Focuses on the intermetropolitan links, network capacity, and network links, and suggests the need for experimentation with empirical techniques and measurements to study the relationships…

Surveys of Iowa secondary agriculture teachers in 1994 (n=102), when the Iowa Communications Network (ICN) began, and 1997 (n=141) showed that increased access to ICN did not increase its use. In both years, teachers identified obstacles to its use, including scheduling coordination, training, and preparation time. (SK)

In May 1997, the Federal Communications Commission provided funding and policies for implementing the Snow-Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey Amendment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The amendment states that schools and libraries should have access to telecommunication services for educational purposes at discounted rates. This article explains the…

Sailor, Maryland's public information network, has become a national model for public libraries and states planning telecommunications networks and library systems integration. This article summarizes the design and implementation of the network's Internet resource collection development, highlighting the database committee, editorial board,…

Describes the Telematics Applications Supporting Cognition (TASC) project, an international collaboration funded by the European Union to develop a microcomputer-based system supporting decision-making, planning, and communication for persons with cognitive disabilities. Considers a flexible, modular solution to meet the needs of persons with…

The University of Connecticut and Natchaug School established an integrated voice, video, and data link. By using the network for collaboration over distance, participants learned that: (1) students were adept users; (2) technology can demand new levels of courtesy and respect for privacy; (3) networking is an ongoing process; and (4) success can…

This guide to the Internet for educators and parents of gifted children covers e-mail, talk, listservs, news groups, bulletin boards, Telnet, Gopher, World Wide Web, Mosaic, Netscape, file transfer protocol, and WAIS (Wide Area Information Service). Examples of sites for educators are included throughout the article. (DB)

Discusses telecommunications and access to the Internet in schools as part of the Information Age and defines the infosphere as the growing unity, interdependence, and accessibility of information. Highlights include what the infosphere offers classrooms, online cooperation and telecollaboration, classroom implementation, and a new learning…

Provides an overview of the First Amendment status of college print media, and then discusses the degree to which student-controlled electronic media outlets warrant comparable expressive rights. (SR)

Discusses worker training and education programs negotiated by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) with three major communications industry corporations. Describes features of the Alliance for Employee Growth and Development, providing training and assistance to AT&T employees; Pathways, offering courses to employees of US West…

Athabasca University has moved from mixed media course production and telephone/mail tutoring to a variety of electronic information and communication technologies for distance education. The parallel conversion of student services has been equally important to the effectiveness of these processes. The primary mandate of the process has been to…

Reviews of the theoretical contributions to distance education found the early primary focus was on organizational and structural constraints on delivery. The focus is shifting to teaching-learning, the diversity of communication technologies, the difference between asynchronous and real-time verbal communication, and the needs of new audiences.…

In providing information services for distance learners, the University of Surrey library found Internet-based services difficult and time consuming. Issues concerning access and copyright put librarians into the position of "fact controllers," deciding what resources could be offered to distance learners to support their studies. (SK)

In Canada, some distance education providers are starting to behave more like conventional educational institutions in terms of forming study groups and student cohorts. Conversely, new telecommunications technologies are causing conventional universities to establish administrative structures similar to those used by distance education providers.…