Describes some of the author's observations about information technology trends and their impact on her two grandchildren's classroom experiences. Topics include the shift from acquisition to information access, the shift from paper to electronic format, networked communications and computerized collaborative projects, and the emerging portability…

Adolescents ages 13-15 in Zimbabwe (n=132) and the United States (n=97) completed a measure of perceived social support. In Zimbabwe, adolescents perceived support as coming from a variety of persons, while U.S. adolescents saw their parents and best friends as sources of most social support. (SLD)

Describes California's Educational Development Network (ED>Net), an experimental effort to use the existing community college infrastructure to enhance the state's economic development activities. Highlights ED>Net's focus on developing organization, process, and individual skills in the current workforce. Indicates that ED>Net is…

Explores possibilities of inner-city networking, and provides a description of the federal government's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP). The authors also enumerate the challenges faced by inner-city communities establishing such networks and describes TIIAP-funded programs meeting those challenges that…

Explores noneconomic factors that enhance or discourage international adoption of the Internet. Cultural mores, religious convictions, literacy, gender traditions, class distinctions, and social perceptions all influence the global diffusion of the Internet and are significant to its long-range effects. (AEF)

Describes the Gateway to Educational Materials Project (GEM) at the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology at Syracuse University. Explicates the GEM metadata element set and how GEM metadata is created. Discusses the syntactic binding of GEM metadata and the mechanisms for its distribution. Concludes with a brief discussion of existing…

Twelve rural North Carolina colleges facing decisions regarding campus technology investments chose to form a technology alliance to share information, identify critical needs, rethink budget development and funding formulas at local and state levels, leverage resources, and cooperate in new ventures. Includes recommendations for other colleges…

Examines the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the college classroom using survey data from 89 undergraduate sociology students. Discusses advantages and disadvantages of conferencing systems, either through local area networks or Internet-based systems; preferred uses of CMC; and results of regression analyses. (Author/LRW)

Investigated development of critical reading skills in English as a foreign language (EFL) in a computer-networked environment. The computer-networked environment combined the security and support of the language learning classroom and exposure to authentic reading material. Findings suggest the computerized learning environment contributed to…

Describes the ImpacT2 evaluation of students aged ten to 16 in the United Kingdom that uses image-based concept mapping to explore the impact of networked technologies on students' learning. Explains a method for interviewing young students and discusses implications for the way that information and communication technologies (ICT) are used in…

Outlines challenges to classroom technology use (unrealistic expectations; hardware, software, and network reliability; copyright considerations; service capability; technological literacy; technological limitations; time; facility limitations; maintenance; working hours) and argues that while technological developments outstrip education's…

Describes the Web-based technologies employed by the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in implementing access to local information resources. Discusses Microsoft Active Server Pages (ASP) technologies and the associated local database structure and format, as well as the general…

Describes the National Network of Partnership Schools, initiated in 1996, and shows how research can be used to inform and improve educational practice by highlighting the research that resulted in the creation of the National Network. The Network presently works with over 1,100 schools, 130 districts, and 12 states. (SLD)

Discusses the redistribution of power and authority invited by networked computers. Examines the changing roles of teachers and tutors as they set up and monitor occasions for writing to take advantage of the increased participation and involvement when students write with computers. Discusses how this valuable experience can be most effectively…

Describes Semio, a company founded in 1996 that uses semiology to provide straightforward access to information. Discusses the text-mining engine at the core of the company's software; products; focus on the intranet market; competitors; partnership with corporate portals. (AEF)