Distance education is growing rapidly in response to developments in technology and changes in the world culture and economy. This article reviews how the University of Wisconsin-Madison uses distance education to provide technical information and training to engineers. It also explores potential new directions for providing education and…

Describes a prototype for a World Wide Web site that supports as many student and instructor needs as possible and was developed for a graduate course on instructional design. Topics include roles of the instructor and of the webmaster, student perspectives, technical design issues, user interface, and graphics. (LRW)

Reports and discusses observations of three confident, experienced teachers organizing investigative science in their classrooms. The teachers wore microphones and the recorded data coupled with field notes formed a record of what happened that could be negotiated with the teachers. (DDR)

Relates the experiences of a class of 25 masters students in education and their attempts to incorporate criteria from two educational frameworks into their course assignments. The students used the five key features of "Powerful Social Studies for Elementary Students "and guidelines from the National Council on Social Studies standards.…

Discusses the place of computer science education in the high school curriculum and reports on a survey of schools in five states that investigated computer science teaching responsibilities, hardware and software use, programming languages, how teachers rank instructional resources, and how teachers rank opportunities for their own skill…

Statistical analysis of the relationships between three schooling outcomes and family background in 13 Latin American countries employing data from 1996 study. Finds that while the relationship between schooling outcomes and family background varies among countries, the most effective schools share similar characteristics, for example, high levels…

Eleven articles discuss informational and educational programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Some of the areas discussed include scientific and technical information management, the new Space and Earth Science Information Systems, transfer of technology to other industries, intellectual property issues, and the…

Evaluates the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Summarizes ERIC's history and organization, and discusses criticisms concerning access, currency, and database content. Reviews role of component clearinghouses, indexing practices, thesaurus structure, international coverage, and comparative studies. Finds ERIC a valuable…

Outlines the technical infrastructure and uses of the Students' and Teachers' Integrated Learning Environment (STILE) project. Evaluates the project's use of hypermedia to allow teachers and students in electronic classrooms to access educational resources. Concludes that STILE maintains student ability to remotely obtain information that used to…

The Internet provides a resource accessible to students for solving problems and satisfying information needs. Describes how students can use e-mail and the NASA Spacelink, Geographic Name Server, and Weather Underground databases. Appendices provide internet addresses and selected state telecommunications networks. Sample student inquiries are…

A survey of 183 rural and nonrural science teachers in northeast Texas revealed that rural science teachers were often inexperienced, uncertified, young graduates who taught three or more class assignments in older, inadequately supplied classrooms. Both rural and nonrural teachers expressed dissatisfaction with equipment and supplies. Includes…

Evaluates the effects of an enrichment package on the free- play behavior of black South African children in day care. Aims to assess the short-term effects and cost-effectiveness of such enrichment. Discusses the results in terms of often unexpected impacts that intervention schemes can have in the developing world, even those specifically…

Maintains that art education programs and art educators often lack power within college and school bureaucracies. Describes three ways in which a college art education program maintained its influence over time. Provides three recommendations for developing an awareness of and exercising academic influence. (CFR)

Examines educational reform efforts and other variables that result in increased demand on teachers' task time and energy. Advocates the use of a teacher work-year model that acknowledges the limited time of teachers and that encourages teacher input about the resources required for new programs and priorities. (LP)

Describes recommended and tested strategies for teaching a first-level course on the demography of aging. Provides illustrations of the range of perspectives used to teach the subject in the context of the sociology of aging. Recommends using primary sources and includes a list of resource materials. Includes examples of student projects. (NL)