The Cooperative Extension Service's Children, Youth, and Families at Risk initiative is being assessed by the Evaluation Collaboration's three projects: state-strengthening evaluation project (resources to help states evaluate community programs); NetCon (evaluation of electronic and other networks); and National Youth at Risk Sustainability Study…

Describes how the Lawrence Township Public Schools (Lawrenceville, NJ) passed a technology referendum that provided money for classroom computers, networks, and software. Explains how teachers were first provided with laptop computers to allow for teacher training that ensured the success of the classroom technology. (LRW)

Canadian universities now have the fastest research network backbone in the world, CA*Net 3, claiming it can transmit the contents of the Library of Congress in one second. In the United States, network officials feel that their competing Internet2 project supports more research into new network applications than the Canadian project. CA*Net 3…

Nearly three years after the beginning of the Internet2 project, designed to enhance research by building a superfast version of the Internet, few professors are finding it revolutionary. Most participating institutions have not upgraded local networks to take full advantage of the two interconnected high-speed networks used by the project.…

Describes the design and development of the Computer Logging of User Entries (CLUE) system for evaluating computer network-based learning courseware, or Web-based distance-education courseware. CLUE is an innovative evaluation system that combines computer-logging techniques with self-reporting methods used widely in the field of formative…

Discusses the importance of planning for information technology in higher education and the ongoing nature of planning needed due to the constant evolution of computers and networks. Topics include leadership; applications to a liberal university community; the development of a national information infrastructure; bandwidth; and intellectual…

Hundreds of districts are using high-speed videoconferencing for distance learning and resource sharing, inservice training, and districtwide meetings. Speed matters. Districts will need either Ethernet or ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) forms of wide-area networks to connect schools and offices. (MLH)

Reviews the literature on technology-based groups and presents the results of a survey of group practitioners which focused on their experiences with telephone and computer groups and other factors. Results show that this technology increased accessibility, convenience, and anonymity. Discusses implications of using telephones and computers for…

Describes two class activities which used a computer software program to allow junior and senior high students to discuss and create on computers, electronically, in real time. Describes an online discussion in a large group, as well as a pairing activity in which two students worked together online to create an original poem. (SR)

Describes Multiple-User Dungeons (MUDs), multiple-user computer programs that allow participants to interact with others in "real time" exchanges. Discusses their potential in the writing classroom and beyond, and notes their potential for faculty development activities. Offers a list of Internet resources, some actual MUD addresses, and other…

Project-based learning is a better method than formal education for solving work-related problems. A learning network approach makes the relationship between competence and work explicit and provides a typology of learning projects--liberal, vertical, horizontal, and external--depending on who organizes projects and for what purposes. (SK)

Suggests that teaching online can be advantageous to a teacher with a physical disability. Notes that the teacher's written voice may have more authority than the physical voice without the interference of students' perceptions of the teacher's physical body. Shows that both teachers and students can benefit from the freedom from concern about…

A study investigated various psychosocial factors related to the distress of 102 mothers whose children disclosed sexual abuse. Emotional distress was related to a maternal history of childhood sexual abuse, a maternal history of adolescent sexual abuse, lack of social support, and greater use of avoidance coping strategies. (Author/CR)

Many catalogs are built in an ad hoc fashion, which results in uncertain quality in publicly accessible network catalogs. This article discusses problems facing designers building catalogs for large networks, relating them to resource discovery; provides a usability framework based on library science and human computer interaction literature; and…

Discusses the history, goals, and partnerships of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID) created in October 1997 and the hiring of Doug Van Houweling as CEO. UCAID supports Internet2 (or Internet II) a collaborative effort between higher education and industry to facilitate and coordinate the development of advanced…