Overviews efforts to obtain permission to duplicate or digitize multimedia materials for educational use and lists points useful in the process of permission seeking. These include identifying needs and materials, explaining the extent of distribution, asking for what is needed, establishing a rapport with a content proprietor, and using online…

Describes two electronic conferences (e-conferences) available on the Internet: e-mail-based discussion groups and Usenet news groups. Presents tips to help users of e-conferences increase the benefits of knowledge-sharing via these conferences. Sidebars present the largest library-related e-conferences, e-conferences gatewayed to Usenet, and an…

Describes Kids Network, an educational network available from the National Geographic Society that allows students in grades four through six to become part of research teams that include students from around the world. Computer hardware requirements and a list of Kids Network research questions are listed in a sidebar. (JMV)

Describes the creation of a wide-area network for school districts based on one developed at the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (Texas). Topics include conducting a needs assessment, selecting hardware and software, issuing a Request for Proposals, management capabilities, network installation, the bidding process, the…

Describes the use of multimedia computer networks for campus communications. Topics discussed include a campus communication strategy; the target audience; integrating technology with campus goals and other communication methods such as student newspapers; and adding on for future expansion. Examples of communication systems at six college…

Discusses ways to locate information on the Internet. Highlights include LISTSERVs; files to download, including text, graphics, software, sounds, and animations through Archie; locating files on a Gopher via Veronica; the World Wide Web; and electronic mail addresses. (LRW)

A technology integration consultant for the Roseville, Minnesota, school district surveyed two electronic mailing lists, LM-NET (Library Media Network) and ED-TECH (Educational Technology), to identify the top educational resources on the Internet. Fifteen educational resources are described and e-mail subscription information is provided. (AEF)

Summarizes the 1993-94 Quality Education Data survey of computer use in instruction, using data from 78 percent of the nation's 83,897 public schools. In 1983-84, only 67 percent of schools used computer-based instruction; by 1990-91, the figure was 98 percent. The aging Apple II computer dominates. Rapid technological developments and decreasing…

Describes the Ford Motor Company's satellite-based communications network called FORDSTAR that links the home office to all dealers in the United States and Canada in order to offer training that will improve customer satisfaction. Equipment, interactivity, data transmission, and future possibilities are discussed. (LRW)

Innovation depends on new ideas entering an organization and being translated into something implemented and used. A survey of one association's members is used to identify the variables that predict the level of two types of technological innovation. Results show that professional association networks are important for innovation in specific…

A survey of graduate students involved in distance education on North Dakota State University's Interactive Video Network included 80 on campus and 13 off. The instructional models rated most effective were role playing, simulation, jurisprudential (Socratic method), memorization, synectics, and inquiry. Direct instruction was rated least…

According to futurist/educational technology expert Chris Dede, new technologies will revolutionize education only when used to support new models of teaching and learning. Grafting technological solutions onto antiquated structures and learning approaches is misguided. Sidebars explain schools' technology access problems and review Clifford…

The Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico is connecting its 14 high schools to Internet. Three UNAM institutions designed a foreign-languages instruction model based on international cultural and scientific exchanges via computer networks. Mexican students studying English are interacting with English-speaking people, solving real problems, and…

Examines new opportunities for wireless technologies on the Internet and discusses electronic mail, costs, problems, vendors of cellular modems, improvements, Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) services, high-performance wireless networks, and satellites. Describes type, coverage, approximate speed, availability, and Internet access of major…

Describes a prototype online search system called ASK (Assisted Search for Knowledge) that will provide Internet and dial-up access to an array of databases related to environmental and demographic change. The Global Change Data and Information system that is being organized by federal agencies is described. (Author/LRW)