Reviews the building of a national information infrastructure, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, deregulation of communications media, and the critical importance of a public voice in shaping the communications landscape for years to come. (SK)

Describes how to increase school safety with the use of wireless local area networks and wireless telephones. (PKP)

Describes the fiber optics programs at the Career and Technical Center in Berlin, Pennsylvania and the Charles S. Monroe Technology Center in Loudoun County, Virginia. Discusses the involvement of the Fiber Optic Association with education, research and development, manufacturing, sales, distribution, installation, and maintenance of fiber optic…

Presents key elements for successful staff development programs concerning the use of telecommunications in schools. Highlights include offering a variety of options, emphasizing skill development, providing hands-on experience, tailoring to local situations, using examples, and providing support materials. (LRW)

Communications technologies do more than solve practical problems such as overcoming learner distance. They can add new dimensions to courses. Although effective adult learning should not be technology driven, adult educators can take a proactive role in ensuring the appropriate use of technologies. (SK)

Explains the development of WAP (wireless application protocol), how it works, and what the major advantages and disadvantages are, especially when applied to the use of information. Topics include standardization; mobile communications; the effect of WAP on business tools, electronic commerce, and information services; consumers; corporate users;…

Predicts 10 megatrends: (1) renaissance in the arts; (2) high-wage economy; (3) decline of the cities; (4) globalization and individualization of the electronics media; (5) retraining of managers; (6) global privatization; (7) English as the universal language; (8) no limits to growth; (9) dominance of the Pacific Rim; and (10) worldwide free…

Muses on the apparently appealing possibilities of the idea of a global village. States that the term "electronic village" is a more appropriate metaphor, suggesting a strange confluence of entertainment and power, image, and reality. (PA)

An elementary school principal shares some anecdotes about Utah schools' leadership in using the Internet. He describes Salt Lake City youngsters' e-mail communications with other elementary schoolers in Russia, England, Hong Kong, and elsewhere. Although cost can be a limiting factor, the educational benefits of Net-surfing are substantial. (MLH)

To interlink major systems, some communication companies are proposing construction of communication towers on school grounds. Schools and municipal governments possess strategically located, unzoned properties. Districts planning to tap this financial oil well should draw up a lease agreement specifying property use, term, rent, access rights,…

Reviews telecommunications resources found on the Internet: newsgroups, listservs, government information sources, and telecommunications business sites. A sidebar provides a list of the resources and their Internet addresses. (JMV)

Educational technology applications in California include (1) OTAN's Online Communication System--electronic mail and an information database; (2) Educard, a computer chip card for storing and retrieving student information; and (3) staff development via satellite in Los Angeles County Schools' Educational Telecommunications Network. (SK)

Advantages to telecommuting are flexibility, control, productivity, morale, quality of life, and, for employers, access to a wider skill pool. Disadvantages are frustration, isolation, sweatshop potential, and resentment of co-workers. Business education should emphasize keyboarding, telecommunications, time management, and communication skills in…

Community must be redefined to include those based on interest, need, and commonality not bound by location, distance, or time. Technological solutions to community development provide access to the participatory process. (SK)

Analyzes the communication norms of the major forms of computer-mediated communication, including electronic mail, mailing lists, Usenet and other bulletin board systems, interactive messaging, multiuser domains (MUDs), and mass-broadcast media. New uses and the development of standards, or norms, are discussed. (Contains 11 references.) (LRW)