Explains TEECH (Teacher Enhancement Electronic Communications Hall) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and discusses its goal to promote collaboration and communication among leaders in teacher professional development. Examines challenges and successes that TEECH has encountered in attempting to forge a virtual community of leaders…

Traces recent developments in the design and delivery of distance education. Presents enrollment statistics on a variety of telecommunications models for postsecondary distance education in Canada. Outlines implications for institutional organization, faculty roles, and technology costs. (SK)

Results of a study of 120 college students indicated that those who had relevant prior experience with Internet communication technologies had the most favorable perceptions of the usefulness of these technologies and were most apt to use them. Experience and perceived usefulness were the strongest predictors of intent to use them. (Contains 23…

Agricultural education college faculty (256 of 314) felt they lacked competence and confidence in using distance-education technologies. They believed the technology would enhance their teaching and technology use would change how they teach in future. (SK)

A Delphi panel of 50 agricultural education teachers and administrators identified ways in which communications, information, and imaging technologies improve instruction as well as the obstacles in their use (time, cost, faculty reward, technical support, and facilities). (SK)

Reviews developments in the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in the education of children with visual impairments. Highlights include the population of children with visual impairments in the United Kingdom; and World Health Organization classification of disability as a criteria by which the relevance of ICT can be measured.…

Outlines the advantages and disadvantages of Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) and advises potential users to consider: (1) service availability; (2) service levels offered; (3) service level needed; (4) installation fees; (5) tariff structure; (6) equipment needed; and (7) installation and configuration requirements. A sidebar relates…

Attempts to clarify the status of e-mail privacy under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA). Examines current law and the paucity of definitive case law. A review of cases and literature suggests there is a gap in the existing ECPA that allows for potentially abusive electronic monitoring and interception of e-mail,…

Ideally, California education agencies should negotiate their best telecommunications deal, further reduced by discounting their (federal) E-rate and their California Teleconnect fund rate. In reality, many districts are not realizing these discounts, due to application, management, and accountability complexities. A new training program may…

Interviews with administrators, faculty, and support staff (n=42) in a university agriculture department revealed that they recognized distance technology as a means of reaching new audiences; policies and procedures must expand to address technology issues; competition, external dependence, and Internet misinformation were threats.…

Describes the distance education efforts of the World Bank, which has spent $20 million since 1997 to get its distance education program started, and which plans to spend an additional $10 million in the next 2 years. The World Bank has the experience and resources to set up and deliver distance education in countries without a telecommunications…

Discusses wireless local area networks (LANs) which typically consist of laptop computers that connect to fixed access points via infrared or radio signals. Topics include wide area networks; personal area networks; problems, including limitations of available bandwidth, interference, and security concerns; use in education; interoperability;…

Open and distance education in Taiwan has evolved into cyberlearning. Over half (56 percent) of the conventional universities and colleges have been upgraded to dual-mode institutions offering real-time multicast instructional systems using videoconferencing, cable television, virtual classrooms, and curriculum-on-demand systems. The Ministry of…

A case study of Canada's telecommunications industry found the union engaged in education and research that helped build the potential for workplace democracy. However, scarce resources for these activities and management concerns about worker empowerment constrained progressive change. (SK)

Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify people or objects. There are several methods of identification, but the most common is to store a serial number that identifies a person or object, and perhaps other information, on a microchip that is attached to an antenna…