Explores how computer-mediated systems may support the professional development of adults by providing environments which allow individual needs and purposes to be met and experience and understanding to be shared. Highlights include descriptions of JITOL (Just in Time Open Learning), a project which combines computer-mediated communications with…

Describes present and future plans for the campuswide communications network at Case Western Reserve University (Ohio). Highlights include upgrading from baseband to broadband technologies; ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)-based networks that allow simultaneous voice, video, and data transmission; strategic planning goals; implications for…

This study examined circumstances leading teachers to incorporate telecommunications into practice. Case studies of teachers involved in a telecommunications project (three participants and three nonparticipants) indicated that those who integrated telecommunications into teaching valued the use of an interactive learning network and had figured…

Explains the principles of fiber optics as a medium for light-wave communication. Current uses of fiber systems on college campuses include voice, video, and local area network applications. A group of seven school districts in Minnesota are linked via fiber-optic cables. Other uses are discussed. (MLF)

Discusses wireless (diffuse infrared) networking technology to link laptop computers in a computer programming and numerical methods course at Duke University (North Carolina). Describes products and technologies, and effects on classroom dynamics. Reports on effective instructional strategies for lecture, solving student problems, building shared…

Describes the Iowa General Chemistry Network that was developed to change content, teaching, and learning methods of introductory college chemistry courses. Highlights include using the Iowa Communications Network for distance education and curriculum reform, using the Internet and World Wide Web, and chemistry laboratory experiences and…

A discussion of tools available for use of the Internet, particularly by college and university educators and students, offers information on use of various services, including electronic mailing list servers, data communications protocols for networking, inter-host connections, file transfer protocol, gopher software, bibliographic searching,…

Many college faculty and students are upset by a Senate measure limiting obscenity on the Internet, feeling it would damage the network and infringe on free speech rights. The current measure seeks to punish individuals distributing items deemed offensive, but generally protects system operators. (MSE)

Reviews the contributions made by four Michigan communication networks to further statewide distance education, examines the telecommunication services made available by each network, and reviews each network's benefits and limitations. Also discusses the working relationships between the networks and Western Michigan University. (JMV)

Crossroads to the World is an interdisciplinary, teacher-developed, technology-based project involving constructive learning that can be adapted to almost any social-studies curriculum. Beginning with literary models (like Whitman's "Song of the Open Road"), students use simulation software to generate ideas for their own simulated world…

Discusses uses of an electronic meeting system (EMS) to aid in designing graduate core curricula. Presents results from a study of a seven-member task force that used EMS for seven months to facilitate selection of core courses for master's degree programs. A diagram illustrates the task force's graduate core review process and an appendix…

Addresses research questions related to purposeful collaboration as a mechanism for successful teacher professional development in the process of designing a telecommunications network with users. (19 references) (Author/MKR)

Describes an action research project that integrated the telecommunications activities of the National Geographic Kids Network into the science curriculum in a fourth grade classroom. (Author/MKR)

Discusses efforts to infuse telecommunications into the science component of a teacher education program; highlights the initial goals, challenges, successes, and obstacles; and ponders questions of access and reform. (Author/MKR)

Explains the passing of the information age and discusses its successor and the paradigm for the immediate future; i.e., the communication age. The importance of the communication age to elementary and secondary education is outlined, and the emerging wide-bandwidth Internet technology is discussed. (Author/LRW)