This article reports on the deployment of a high-bandwidth wireless network for content distribution to two schools. The project, titled Digital Middletown, builds upon the sociological Middletown studies from the 1920s (Lynd & Lynd, 1929) to understand how "Middle America" reacts to and addresses societal change. We report on the…

Models of telephone crisis intervention in suicide prevention and best practices were developed from a literature review and surveys of crisis centers. We monitored 2,611 calls to 14 centers using reliable behavioral ratings to compare actual interventions with the models. Active listening and collaborative problem-solving models describe help…

Wireless data communications in form of Short Message Service (SMS) and Wireless Access Protocols (WAP) browsers have gained global popularity, yet, not much has been done to extend the usage of these devices in electronic learning (e-learning). This project explores the extension of e-learning into wireless/handheld (W/H) computing devices with…

This article aims to explore the potential of certain future studies techniques to provide insight into the question of the impact of higher education information and communication technology (ICT) strategies on student learning. The approach is to consider three case studies of new universities in different countries, and to identify the main…

The research reported in this paper considers the current telecommunications network for the three education systems of state, independent and catholic schools in Western Australia as well as drawing on the personal experiences of teachers in these systems as the government attempts to close the digital divide with its Networking the Nation…

The concept of convergence has evolved significantly during recent years. Today, "convergence" refers to the integration of the communications and computing resources and services that seamlessly traverse multiple infrastructures and deliver content to multiple platforms or appliances. Convergence is real. Those in higher education, and especially…

This article discusses the importance of private interactions, in which a student works alone with learning materials, and public interactions, in which a group of students engage in discourse around learning materials. While traditional technology requires that designers choose one type of interaction over another, the authors show how handheld…

The purpose of this research was to explore the possible roles and responsibilities that public libraries might assume in the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Data was collected from September 1994 through June 1995, relying on the following data collection techniques: focus groups, personal interviews, survey data analysis, case…

This paper describes types of interactive communications technologies relevant to education and discusses their current and potential uses in rural Australia. "Teleconferencing" is a generic term for interactive electronic communications. The four main types of teleconferencing--audio, audiographic, video, and computer (text)…

This report summarizes the findings of the third National Congress on Rural Education, held during the 1994 convention of the National Rural Education Association (NREA). The Congress considered the following question: What infrastructure is necessary to provide an environment conducive to the effective use of available and emerging technologies…

SENDIT is a telecommunications network for North Dakota educators and students in the K-12 environment. Through SENDIT, both teachers and students have access to the Internet, and some of the isolation associated with the rurality of North Dakota has been diminished. SENDIT was developed by the North Dakota State University School of Education and…

This hearing was held to explore the use of technology in education, and how the government can better encourage its use across the country. It is hoped that hearings of this nature will draw attention to the nation's deficiencies in telecommunications and technologies in schools, and that the country will be able to fill those gaps in the near…

This review of literature and programs looks at a number of reports on distance learning and related issues. Specific topics covered include: distance learning and rural learning communities, serving diverse student populations, broadening the community of learners, broadening the curriculum through technology and through integration,…

The combination of digital television and computing/networking technologies can provide solutions to many problems confronting higher education. Old Dominion University (Virginia) is committed to discovering how to exploit these technologies to produce a more effective teaching environment at a lower cost than traditional classroom teaching. The…

This compilation of reports is part of a planning project that aims to establish a coalition of organizations and key people who can work together to bring computerized telecommunications (CT) to Oregon as a teaching tool for science and mathematics teachers and students, and to give that coalition practical ideas for proposals to make CT a…