Most students report preferring group learning to distance education. Examines earlier debates about technology in education and the dilemma of students not wanting distance learning but increasingly demanding it. It discusses how to successfully incorporate it into mainstream education. (SM)

Virginia Commonwealth University's Master of Science program in health administration uses distance education techniques to facilitate professional education with limited facilities. The program has developed from a first-generation bulletin board conferencing system to an individualized "client-server" based program on the World Wide…

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 contains a number of provisions ranging from the imposition of liability for allowing minors access to "obscene and indecent" material on interactive computer networks to special rates for certain classes of providers of educational and medical services. Examines key aspects of the act of particular…

Describes: (1) corporate technology initiatives driven by public-relations motives; (2) collaborative strategies for teacher-student technology learning; (3) an online school-improvement site; 4) privatization of school-district technology operations; and (5) a primer on listservs for school leaders. Also provides information on school technology,…

Discusses a study conducted at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (Saudi Arabia) to reassess the need for information literacy programs, identify factors influencing non-attendance, and evaluate program impact. Concluded that information literacy was needed, participants found the programs useful, and one-on-one methods coupled with…

Discusses the planning for wireless technology at the research library of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Highlights include computer equipment, including laptops and PDAs; local area networks; equipment loan service; writing a business plan; infrastructure; training programs; and future considerations, including…

Profiles X.400, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Application layer standard that supports interpersonal electronic mail services, facsimile transfer, electronic data interchange, electronic funds transfer, electronic publishing, and electronic invoicing. Also discussed are an electronic directory to support message handling, compatibility…

Describes the Star Schools program, a federally funded project designed to serve as a model for using technology to reach small or disadvantaged schools in isolated areas. The discussion covers the objectives of the project, the use of telecommunications technology and computer networks, and the current and future role of library media specialists…

Describes the development of an expert system for online patent searching that uses menu driven software to interpret the user's knowledge level and the general nature of the search problem. The discussion covers the rationale for developing such a system, current system functions, cost effectiveness, user reactions, and plans for future…

Explores the impact of information technologies on the institutional and organizational arrangements through which scholarly research is supported. Topics discussed include the advent of workstations for scholars that would be linked in with other workstations and with many kinds of information sources world-wide, and the functions which these…

Describes the planning, implementation, and current status of a networking project that will eventually link all of South Carolina's public, academic, and special libraries. The discussion covers the task force approach taken, staff training, financial support, the automated system selected, materials currently accessible through the system, and…

Examines and assesses the mythological dimensions of deregulation in the telecommunications industry. Addresses the underlying beliefs that deregulation (1) lessens the economic role of government; (2) benefits consumers; (3) diminishes economic concentration; (4) is widely supported; and (5) is inevitable. Argues against an uncritical acceptance…

Argues that students must be introduced to information technologies to prepare them for the future and recommends that the library media center be made the information center for both teachers and students. Sources of information on CD-ROM, telecommunications, online searching, instructional television, and change strategies are provided,…

Evaluates various aspects of federal information resources management and reviews technological changes within the Department of Agriculture to illustrate current issues and future trends in information resources management. Topics discussed include telecommunications and networking; distributed processing and field office automation; the role of…

Describes a survey of library personnel, faculty, and students that examined issues related to the role of libraries in the future design and delivery of distance education. Recommendations are made in the areas of program and course planning, services marketing, resource development, data access, technical communications, services and materials…