Describes the experience of the Philadelphia Kinship Care Task Force's collaborative process between political, public, and private communities to respond to the emergence of kinship care. Describes the achievements including a national summit, initiation of dialog on policy and program aspects, and formation of legislative and administrative…

Reflects on previous articles in the same journal on preparation of special education teachers. Discusses the need for special educators to focus their efforts more on teaching the teachers, rather than on system change. Also addresses the challenge of detailing the differences and similarities in students, tasks, and instruction that are relevant…

Two community learning programs that use a professional development center approach to teacher education are described. In one, preservice teachers become part of a school community by participating in real classroom settings; the second, offering a laboratory classroom for elementary school children, brings education professors and students into…

Insertion of computer technology in existing school buildings requires leadership at the district level, careful planning to provide properly located and sized support space, and a media backbone that will serve for a long time. The architect must design in flexibility for connection of hardware applications that are still being developed. (MLF)

Describes a University of the Pacific (California) biomedical informatics center that promotes student use of informatics for doctoral courses, facilitates course-related hands-on information seeking, encourages graduate and faculty use of information technology, and is self-supporting. Discusses organization, benefits, and problems encountered,…

Outlines training suggestions for college volunteers in fund-raising phonathons: presenting the basics (nature of charitable giving, fund-raising on their campus, the annual fund, and specific reasons for soliciting); using role-playing as a training technique; monitoring and retraining as needed; and keeping volunteers motivated. Use of…

Examines the history behind and current status of the professional preparation of teachers in Britain, specifically teachers who are knowledgeable about and appropriately qualified to work with the youngest children in a range of educational environments. Describes the development of an alternative pathway for student teachers with a specific…

Discusses the incorporation of "service-learning" into college curricula. Describes a project linking classroom language to the target culture. Results indicate that students increase their awareness of the communicative value of the target language, reflect on their own learning, and learn a second language in context. (eight…

Discussion of creating World Wide Web pages for schools highlights content and subject matter; contributors; quality of content; technical and design standards; student and staff safeguards; copyright, ownership, and disclaimers; and server access. Pertinent Web site addresses are included. (LRW)

Reviews the literature on the development of full-text electronic libraries in the academic setting. Organizational factors can have impact on electronic library development and ultimate usability. Topics include strategic management, planning and implementation; system specification and design; document provision; user support and training; and…

Analysis of the income-contingent repayment mechanism of the federal direct lending program suggests that it will be considerably more expensive than other repayment options in total interest costs for many; lead to hefty tax liabilities for some; be administratively cumbersome, vulnerable to fraud and abuse, and costly to taxpayers; and invite…

In 1987, the University of Utah began changing its basic campus media format from 16mm film to half-inch videotape which resulted in changes in classroom design and in the way technology is used. Summarizes the implementation process, mistakes made, and lessons learned. Includes the Instructional Media Services department's technology classroom…

Describes the development, design, and implementation of study units for computer-assisted distance learning at the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong that provides higher education opportunities to working adults. Discusses evaluation of the system, including questionnaire and interview results. (LRW)

Discusses the need for instructional designers, trainers, and educators to have cultural sensitivity, or a cross-cultural perspective/awareness. Considers learning environment, classroom rituals, intelligence assessment instruments, cultural background, teacher-student relationship, nonverbal behavior, discipline, locus of control, rewards, and…

Describes a wildlife garden developed on school grounds which converted a large, derelict quadrangle into an outdoor classroom used by staff across the curriculum. The area was divided into various habitats including ponds, mini-woodlands, herb garden, hedgerows, wildflower meadow, and bird borders. Preparatory work and projects generated are…