Anecdotal evidence existed about the many students who use their laptops and the wireless network in university common spaces, but little was known about how, where, and why students use laptops on campus, and less was known about students' awareness of university wireless network policies and security. This article discusses the results of a…

Providing adequate computing lab support for Management Information Systems (MIS) and Computer Science (CS) programs is a perennial challenge for most academic institutions in the US and abroad. Factors, such as lack of physical space, budgetary constraints, conflicting needs of different courses, and rapid obsolescence of computing technology,…

Connecting every classroom, library, hospital, and clinic in the United States to the National Information Infrastructure (NII) is a priority for the Clinton Administration. This document provides a status report on this initiative by drawing from current data regarding Internet connectivity, a benchmark for NII access. Chapter 1 of the report…

The 1994 Aspen Institute Roundtable on Information Technology began as a look at the changing nature of the home. In building scenarios of the "new home," the participants expressed many significant insights into issues of personal identity, community-building, and setting boundaries in our lives and environments. This report captures…

USENET is a system of special interest discussion groups called newsgroups, to which readers can send or post messages which are then distributed to other computers in the network. A common network is the Internet, but other networks may carry USENET as well. There are thousands of newsgroups, with a wide range of conversations on topics such as…

The "ERIC Review" is published three times a year and announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant to each issue's theme topic. This issue explores computer networking in elementary and secondary schools via two principal articles: "Plugging into the 'Net'" (Michael B. Eisenberg and Donald P. Ely); and…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the usefulness of an interactive communications network for agricultural education at the secondary level. The Iowa Communications Network (ICN) is a two-way full motion fiber optics telecommunications system capable of linking secondary agricultural departments throughout Iowa. The…

The process of creating and maintaining a World Wide Web homepage for a national organization--the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)--is detailed in this paper. The logical design confines the conceptual relationships among the components of the Web pages and their hyperlinks, whereas the physical design concerns…

One segment of a computerized adventure game system (Multi-User Dimensions, or MUD) designed for learners of English as a second language (ESL) is described. The acronym MOO refers to MUD Object Oriented, the programming language used for the system. The system allows for individuals in different locations to communicate directly with each other,…

Arguing that seeking help when needed is an integral part of the learning process, this paper describes a three-stage help-seeking process; examines computer conferencing in academic contexts; and describes several characteristics that promote help-seeking, including the admission of inadequacy, the decision to seek help, and the ultimate…

In the past decade, theories of the social construction of knowledge have resulted in the widespread use of collaborative learning techniques. Computer technology has been in the forefront of this movement, with one result being a minor revolution in writing instruction. Specifically, communications and text sharing through both local and wide…

Based on the premise that computer networks are changing the way people think and interact, this Digest discusses some features of electronic discourse as a relatively new form of discourse and examines the current research on computer mediated communication text. The Digest suggests further research on how other features of electronic discourse…

This paper addresses problems and issues that arise in electronic communications, and offers guidelines and etiquette. Topics covered include: (1) drafting an electronic message, including width of messages, abbreviations and smileys, salutation, name, author address, and responding to a message; (2) "Webtiquette" (i.e., guidelines for…

The 12 essays collected in this book suggest both practical and theoretical approaches to teaching through networked technologies. Moving beyond technology for its own sake, the book articulates a pedagogy which makes its own productive uses of emergent technologies, both inside and outside the classroom. The book models for students one possible…

This paper reports the results of a study that examined the issues created by implementation of campuswide microcomputer networks in a four-year public institution of higher education, and the perspectives and attitudes from which faculty users and computer center personnel view those issues. Six questions served as the focus of the study: (1) the…