Argues that computer technology has decentered high school English teachers. Describes a private high school with full computer access for every student; addresses issues this raises in the English department; describes three cyber activities used in the author's American literature classroom; and discusses the advantages of this decentralization.…

Examines the technological transformation of Des Moines Public Schools. Concentrates on the costs, some financial but mostly human and organizational, that emerge as the district implements a program to dramatically increase computer technology use. (DDR)

Reports on the introduction of science, technology, and society (STS) into the curriculum at Michigan Technological University and the resulting development of graduate programs in industrial archaeology and environmental policy. (DDR)

Explores distance-education evolution and research concerning distance-learning formats. Outlines nine mechanisms (electronic-mail, discussion lists/limited conferencing, telnet, FTP/Gopher, WWW, SLIP/PPP, advanced conferencing software, proprietary software vs. open standards, virtual reality) of the Internet which provide for fundamental changes…

Offers identifiable milestones to help educators effectively use the Web to engage students in advanced thinking. Highlights include finding interesting Web pages, human connectedness that the Web makes possible, supplementing the current curriculum, designing goal-based Web activities, using new knowledge to promote higher-order thinking, using a…

Presents the story of one graduate student's experience in an advanced instructional-design class at San Diego State University. The class places students with real clients for a semester of instructional design and technology-consulting work. Author offers students encouragement to learn about the softer side of educational-technology consulting.…

Suggests that teachers/teacher educators/trainees can be effective scriptwriters when they are exposed to the characteristics and attributes of educational media, and that scriptwriting should be an essential part of every teacher-education program. A sufficient number of good educational scripts would lead to the increase in production of…

Describes the first of three levels, or generations, in the development of online courses. Explores the design and value of generation one (G1) activities, including steps such as prewriting, drafting, editing, and presenting. Discusses the value of G1 courses and provides some examples. Future issues will address G2 and G3 online courses.…

Presents lessons learned from a Minnesota project that used a computerized system to help teachers implement the state's academic-content standards. The project also created new ways of looking at curriculum that have become useful tools for Minnesota teachers. The paper explains the project's vision, early steps, unforeseen obstacles, and…

Social scientists, who frequently complain that the federal government spends too little on them, are passing up what scholars in the physical and natural sciences see as the government's best give-aways: free access to supercomputers. Some social scientists say the supercomputers are difficult to use; others find desktop computers provide…

Telematics in the form of text-based, computer-mediated communications can support teaching and learning and can help the formation and cohesion of communities of learners. This paper examines the development of a "critical community of learners" through this medium, based on experiences with students studying the Open University (OU)…

Continues a discussion of the three chief information stations in a videoconference class. Describes the instructor camera at information station #2, an intermediary station between the three stations, and the student camera at station #1, the information station for interactive student participation. (AEF)

Describes selected commercial and academic Web sites providing interactive services (Amazon; Jones Library, Amherst, MA; Pine Crest Lower School, Ft. Lauderdale, FL; Barnes & Noble; Cal State's Information Literacy Tutorials; PBS's techknow site; K.I.D.S. Report), and argues that libraries that stop at links and policy statements miss…

Describes the development of a Web-based software tool, the Technology Competencies Database, at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign that will enable faculty to effectively collaborate in providing technology experiences to preservice teacher education students. Discusses the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)…

Describes how one fourth-grade teacher developed a Web site to build online research skills. The Day I Was Born helps students find interesting details about what was occurring in the world on their birth day. Suitable for grades 4 and up, it provides links to such sources as the New York Times Learning Network and History Channel On-Line. (SM)