This paper suggests that desktop computer-based video conferencing, with high fidelity sound, and group software support, is emerging as a major communications option. Briefly addressed are the following critical factors that are propelling the computer-based video conferencing revolution: (1) widespread availability of desktop computers…

Describes accomplishments of the Global Systems Analysis and Simulation (GLOSAS) project from 1973 to the present, including a system for global peace gaming. The capabilities of interactive multimedia to link people across political and geographic boundaries for joint study, debate, research, planetary problem solving, and political action are…

Video conferencing for use in education has included the development of expensive yet sophisticated technology capable of delivering quality instruction to multiple sites. Limitations arise from using a closed network; factors such as cost to establish and operate the network with video compression or satellite technology can potentially affect…

Faculty experience at the College of Staten Island--City University of New York shows that Hybrid Analog Digital Networks (ADViNet) prove to be useful in the classroom environment. They support major instructional activities, and are very efficient in the distribution of full-screen motion video and other graphical images. The ADViNet does not…

In the fall semester 1995, Southern Arkansas University- Magnolia (SAU-M) began a two semester trial delivering college classes via a compressed video link between SAU-M and its sister school Southern Arkansas University Tech (SAU-T) in Camden. As soon as the University began broadcasting and receiving classes, it was discovered that using the…

Institutions offering distance education courses realize the value that well-trained and well-prepared faculty contribute to the success of their distance education programs. However, taking approximately a half-hour in the first session of any course to prepare the students for their distance education experience will add to the success of the…

A new course, Independent Study Research and Writing via Telecommunications, is being developed by the Division of Independent Study (DIS) of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to teach telepublishing skills utilizing the NeXT telecommunicating (interpersonal computing) techniques, i.e., NeXT Mail. This multimedia electronic-mail…

This paper describes North Dakota's distance-education telecommunications infrastructure, and examines the opinions of school administrators about technology needs, usage, and funding. In North Dakota, every school district has access to a computer-mediated telecommunications network, SENDIT, which is bridged to Internet connections through the…

This paper discusses the use of new technologies for distance learning-- including interactive video, computers, and the Internet-- at Mercy College (New York) and DePaul University (Illinois). The description of a course on discrete mathematics that is taught using the Mercy College Long-distance Instructional Network (MerLIN) focuses on the use…

A program for infusing technology into the high school curriculum was initiated with grant funds at the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in 1993-94. The first year of the program focused on establishing an Interactive Technology Lab, assessing teachers' readiness for the integration of technology into the curriculum and the effects of this…

The population explosion and developments in information technology have created a powerful need for technological advancement on a global scale. Such advancement must come through education, and such education, given the size and breadth of the need, is best realized through multimedia instruction and distance education. Communications…

Pedagogy embodies the beliefs one holds about students, about the various attributes of media technologies, and about the essential qualities of the content at hand. Teachers make decisions based on the interactions of these beliefs. Therefore, it is imperative to begin the process of designing and contemplating instruction with a consideration of…