Promotes the provision of interfaces that allow users to access most of the functionality of existing graphical user interfaces (GUI) using speech. Uses the design of a speech control tool that incorporates speech recognition and synthesis into existing packaged software such as Teletext, the Internet, or a word processor. (Contains 22…

Describes a project for high school students that introduces them to photographic software. Students design a new species of animal by reassembling parts of at least four animals into a "believable" new form. Students also write a commentary on their digital animal's habitat and origin. (CMK)

The intent of this study was to investigate the impact of introducing computerized means, mainly simulation and the Internet, on teaching and learning electronics in Israeli high schools. Computers in electronics studies are, at the same time, part of the subject matter learned and a means for teaching and learning. Data were collected through…

Benchmarking information technology services has become a vital activity for colleges and universities. The COSTS Project (http://www.costsproject.org/) is an ongoing quantitative effort to benchmark the costs of providing IT services in higher education; the project helps institutions understand their IT budgets and staffing relative to peer…

This paper describes and evaluates a pilot project undertaken in the South West of England to develop a computer-based system for facilitating effective technical knowledge transfer to small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). It explores the problem of technical knowledge transfer to SMEs, focusing in particular on the policy context. The…

Residential universities are increasingly integrating online interaction within courses in the form of synchronous online chats, asynchronous online discussions and access to interactive resources. This article evaluates the educational effectiveness of online chats within a Humanities postgraduate course and a final year Commerce course. We…

Remember when the Internet was about opening up access to information and breaking down the barriers between content creators and content consumers? Think back to when spam was just a meatlike substance. To those heady days when Timothy Leary was predicting that the PC would be the LSD of the nineties. Before the DMCA. Before eBay. Back when the…

In this article, the authors discuss the reality of today's current students and their expectations of the institutions they attend. Specifically, they describe the current generation, the Net Generation, of traditional-age college students who have grown up with computers and the Internet, living in a rapid-response, multimedia, anytime-anywhere…

The authors review the trends in the use of computers in the delivery and support of career guidance and counseling identified at the symposium "International Perspectives on Career Development." The papers presented emphasized that 20th-century computer-based systems continue to be used, mainly delivered via the World Wide Web. These systems are…

This study explores the perceptions of Finnish 15-year-olds on the advantages and disadvantages of the Internet. The data, students' written responses (N = 3112), were gathered in the context of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in the spring of 2000 as a national option. The data were analysed by close reading and…

Blogs are currently receiving a great deal of attention in the popular media. In some cases blogs are being called "the next killer application," and "a replacement for email." While a portion of this attention is warranted, in the end a blog is simply a website. But blogs may also represent an empowering technology ? a step toward "leveling the…

In an era of digital technologies, school districts find themselves on a cutting edge, one that slices both ways. Technological tools like the Internet, e-mail, networked computers and such have revolutionized the way children are taught and schools are run, but they also have created new management challenges and ethical issues that many school…

This article discusses how MIDI and other computer technologies can help students build their musical skills in the classroom and at home. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) has provided music teachers with increasing opportunity to use quality computer-developed musical accompaniments in teaching music to children. Standard MIDI files…

Because access to new technologies is unequally distributed, there has been considerable debate about the growing gap between the so-called information-rich and information-poor. Such concerns have led to high-profile information technology policy initiatives in many countries. In Australia, in an attempt to 'redress the balance between the…

Over two and a half years, the authors conducted a detailed survey of 1101 adults in England and Wales, 100 follow-up interviews and year-long case studies of 25 families. The data have led them to construct a rich and often thought-provoking picture of how adults are using information and communications technologies (ICTs) in their day-to-day…