The popularity and use of handheld technologies cannot be denied in today's society. "300,000 first generation iPads were sold before midnight on their first day of sales and an additional 500,000 first generation iPads was sold by the end of that week" (Waters, 2010). The demand forced the iPad's sales to be delayed in Europe (Banister,…

Describes a system for providing educational resources to educators in Alaska's widely-dispersed schools, with specific attention to the communications systems developed for delivery of educational resources, the Alaska Knowledge Base, information retrieval, training for system use, and statewide dissemination. (JL)

This paper describes the history of the use of distance learning systems by New York State schools, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), and postsecondary institutions since 1985. Several projects are briefly described which use a variety of telecommunications media, such as cable television, microwave, audiographic…

This paper considers the possible creation of communications networks for school superintendents, and discusses EdLink, a pilot joint venture among Apple and GEISCO (General Electric Information Services Corporation), the joint developers of AppleLink, and the office of the New Hampshire Governor's Excellence Initiative. Arguing that EdLink…

This paper describes METN (Maryland Education Technology Network), a network which is designed to assist Maryland schools in developing instructional computing, while also working to provide equitable access to computers to all Maryland students. The process of creating the system is described, and a number of lessons learned from its development…

The Ohio state-funded SchoolNet initiatives include two major components: "SchoolNet" and "SchoolNet Plus." SchoolNet provides telecommunications wiring among classrooms in individual school buildings; it also provides computers for low-wealth districts and supports technology-related professional development. SchoolNet Plus…

This resource manual is designed to provide educators with timely information on the use of computers and related technology in schools. Section one includes a review of the new Bureau of Technology Applications' goal, functions, and major programs and activities; a description of the Model Schools Program, which has been conceptually derived from…

Expanding on its original purpose in developing an electronic community of humanities teachers and students in South Carolina from an existing agricultural telecommunications system, Project REACH received authorization from its sponsor, the BellSouth Foundation, to develop a statewide network for educational telecommunications and to provide…

The Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN) is an effort by the Florida education community and the Florida Legislature to provide an electronic link among all agencies, institutions, and schools in the public education system. The communications link, perhaps one of the most advanced in the nation, has three purposes: (1) to provide equal…

The first of two sections of this report is a brochure which provides a description of METNET, the Montana Educational Telecommunications Network, which is designed to provide instructional and educational course work for K-12 students and students enrolled in units of the Montana University System, vocational-technical centers, and community…

With the advent of numerous Kansas two-way interactive television (ITV) clusters and compressed video sites, the state has set the standard in revolutionary communications methods in elementary and secondary education. Nine projects using ITV in Kansas are described. Most allow delivery of lessons to students in other communities or schools. The…

This second-year project report describes the current status and future planned development of the Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN), an evolving statewide system which will make possible the electronic movement of educational data between Florida's public schools, school districts, colleges, universities, the Department of Education…

In response to a legislative proviso, this project report presents an introductory development plan for the Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN), which is designed to connect Florida's public schools, school districts, Department of Education (DOE), and Legislature as part of a statewide online interactive educational data retrieval and…