Bruce A. Lehman, chair of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, discusses three issues related to the Copyright Act that will affect Internet transmissions: whether transmissions are performances or deliveries of copies; the scope of fair use; and whether there should be a copyright system in the electronic age. (JKP)

Investigates group members' perceived communication outcome variables (perceived satisfaction, decision confidence, immediacy, effectiveness, and system ease of use) across three computer-mediated communication (CMC) systems. Results suggest that perception of communication outcomes differs by CMC medium, gender, and group gender composition.…

Briefly outlines the early history of distance education programs in the 1960s, emphasizing the success of the Open University in the United Kingdom. Discusses 10 individual models of virtual universities that are international in scope. (JKP)

Surveys current work in Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and describes how technology can be extended to exploit communication between computers. Reviews applications that might make use of network support (distributed CSCL) and evaluates a sample prototype distributed CSCL application. Highlights value, viability, and development…

Describes the organization, operation, and evaluation of an experimental online electronic conference for 450 chemistry educators from 33 countries that was conducted on the Internet. Advantages and disadvantages of online conferencing compared to traditional methods of scholarly discourse are discussed, and future plans are described. (Author/LRW)

Describes CHMINF-L (Chemical Information Sources Discussion List), including the history of its development on the Internet, its place in today's chemical information environment, and its possible future developments. Typical postings are described, subscription information is included, and listserv features and the future of listserv and similar…

Reports on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a teleseminar on instructional design and computer-mediated communication (CMC) at the University of Southern Queensland (Toowoomba, Australia). Results show that CMC was a viable medium for professional development, that moderation of strategies influenced the nature of contributions, and…

Discusses use of a mail survey to study the extent to which the hospitality industry employs various information technologies, including computer-mediated communication systems. Finds that hotel/motel size and chain affiliation are related to information system complexity, and that chain-affiliated hotels provide less computer and…

Ongoing contact and peer support are essential to professional growth for educators, and an electronic community can provide a supportive environment. The LabNet project demonstrates that a successful electronic community requires careful design, comfort with technology among users, and commitment; moderators play essential leadership roles in…

Suggests actions for a long-term international program to preserve cultural diversity and multilingualism in the global information society, including: use of major languages for scientific communication; development of retrieval systems in the different national languages; development of computer translation systems; and teaching of the major…

Argues that conscious reflection is still necessary in an interactive learning environment and that a challenge facing developers of the virtual-language classroom is how to combine the processes of conscious reflection with those of spontaneous interaction. Examples of computer-mediated communication exchanges are examined that were generated…

Discusses the use of groupware for computer-mediated teamwork and considers reasons for its lack of widespread acceptance. Topics include teams as a response to change; kinds of teams; electronic media and cooperative work; collaborative support systems; ways of learning; cultural considerations; and a proposed test series. Contains 54 references.…

Describes the electronic network for interaction (ENFI) used by the author's writing classes and offers a brief example of "the conversation that it has helped student negotiate." Concludes that student discussions mediated by ENFI can enrich writing and literature classes. Presents evidence of how a specific sample of computer-mediated…

Provides information collected to assist teachers in designing and maintaining a World Wide Web site. Discusses the benefits and limitations of Web sites. Includes a section on basic HTML tags, a sample Web page with corresponding HTML coding, and a flow chart diagramming links and basic site design. (MJP)

Defines a distributed course as one in which instructional events that have traditionally occurred in the classroom are made available to either distant or local learners. Discusses the challenges for distributed course designers and presents a taxonomy for distributed course design. Addresses design, development, and evaluation processes and…