Distance education is growing rapidly in response to developments in technology and changes in the world culture and economy. This article reviews how the University of Wisconsin-Madison uses distance education to provide technical information and training to engineers. It also explores potential new directions for providing education and…

Insertion of computer technology in existing school buildings requires leadership at the district level, careful planning to provide properly located and sized support space, and a media backbone that will serve for a long time. The architect must design in flexibility for connection of hardware applications that are still being developed. (MLF)

Responses (N=467) of speech language pathologists to a questionnaire were examined to determine factors affecting computer use by public school speech-language pathologists. The primary factors identified were grouped into three categories: motivation, training, and opportunity. Integration of the computer into clinical services should…

Describes ways in which the Internet, especially the World Wide Web, has been used by students at a residential British school for students with cerebral palsy and severe, or profound and multiple, learning difficulties. The effort's rationale, teaching techniques, and evaluation methods are discussed. A glossary of Internet terms is attached. (DB)

Introduced to aid writing, word processing can cause unexpected problems for those who use it. Describes four studies in which raters gave word-processed essays consistently lower scores than handwritten essays. Reasons for the discrepancies were higher expectations for typed essays, ease of spotting text errors in typed text, and more difficulty…

Results of case studies of elementary and secondary school educators on Internet use indicate that while some teachers use telecommunications simply as a new tool to implement their habitual teaching practices, others are taking advantage of Internet capabilities to employ more innovative methods. (AEF)

Explores the applications of the World Wide Web for differentiating curriculum and otherwise supporting instruction for middle-school gifted students. A sample of an interdisciplinary Web-based curriculum unit is also provided. Web pages focusing on Social Studies, History, Music, Art, Science, Language Arts, and Mathematics are described. (PB)

The Lowell, Massachusetts, district technology administrator and team have assumed responsibility for determining the requirements for technology and establishing the specifications and selection of equipment. Joint discussions with the architect are held to develop appropriate infrastructure and educational spaces. (MLF)

Illustrates the development of multimedia courseware such as CHEMMAT. Discusses the features of the courseware including adaptability, use of the teacher module, use of graphics and video clips, and the ease of customizing the content in various languages. (DDR)

Describes a program that trains county extension agents in water quality and management principles and how to use educational materials to teach farmers and homeowners those principles through a distance education training program. (DDR)

Provides an overview and introduction to some of the most useful databases for art education and research. Notes that much art education research uses dissertations and theses. Discusses the content and use of several U.S., Australian, and British databases. (MJP)

Contains articles on software products targeted at girls, the use of technology for the transformation of schooling, and tips on teaming up with software developers. Regular features include dispatches from the school-technology frontier, information about school boards' uses of "groupware," a review of software reading programs, and Internet…

A review was conducted of the literature on technology-based practices for secondary students with learning disabilities. Technology-based practices included computer- or video-based interventions, multimedia programs, technology-based assessment, and verbatim audio recordings. Three practices appear promising: hypertext and hypermedia software…

Compares two sections of beginning algebra: one taught online and the other on site. Reports that, although there was no significant difference for exam averages between the two formats, there was a significant decrease in performance by the online students across the exams. Recommends proceeding with online courses cautiously. (Contains 11…

Describes the Transforming Education through the Arts Challenge (TETAC) initiative. Discusses issues to be addressed if change in arts education is to be achieved, specifically teacher preparation, professional development, networking, and standards and accountability. (CMK)