This theme issue focuses on the challenges and opportunities of online technology as it is used by teachers and students in rural classrooms in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, and Vermont. "Computer Country" (Cynthia Baughman) is an overview of online collaborations of teachers in the Bread…

Interpersonal presence refers to the cues individuals use to form impressions of one another and form/maintain relationships. The physical cues used to convey interpersonal presence in face-to-face learning environments are absent in text-based computer-mediated conferencing (CMC) courses. Learners' perceptions of interpersonal presence in CMC…

This paper examines the impact of networked technologies on educational reform in the context of linking home and school within this context of political and social struggle. The theoretical framework is presented first, grounding the study in an understanding of the curriculum as an educational process that is currently subject to challenge as a…

This collection of conference papers includes the following: (1) "Four Decades of Foreign Language Education: Are We Still at Cheese Station N?" (T. Bruce Fryer); (2) "Teaching French with the Internet: What the Students Want vs. What They Do" (Jean-Louis P. Dassier); (3) "Learning Behind the Screen: Computers,…

Research has offered evidence that teacher candidates are continually frustrated by a perceived conflict between the ideas expressed in methods course and the practices they see in classrooms where they carry out their observations and practicums. The hypermedia tool Reading Classroom Explorer (RCE) was developed in response to this problem.…

This research project is a study of education, out-migration of young adults, and the impact of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) on the education and economies of rural communities in Newfoundland and Labrador. A qualitative study of Newfoundland and Labrador's rural schools were conducted from January to August 2001. This report…

The installation of technology in the school library is only the first step in its effective use by students. Many search engines are not intuitively obvious to users, and students often need help with searching. Systematic formal instruction in electronic search skills is necessary for awareness of library software and competence in its use. The…

This paper explores the educational benefits and limitations of e-mail as an instructional aid to classroom-based teaching. It looks at practical ideas of how e-mail has been used to aid classroom instruction, and highlights and examines each usage of e-mail in terms of its effects on classroom teaching. E-mail systems have been used for classroom…

Foreign language students experience added difficulty when they are isolated from native speakers and from the culture of the target language. It has been posited that MOO (Multi-User Domain Object Oriented) may help overcome the geographical isolation of these students. MOOs are Internet-based virtual worlds in which people from all over the real…

This resource provides basic information on five selected topics related to creating and implementing online educational programs. "Adult Learning" (John C. Reid) provides an overview of general learning theories and discusses the characteristics of adult learners, strategies for taking advantage of adults' traits and motivations in…

Using data of an 18-country employer survey and facts of company case studies of the EMERGENCE project, a project illustrated diffusion of eWork in 3 these Central European countries: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland. Mainstream views of the transforming economies and various practices of generic business services were studied. Establishments…

This document contains the following papers on diversity/equity from the SITE (Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education) 2002 conference: (1) "Modeling and Developing Technology Integration with Pre-Service Indigenous Teachers" (Shadow W. J. Armfield and Marilyn Durocher); (2) "Integrating Diversity in Children's…

This paper highlights the possibilities that Internet technology presents for the creation of an online, dynamic learning environment for language learners. Rather than simply use the Internet to deliver course content, the paper demonstrates the learning process can benefit from the interactive, self-directed, and self-authoring potential of the…

These guidelines were developed by the Distance Education Council (India) to provide institutions with action guidelines for development and delivery of distance education programs; to provide a framework for the maintenance of standards and quality assurance; and to provide benchmarks for self assessment. The guidelines highlight three essential…

This paper discusses an innovative paradigm for looking at computer mediated/networked teaching, learning, and research known as BESTNET (Binational English and Spanish Telecommunications Network). BESTNET is functionally defined as an international community of universities and institutions linked by common educational goals and processes,…