Online or distributed learning is becoming an increasingly popular method of delivering higher education. In this paper, the effectiveness of online teaching using a virtual classroom environment is examined. Also examined are techniques that college professors can use to make their students feel involved in the class as a community. An example of…

The Communications Tech and Policy section of the Proceedings contains the following eight papers: "The Wayward Bureaucracy: Government Assessment of FCC Organization and Performance" (Philip M. Napoli); "Understanding Internet Adoption Dynamics" (David J. Atkin, Leo W. Jeffres, and Kimberly Neuendorf); "Online…

This study evaluated the output, level of participation, and perceptions of effectiveness and value among participants in a virtual forum. Twenty-three experts in the field of adult education and community development were invited to participate in a three-week interactive session using a World Wide Web-based, asynchronous computer conferencing…

This manual is designed to help adult educators to understand and use the Internet in teaching adult students. The manual examines what the Internet is, how one can connect to it, and how it can be used. It also describes ways to communicate on the Internet, identifies sites where information can be accessed, and explains how search tools are…

This paper presents the Virtual Reference Desk project, its current activities, and a proposed information system architecture to build a human intermediated network of expertise and experience for the K-12 community. The Virtual Reference Desk is a project headed by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information & Technology and funded by the U.S.…

A study in Australia is examining home and school computer-mediated communication (CMC) practices in low socio-economic communities. Using qualitative methods, the study aims to enhance the understanding of emerging communication practices associated with the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The research has already begun…

The purpose of the study was to compare electronic and traditional versions of a graduate-level introductory research class. Students were permitted to select the instructional delivery type they wanted, with the traditional option offered by one instructor and the electronic option offered by a second instructor. There were 71 participants in the…

This paper report the findings of the first phase of a multi-phased research project that is aimed at examining preservice teachers' development of science concepts when learning: (1) takes place at a distance, and (2) is facilitated by videoconferencing technology. The study builds on the work that was done by Lansdown (Lansdown, Blackwood, and…

This study examined differences between two populations of composition students over the course of a semester in their perceptions of collaboration as reported in the pre- and post-surveys. In addition, using an assessment rubric developed by the researchers, the study examined students' audience awareness as demonstrated in their writing. Both…

This study focuses on alternative ways of thinking about the experiences of two cohorts of high school students participating in separate political simulations, one about peace negotiations in the Middle East (the Arab-Israeli Conflict simulation, or AIC), and one focusing on domestic American policy issues (the Conflix Project, or Conflix). Both…

This small-grant funded project was intended to act as a pilot study looking at the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in adult education. In particular, the project aimed to investigate the use of ICT in extending patterns of participation in adult education to those social groups presently excluded from learning; one of the…

Compared with other media, computer-mediated communication (CMC) is a relatively new mode of communication that has emerged in the past two decades. In the past decade, there has been a growing body of research on CMC. There are two dominant models of CMC: the task-oriented and the social-emotion-oriented. This review discusses, compares, and…

This paper describes the concept of online knowledge communities. The concept is defined, and six qualities of online communities are identified: members (user roles are clearly defined); mission (generally accepted goal-statement, ideas, beliefs, etc.); commitment (members give their loyalty to the mission); social interaction (frequent…

We have established an environment for German-Japanese school education projects using real time interactive audio-visual distance learning between remote classrooms. In periods of 8-12 weeks, two classes are dealing with the same subject matter, exchanging materials and results via e-mail and Internet. At 3 or 4 occasions the classes met on…

This research is mainly concerned with the costs of computers in schools in developing countries. It starts with a brief overview of the information revolution and its consequences. It then briefly examines some of the arguments for the use of computers in schools in developing countries, before reviewing previous work undertaken on the costs of…