Examines the recent rapid introduction of microcomputers into schools and discusses the range of uses to which they may be put. Related specific and general issues are explored, and speculations concerning possible long-term developments are offered. (Author/RH)

This last article in a series of seven describes the outcome of attempts to implement performance contracting in an innovative school district in Colorado. In reviewing the series, the author concludes that although many of the innovations discussed did not survive, the schools were none the worse for their experimentation. (WD)

Notes the changing role of technology in education and society and explores the increased use of educational technology with its sophisticated simplicity, new skills development, and the humanizing, freeing effect of technology mastery. (RAO)

Discusses New Criticism and the revolution it caused in college English teaching. (DD)

Briefly describes examples of innovative sex education programs for teenagers which are characterized by the involvement of teenagers, parents and community groups working together. (SS)

Offers six lessons learned from intentionally innovative colleges as guideposts for change for institutions striving to attain increased effectiveness and efficiency: create a self-fulfilling prophecy; cultivate the whole, not just the parts; build a culture of engagement; honor experiential learning; sell hard; and find a subsidy or innovate…

Explains how training organizations in high-performance companies such as Motorola are different from those in low-performing ones. Identifies management practices: customer focus, training closer to customers, leadership, employee involvement, innovation, process improvement, improvement measurement, and change management. (JOW)

The president of the American Council on Education (ACE) asserts that innovation must lie at the center of every higher education institution for it to remain on the cutting edge of new knowledge and good teaching practice. He suggests that the key to change is research-driven strategic planning that remains flexible and cross-disciplinary while…

Offers brief reports of research in the following areas: assessing clinical skills, clinical medicine courses, communication skills, developing as a professional--what it means to be a doctor, pre-clinical medicine courses, and the transition to residency. (EV)

The prevailing mental model of schooling is a series of linear events resulting in an educated individual. To make a school a learning organization requires systems thinking, interconnected team learning, and the collective intelligence of shared and personal vision. (SK)

Explains 10 ways to use magic tricks to enhance the effectiveness of training workshops. Describes some tricks and gives sources of magic information. (SK)

This article describes Dorothy Fadiman's prize-winning film "Why Do These Kids Love School?" as a documentary with many powerful lessons to teach. Inspired by her own daughter's joyous experiences at school, Fadiman filmed classroom activities at a progressive Menlo Park (California) school and eight other schools across the country that…

Three effective forms of distance training are (1) audio teletraining via conference calls; (2) audiographic teletraining, which adds visual images to the audioconference; and (3) computer conferencing, a form of electronic mail that enables people to participate in a computer-mediated seminar or discussion at a time they choose. (SK)