This newsletter addresses educational reform related to student use of computers and the development of computer networks in Illinois schools. This educational trend is particularly relevant for improving the educational opportunities of rural students. Both the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Planning Coalition for Educational…

The Homestead Campus of Miami-Dade Community College, in Florida, serves a sparsely populated area with a culturally diverse population including migrant farm workers, prison inmates, and U.S. Air Force personnel. To increase access to college services, the campus focused on implementing a computer-based distance education program as its primary…

This paper presents an overview of the regulatory, technological, and economic status of interactive distance learning in Connecticut as it relates to the current and future provisioning of services by the telecommunications and cable television industries. The review is predicated upon the following questions: (1) What obligations should the…

While the overall effect of the impact of technology on health, physical education, recreation, and dance education (HPERD) in the areas of research, classroom, teaching, and distance education is not yet fully assessable, the presence of technology in so many different aspects of the profession makes it important to more clearly recognize and…

Recent trends in writing skill assessment suggest a movement toward the use of free-response writing tasks and away from the traditional multiple-choice test. A number of national examinations, including major college admissions tests, have included free-response components. Most of the arguments in support of this trend relate to the hypothesized…

This research paper addresses the information needs of Kent State University's (Ohio) Master's of Business Administration (MBA) students. Data was collected from the students using a focused information needs questionnaire, and then summarized. The results were analyzed to determine which tools were being used by MBA students when they research…

Traditional classroom teaching preparation does not fully prepare faculty for the special requirements of teaching interactive television courses. Faculty who teach these courses often have to update their skills in current technology, plan courses differently, and work with distance education staff to prepare and deliver courses. This paper…

Students and faculty at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) are exploring new ways of teaching and learning in master classrooms. Master classrooms are specially equipped classrooms that contain a wide range of computer, media, projection, communication, and control capabilities, including connection to the campus network. Master classrooms…

The first part of this document is a report of a project conducted in Texas to develop and deliver a viable education and training system that would produce a competitive work force. The system is built on the SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills) competencies and personal qualities that are generic to all occupations. Four…

This document, which is intended for use by community and junior colleges throughout Mississippi, contains curriculum frameworks for the course sequences in the civil technology programs cluster. Presented in the introductory section are a description of the program and suggested course sequence. Section I lists baseline competencies, and section…

This paper summarizes an integrated research study which was conducted of the literature on learning from mass media and instructional television. The body of literature reviewed encompasses 17,500 citations from the Educational Resources Information Clearinghouse (ERIC) and 1,882 citations from Psychological Abstracts. Major research areas…

This report describes a meeting of 31 experts who deliberated on the various aspects of new technologies of training (NTT) and their applications in education and training with reference to Asia-Pacific contexts. Chapter 1 describes the rationale, objectives, inaugural session, meeting agenda, and closing session. Chapter 2 summarizes the country…

This annual journal issue contains 20 papers on issues of faculty community, the inclusive institution, instruction, and faculty development in higher education. Many of the papers were developed for the annual conference of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD). The papers are: (1) "The Spirit of…

This paper is designed to serve as a basis for discussions of the senior apprenticeship option that is now being developed by Manitoba's (Canada) Department of Education and Training. The first two sections examine the need for a senior apprenticeship option in the context of challenges facing the Canadian economy and labor force and the history…

High stakes testing has been in place in North Carolina since the late 1970s with highly visible, nationally norm-referenced tests administered to all students in several grades, as well as minimum competency testing as part of high school graduation requirements. A current back-to-basics movement has resulted in cuts to the testing program. A new…