Intended for outreach workers, community development workers, tutors, managers, and coordinators, this guide focuses on how laptop computers are and could be used innovatively and resourcefully for basic skills, outreach, and widening participation generally. Chapter 1 introduces aims and management of the Laptop Initiative for Adult and Community…

The Internet offers trade and industrial (T&I) educators a wealth of readily available information for use as teaching aids, supplemental materials, and laboratory resources. These materials provide many distinct benefits; however, there are also several issues that must be addressed when using the Internet as an adjunct in teaching. These…

Alaska has been forced by geography and weather to look at numerous innovative solutions to improving communication between families and schools. The Internet is showing more impact than any other technique that has been tried. This has been especially helpful to parents of children with disabilities, due to a severe shortage of special education…

The Community School District Six Laptop Project (New York, NY) was created in order to increase access to technology for families in a low-income area with a large immigrant population. As part of the project, the sixth-grade students in this study received IBM ThinkPads. Trends that appear in the literature on integrating technology into the…

Technology is now considered by most educators and parents to be an integral part of providing a high-quality education. There is concern, however, that not all students, particularly students in rural schools or schools with a high percentage of minority or poor students, have equal access to educational technology, both in terms of the…

Examines the critical role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Swedish early childhood classrooms. Suggests that for children to become skillful users of ICT, equipment and a variety of software must be readily available, and teachers must develop their expertise with technology in order to use it effectively and creatively in…

Discussion of distance education in the United Kingdom focuses on how teachers in primary and secondary schools can develop teaching strategies to adopt and implement distance learning practices. Topics include lifelong learning; social support; the use of technology; homework activities; teacher access to computers; and learning strategies. (LRW)

Libraries should seek to serve the disabled by accommodating special needs in physical and intellectual access to the Internet. Some possible enhancements include (1) screen magnifiers; (2) voice interfaces; (3) braille displays; (4) alternative keyboard options; (5) spacious and adjustable workstation areas; (6) provision of remote access; and…

Offers guidelines for school districts planning to add computer technology, especially local area networks (LANs). Topics include electricity for laboratories, networkable software, hard drives, file servers, computer classes for parents, laboratory technicians, telephones, facilities considerations, inservice teacher training, access issues,…

When young people are provided with the means to effectively reach political decision makers and influence them, there is hope to make them participate in politics and to revitalize democracy. This paper presents the conceptual design of an Internet-based system intended to enable such participation; the presentation is illustrated with the case…

Analyzes telecommunications data in public schools in the framework of individual rights to equal educational opportunities, drawing from the Equality of Educational Opportunity (EEO) report (Coleman, 1966). Examines data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (1996) to determine if there were significant differences in access…

This article details the content of a recently released report from the Children's Partnership titled "Measuring Digital Opportunity for America's Children: Where We Stand and Where We Go From Here". On the basis of 40 indicators, the report's Digital Opportunity Measuring Stick showed how U.S. children and young adults use information…

This article provides an overview of Systemic Initiatives in the Australian States and Territories. This updated overview acknowledges the help and information provided by key contacts whom the authors contacted from each of the Australian State and Territory government education systems. In addition, the role of the Ministerial Council for…

Using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) state assessment and a survey of state-level technology policies, this study examined digital equity in education as a multilevel organizational phenomenon with data from 70,382 students in 3,479 schools and 40 states. Students in rural schools or schools with higher…

Constructivist teaching has become a dominant theme in educational literature in response to the positivist model of education that is prevalent in schools. In order for K-12 education to become more constructivist, there must be a qualitative change in teaching practice from didactic to self-directed student learning. The use of online technology…