As part of a restructuring initiative to meet the curriculum needs of the "Information Age," a plan for teaching telecommunications to middle school students was developed. The resulting program, called Bulletin Board Simulator (BBS), provided a hands-on approach to teaching students the skills necessary for accessing an electronic bulletin board system or information database. This instructional method was deemed essential in maintaining a high level of interest while making the course objectives relevant and meaningful to all of the students. The success of the program was evidenced by a significant increase in the target group's scores on a communications skills assessment test, compared to the scores of the non-target group. The course objectives were easily completed by all the students who were provided with the hands-on practice, compared to only 25 percent completion of these skills by the non-target group. The target group's self assessments revealed a more positive attitude toward learning about technology as a result of the program, and most students expressed a realization that this type of learning and technical ability would have an impact on their success in the future. (Seven appendices contain the evaluation instruments, student progress chart with the course objectives, the SimBBS program, and source code.) (TJQ)