As K-12 schools connect to the Internet, a new method of communication opens up to educators and their students. This ERIC Digest describes some sample services and resources that are available to the K-12 community by electronic mail over the Internet. Question Answering services, listservs, and Usenet newsgroups are listed. (Author/AEF)

This book helps teachers and staff developers understand how to take charge of teacher professional development via the Internet. The book features five sections with 14 chapters. Section 1, The Internet and Its Essential Tools, includes: (1) What Do I Need to Know About the Internet? (2) Making the Most of Your Electronic Mail, and (3) Accessing…

This paper begins by arguing that access to education for those who do not attend classes on campus can be a question of their access to technology, i.e., the higher (or more exotic) the technology, the fewer the students who have means to use it. Almost universal access via the postal service is discussed in terms of speed, as compared with…

Since distance learning via computer/modem is a relatively new concept, little is known about the students in computer/modem classes. This paper investigated computer/modem college students' backgrounds, ages, interests, reasons for enrollment, grades, and course completion rates as compared to traditional students. In the study there were 167…

Bibliographers and librarians are aware of the new information technologies in information storage and retrieval. CD-ROMs and online database systems are two technologies used daily to assist users in accessing needed information. Although these resources are lacking in the fields of journalism and mass communication, possibilities for…

An online professional development course, Telecommunications and Information Access, offers educators the opportunity to earn graduate credit, learn about an emerging technological field, and interact using a telecommunication network. This independent study course offered by the University of Oregon and the International Society for Technology…

While few business people dispute the importance of carefully crafting persuasive, demanding, conciliatory, and bad-news letters, the regular flow of routine communications receives very little meaningful consideration or scrutiny. These routine communications (letters, inquiries, requests, collection letters, complaints, confirmations,…

A study investigated the conditions under which computer-mediated communication (CMC) (electronic mail) senders were perceived as self-absorbed by CMC receivers. Experience with electronic mail was the independent variable and perceived self-absorption, attraction, and homophily were the dependent variables. Two-hundred fifty volunteers from a…

This paper briefly reviews the first large-scale use of computer mediated communication (CMC) at the Open University (OU) in Milton Keynes, England, including computer conferencing and electronic mail, in an adjunct mode on a multimedia distance education course with 1,500 students. The first part of the paper outlines the rationale for…

As part of a larger endeavor to evaluate the impact of communication technology on organizations, this study assesses the accuracy of information diffusion via electronic-mail and courier-mail systems in two large organizations which have implemented electronic-mail systems in the last three years. Data were obtained through the use of…

This study is a review of trends in information-handling technology and significant developments which are changing or will change the general environment within which archivists and records managers in international organizations will have to work. Trends in microelectronics, electronic storage, software, data transmission, computer architecture,…

"SpecialNet," a computer-based communications network for educators at all administrative levels, has been established and is managed by National Systems Management, Inc. Users can send and receive electronic mail, share information on electronic bulletin boards, participate in electronic conferences, and send reports and other documents to each…

CMS (Computer Mail System) School-Net is an informal, grass-roots telecommunications network developed by the San Diego (California) School District to provide assistance in improving student language and communications skills. Each CMS electronic bulletin board represents a node in the network, which operates independently during the day as a…

Reviews a computerized monitoring system for distance education students at Athabasca University designed to solve the problems of tracking student performance. A pilot project for tutors is described which includes an electronic conferencing system and electronic mail, and an evaluation currently in progress is briefly discussed. (LRW)

There is an assumption that high-school students are becoming more computer literate, but published studies of specific skill level are lacking. An anonymous multiple-choice survey self-assessed the ICT (information and communication technology) skills of first-year chemistry students at the beginning of 2002. The general level of ICT skill…