Distance education has been offered to young students in Australia for about 100 years. Recently, information and communication technology has been introduced as a means to improve communication, but not all remote students have access to this new technology. This has made it difficult to arrange collaborative learning for distance-education…

Worldwide, distance learning programs offer opportunities for education and career enhancement for those who have access to a computer and the Internet. However, some potential students and instructors who have access to these technologies cannot fully participate because of the inaccessible design of courses. These individuals include those with…

This paper reports on a study of computer-mediated communication within the context of a distance MA in TEFL programme which used an e-mail discussion list and then a discussion board. The study focused on the computer/Internet access and skills of the target population and their CMC needs and wants. Data were collected from 63 questionnaires and…

Maine is the first state to deliver "anytime, anywhere learning" to schools by providing laptop computers to every 7th and 8th grader in public schools statewide. It's an unprecedented attempt by a state to be a catalyst for school technology. The brainchild of then-Governor Angus King, the Independent who herded it through the…

This article focuses on the social practices of propagating and circulating memes within Internet environments as a significant dimension of cultural production and transmission. Memes (pronounced "meems") are contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and which directly shape and transmit key actions and…

Exposure to computers in school may help young people gain the computer literacy they will need to function effectively in society. The amount of access to computers at home is often directly related to socioeconomic factors. Examining the extent to which students have access to computers either at school or at home may help predict how prepared…

Instructional technology allows students to visualize complex ideas and understand abstract concepts in a manner that simply is not possible with the use of just lecture and a chalkboard. The use of instructional technology in a class and the impact that it has on students are almost wholly dependent on individual instructors. While a small…

The topic for this paper developed as a result of observations made during the course of a joint Internet pilot project with K-12 teachers and administrators in the city of Saskatoon (Canada); the project was designed to determine the amount of professional development time the participants needed to become functional Internet users and to explore…

This report presents findings of a June 1998 survey of computing officials at 1,623 two- and four-year U.S. colleges and universities concerning the use of computer technology. The survey found that computing and information technology (IT) are now core components of the campus environment and classroom experience. However, key aspects of IT…

This paper reports on a study undertaken to examine student usage of course webs (i.e., course materials and resources on the World Wide Web) in classroom situations in which computers are readily available and students are comfortable using hypertext systems. The author prepared course webs for two computer science courses at Grinnell College…

The study examined the role student, teacher/classroom, and school characteristics play on the "digital divide" in access and utilization of various technology tools among elementary school students. Survey data was collected from 1,027 fourth- and fifth-grade students in 48 classrooms in northeastern Ohio. A two-level hierarchical…

This paper describes the Manifold Access Model, which has been developed for the simultaneous representation and analysis of the interrelationships between five variable clusters: (1) computer access; (2) personal and social attitudes and values with respect to computer use; (3) self-assessed competence and confidence with respect to computer use;…

This article previews the future of universal learning, and related issues such as societal need, technologies, course design, administration challenges, faculty support, and student service.

This issue brief discusses the barriers to technological access for students with disabilities. Challenges for bridging the digital divide are discussed and the following recommendations are provided: (1) stakeholders should have access to training so they can design and select accessible facilities, utilize computers and software, purchase…

A growing concern in teacher education programs is technology training. Research confirms that training positively affects perservice teachers' attitudes and technology proficiency. However, little is known about the kinds of factors that may predict preservice teachers' integration of technology into their own instruction. The goal of this study…