With colleges and universities struggling to minimize the effects of the troubled economy, it certainly isn't an easy time to be a CIO. This article presents an interview with a panel of higher education IT leaders about best practices for steering IT through economic crisis. Panelists included Jan Biros, associate VP for instructional technology…

Jeremey Stoddard's article in this issue, "Toward a Virtual Field Trip Model for the Social Studies," describes his analysis of the Colonial Williamsburg Electronic Field Trip and a conceptual model for developing meaningful and successful electronic or virtual field trips. In an effort to contextualize the Colonial Williamsburg…

This article presents an interview with Carol A. Twigg, winner of the 2007 Virginia B. Smith Innovative Leadership Award, sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. Twigg currently is president of the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) and from 1993…

The author has never been good at math. When he was in 9th grade, he found gripping joy in Shakespeare, the wives of Henry VIII, the psychosis of Poe, the heroes of various revolutions, the perpetual pillaging of Alsace and Lorraine. However, his interests changed when he enrolled in the Central Virginia Governor's School (CVGS) for Science and…

Joyce VanTassel-Baska is the Executive Director of the Center for Gifted Education and the Jody and Layton Smith Professor of Education at the College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia. For the past 20 years, the Integrated Curriculum Model, based on research of what works with gifted learners, has been the foundation of curriculum…

Describes the technology education program implemented at all educational levels in the Loudoun County, Virginia, school system. Includes the mission statement, instructional objectives, and curriculum structure. (JOW)

The Task Force on Educational Telecommunications was formed to develop a statewide approach to educational telecommunications (e.g., public, cable, and satellite television; audio and video tapes; teleconferencing; and computer conferencing) for the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). The task force assumed that the instruction should have…

Arguing for a leadership role for Virginia's community colleges in the state's economic development, this paper describes the efforts of the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) and the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) to meet the changing technological needs of business and industry. Section I provides an overview of the economic,…

Summarizes recent developments in Virginia designed to improve the productivity of the state's small and medium businesses by increased use of the state's postsecondary education institutions. Suggests that a strategy of comprehensive leadership by educators and politicians is basic to successful technology transfer programs in the context of a…

Reviews the resources available through the Virtual Library of Virginia (VIVA) Web site, a consortium of the libraries of the 39 state-assisted colleges and universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. States that VIVA provides, in an equitable, cooperative, and cost-effective manner, enhanced access to library and information for these higher…

Telecommunications networks were placed in 16 rural high school library media centers in 12 southside Virginia counties. With these units, the high school media centers are able to access the online public access catalog at Longwood College, the Lancaster Library's VTLS (Virginia Tech Library System) database. If a needed book is found, a request…

This report presents a perspective and analysis of the current state and future direction of the state higher education system in Virginia and recommends a comprehensive legislative package that will ensure the quality and economic viability of Virginia's system into the next century. Concerns about educational quality and state commitment to…

This report presents a plan for improving higher education within Virginia focusing on controlling costs, improving educational quality, and increasing productivity. The report's three sections: (1) review the price higher education has paid in absorbing massive budgetary reductions and discuss Virginia's current standing among the states in…

Developed for consideration by the Chancellor and Virginia State Board of Community Colleges, other public officials, and all citizens of the Commonwealth, this task force report examines the future of Virginia's community colleges in economic development and workplace literacy. The report sets forth ten challenges which stand as obstacles to the…

This report summarizes a panel discussion among five college administrators who have initiated or taken part in restructuring efforts in their states: Herman Blake, vice chancellor for undergraduate education at Indiana University-Purdue University; Ronald Carrier, president of James Madison University (Virginia); Gordon Davies, director of the…