While Massachusetts has received accolades for its high scores on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests, absolute results from standardized tests tend to correlate strongly with family income and parental education. The Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Education…

Trainers from different organizations who share ideas and strategies benefit from the experiences of their colleagues. Creative trainers are discovering a cooperative approach to the development and delivery of training. (JOW)

The Consortium for Longitudinal Studies is a cooperative effort of investigators endeavoring to assess long-term effects of early childhood education on children from low-income families. The data and follow-up measures of research projects conducted in the 1960s were pooled for joint analyses. (Author/GK)

Discusses the Consortium for Lifelong Learning in Arizona through Instructional Media, Inc. (CLAIM), a voluntary consortium of a wide range of agencies involved in adult education of all kinds brought together in a state network to share costs. (Author/IRT)

The first of two articles discusses virtual reality (VR) and online databases; the second one reports on an interview with Thomas A. Furness III, who defines VR and explains work at the Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HIT). Sidebars contain a glossary of VR terms and a conversation with Toni Emerson, the HIT lab's librarian. (LRW)

Describes the formation and role of a consortium for cooperative purchasing formed by the Council of Chief Librarians for the California Community Colleges in fall 1998 called the Electronic Access and Resources Committee. Its charge is to evaluate electronic, proprietary databases and negotiate prices for the community colleges as a group. (VWC)

Includes "Keys to Successful Tech Prep Programs" (Cahill); "Tech Prep Systems for the Twenty-First Century--The Power of Process" (Key, Key); and "Indiana Tech Prep Pilot" (Hoke, Suba). (JOW)

Networks, consortia, and coalitions among school districts are cost-effective means to provide staff development, improve instruction, and develop curriculum. This article summarizes results of two studies in Oregon that focused on cross-organizational collaboration for school improvement. Guidelines are provided for organizations and individuals…

Discusses the development of successful pricing algorithms for cooperative library automation projects. Highlights include desirable characteristics of pricing measures, including simplicity and the ability to allow for system growth; problems with transaction-based systems; and a review of the pricing strategies of seven library consortia.…

Examines the role of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). Highlights include the standards process; voluntary standards; Open Systems Interconnection problems; Internet Protocol Suite; consortia; government's role; and network security. (16 references) (LRW)

This paper introduces a rationale and format for the introduction of microcomputers into the classrooms of British Columbia on a cost-effective basis. The three purposes of the paper are (1) to briefly present the activities of the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC); (2) to describe in general terms how British Columbia might…

This presentation by the president and chief executive officer of OCLC focuses on library automation and networking in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, citing an article by Richard DeGennaro and relating experiences at OCLC in resource sharing and related information services. (EJS)

Communication among disparate elements of the environmental education community is needed to arrive at a clarity of purpose and an agreement concerning mutual objectives necessary to establish viable niches within the educational establishment and in society. Described are several efforts toward intergroup cooperation. (Author/WB)

Discussion of role of school library media centers (SLMCs) in multitype library networks notes five basic factors that contribute to their exclusion from library networks: psychological, political and legal, funding, communication, and planning. Examples of programs attempting to reduce barriers to school participation in library networks are…

The director of the Center for Research Libraries (CRL) provides historical perspective on CRL's development and discusses issues that have triggered debate on its objectives, programs, fees, and membership categories. Reactions to CRL by seven directors of research libraries, both members and nonmembers of CRL, are presented. (EJS)