The purpose of this hearing was to examine the Federal Communications Commission's management and oversight of the E-Rate program. This subcommittee has done much to expose for Congress a range of problems in the E-Rate program management--problems that raise questions about the program's effectiveness and whether the Nation's taxpayers can be…

There is a digital divide occurring on every possible level: locally, nationally, and globally. Many people argue that the digital divide unfairly equips wealthy citizen and their children with more information and opportunities than those with lower incomes. In addition, there is a big debate around the world whether technology has benefited…

This study presents preliminary information about how Alberta school jurisdictions are currently providing technical support to schools and administrative offices. The focus of the study is on costs, planning and management practices, and key issues. Six "case study" jurisdictions were examined in depth, and a questionnaire was used to…

Discussion of online learning focuses on course development at a South African residential institution that incorporated online assignments into a face-to-face journalism course to introduce information technology. Describes course structure, activities, assessment methods, student involvement, and problems with students' lack of computer skills…

Presents an exploratory study of a Web-based distance education course at an Australian university. Identifies factors associated with teaching effectiveness in online delivery: the technology used, including ease of access, navigation, interaction, and interface; instructor characteristics; and student characteristics, including previous use of…

In developing countries like India, the onus of development lies mainly with the government, which faces the predicament of multiple demands and limited resources. This leads to a situation where even fundamental objectives such as basic literacy for all are not met. On the other hand, there exists a vibrant private sector, which has resources and…

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…

The Akshaya project in the rural Malappuram district of Kerala, India is home to the first and largest district-wide e-literacy project in India, and one of the largest known Internet Protocol-based networks. Through a network of 600 kiosks, the project has been designed to reach computer literacy into over 600,000 households, and bring 3.6…

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 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;…

Members of society appear to have great faith in the educational value of computers. It is widely believed that computer use will promote learning. Unsupported by research evidence, many contemporary mathematics curriculum documents include statements advocating computer use and the benefits to be derived. As part of a larger study in which equity…

On-site visits and staff interviews at four elementary schools in British Columbia (Canada) found that many computers were underutilized. Most teachers lacked the expertise to maximize the potential of computers, did not have time to fully master software programs, and could not explain how software programs supported their curriculum goals. (LP)

A questionnaire was used to examine computer use by teachers (n=200) of special needs students in Alberta. Results indicated keen interest in computer use and that computer access was not a problem. Problems identified included low utilization of available computer time, training needs in computer use, and selection and classification of software.…

Reviews the potential use of computer technology for the education, training, and occupational placement of people with severe motor neurone disorders (e.g., cerebral palsy) based on experiences in a program in Spain. Highlights include computer literacy, computer-assisted teaching, quality of output, software development, synthesized speech, and…

Investigates cultural issues that the Internet has introduced into classrooms, with illustrations of good practice to stimulate critical discussions among educators on ethical and cultural aspects of Internet use, including equality of access and participation for all people, and mutual respect for, and promotion of, underrepresented languages and…