A projection system in a classroom with an Internet connection provides a window on the world. Until recently, projectors were expensive and difficult to maintain. Technological advances have resulted in solid-state projectors that require little maintenance and cost no more than a computer. Adding a second or third computer to a classroom…

In the early 1980s, we were struck by the way the Internet permeated university instruction and research and adopted the goal of extending this capability to K-12 schools. By the end of the decade, we succeeded in linking all 2,000 of Virginia's schools to the Internet, through establishment of Virginia?s Public Education Network.

The study concludes that leadership by school administrators is a crucial factor in distinguishing schools that are using the Internet effectively for instruction, and schools that are not. This report is one of a series of Pew foundation reports on ways in which the Internet is affecting American life and society. The study reports that nearly…

Describes five exemplary digital resource centers at the University of Virginia used by K-12 learners as well as by university students and faculty. These modern archives contain vast resources of thousands of primary sources, data sets, multimedia files, and analytical tools, all of which are electronically accessible to K-12 schools and…

So far classroom use of the Internet has been limited to asynchronous communication, but virtual conferencing will allow real-time connections between teachers and classrooms separated by continents. This article describes virtual conferencing applications: Chat, audio- and videoconferencing, electronic white boards, application sharing, and file…

Discusses the development of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) and describes an extension to it called Dynamic HTML (DHTML) which allows designers to create interactive World Wide Web pages within HTML itself. Topics include formatting, creating interactive quizzes, using labels to provide feedback, and support for DHTML in Web editors. (LRW)

Although it is becoming easier to share materials via the Internet, the process is still not transparent, especially when cross-platform transfers are involved. This article reviews common protocols and discusses several utilities and strategies for exchanging information online. Includes a table listing transfer and compression protocols, common…

Discusses newsgroups, listservs, and Web-based discussion groups. Highlights include major categories of international USENET discussion groups; newsgroups versus mailing lists; newsreaders; news servers; newsgroup subscriptions; newsgroups versus Web discussion groups; linking newsgroups, mailing lists, and the Web; and setting up a news host. A…