Below is a description of the November/December 1999 issue of The
Technology Source, a free refereed Web periodical at
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS Please forward this announcement to colleagues
who are interested in using information technology tools more effectively
in educational organizations.

As always, we seek illuminating articles that will assist educators as
they face the challenge of integrating information technology tools in
teaching and in managing educational organizations. Please review our call
for manuscripts at http://horizon.unc.edu/TS/call.asp

Jim
--
James L. Morrison                          [log in to unmask]
Professor of Educational Leadership        CB 3500 Peabody Hall
Editor, On the Horizon                     UNC-Chapel Hill
http://horizon.unc.edu/horizon             Chapel Hill,NC  27599-3500
Editor, The Technology Source              Phone: 919 962-2517
http://horizon.unc.edu/TS                  Fax: 919 962-1693

**********************

Virtual classrooms, videoconferencing, course catalogues tailored to
individual student interests--Rodney L. Everhart, president of SCT
Education Solutions, has a vision of how these high-tech elements will
contribute to the world of education in the year 2010. Editor James L.
Morrison interviews Everhart about this vision and about how these new
technologies will combine to encourage students to become asynchronous,
independent learners.

Dirk Rodenburg's commentary reminds educators and corporate trainers that
the potential for using Internet technology to teach depends on many
factors besides the availability of advanced hardware. As Rodenburg puts
it, the challenge is not only to use technology, but to use it
appropriately. Context, sustainability, and sound educational principles
are as important as ever, and an understanding of the target learner
population is critical. Rodenburg suggests five objectives for online
design that both educators and information technology experts won't want
to miss.

Students in Indiana State University's Department of Industrial Technology
Education (ITE) have lots of different needs--and the ITE program offers
them lots of different options. Chris Zirkle and Hal Shoemaker report that
students choose not only which courses they will take, but also how those
courses will be delivered to them. All classes are offered on campus for
students who prefer an emphasis on face-to-face interaction. But almost
half of ITE's courses each semester are also taught using three
alternative simultaneous delivery methods: a satellite system, a
videotaped program, and an Internet-based program. The advantages offered
by each delivery option allow the ITE program to serve a student base with
widely diverse needs and learning styles. Sound useful, creative, and
intriguing enough for a Technology Source Case Study? We thought so.

Many educators have theorized about how to transform a traditional degree
program into a dynamic Internet-based one; Mary Anne Nixon and Beth
Leftwich have actually done it. In this issue's second case study, they
retrace the steps Western Carolina University took to define a mission and
goals, unite a team, design a structure, implement a program, and provide
for constant improvement. Nixon and Leftwich's firsthand account is sure
to encourage any readers who have heard exciting projections about using
technology but find themselves wondering, "How would we ever do that
here?"

In this issue's look at the virtual university, Joel Foreman imagines a
virtual world that students explore using computer-based selves called
avatars. These avatars roam unbounded through time and space, interacting
with other avatars and with their surroundings. Besides describing his own
first venture into this world, Foreman tells about creating a set of
virtual team-building exercises for his students. His experiences
illuminate the potential for the use of this technology in education,
leaving readers with the question, "Who, after all, will want to sit in a
classroom or read a book, say, about Elizabethan London when it is
possible to explore an avatar version of that long ago city?"

Providing face-to-face faculty and staff development workshops for
scattered rural educators has traditionally been costly and time-consuming
for everyone involved, but Angie Parker thinks new technology provides a
better way. Parker and a team of professors and graduate students
developed a series of online workshops for special education teachers in
rural Washington State. Combining online journals, chat groups, and
abundant assistance, these workshops allowed faculty to learn new
behavioral assessment techniques within their own classrooms. Faculty
practiced techniques and recorded responses throughout the school day,
exercising new skills and receiving the ongoing support that a one-day
workshop in a distant city could never offer. Best of all, Parker reports
that her team's user-friendly approach made teachers comfortable with the
Internet technology that could link them to even more professional
support.

Sometimes the sheer abundance of Web resources on education can be, well,
daunting. In this issue's spotlight site, Terry Calhoun tells about the
Scout Report Web site, home of four publications that take on the
challenge of monitoring for new postings and Web sites, sorting and
evaluating their findings, and organizing and annotating the material
specifically for educators. According to Calhoun, this well designed,
timesaving site "amply justifies its motto of 'Scout Smarter.'"




%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%