Newsgroups: bit.listserv.erl-l
Date:         Fri, 22 Jan 1993 00:17:00 CST
From:         P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET
Subject:      ER article about ERL-L (306 lines)

The following article has been developed  for submission to the
Educational Researcher.  The authors have exchanged drafts via
BITNET and have never met face-to-face to discuss it.  Now we
are asking for your input.  Please send suggestions to Jean
Pierce, P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET or P30JWP1@MVS.CSO.NIU.EDU  by
Wednesday, January 27. Thank you for your ideas.

          The Educational Research List (ERL-L) on the INTERNET


                         Jean W. Pierce
                   Northern Illinois University

                         Gene Glass
                   Arizona State University

                         Michael Young
                   University of Connecticut

     "The  National Center for Research in Vocational Education is
pleased to announce...".
     "I am looking for the following information about doctoral
programs in educationalpsychology...".
     "Could someone please suggest a recent publication discussing
the pro's and con'sof evaluation as used in Chapter 1...".
     "I would appreciate if someone could give me the specific
steps for using the Hare procedure...".
     "I am interested in finding an address for Erving...".
     "This is to announce an employment opportunity for...".
     These are just a few of the messages which were distributed
to over 550 addresses and read by thousands of researchers and
students during 1992.  These and other messages were sent through
the Educational Research List (ERL-L) on the INTERNET, a network
of computers linking millions of persons in universities,
business, government, and the military. Many educators received
the messages free ofcharge.  They instructed their computers to
dial a phone number  for BITNET or ARPANET or for another network
(such as CompuServe) which connects to the INTERNET.  The INTERNET
is the name given the superordinate system of gateways that
connect many networks such as BITNET, ARPANET, CompuServe, MCI
mail, JANET, and the like. Once the connection was made, they
issued a simple command like "mail," looked at a monitor to see
a list of messages waiting for them, and chose which to read.
Each day, the "lists" to which readers "subscribe" distribute
items of mail to the subscribers.
      LISTSERV is a large, complex computer program written by
Eric Thomas, an American now residing in Sweden.  This program
is maintained on hundreds of main-frame computers on the BITNET
network.  The program performs several functions:  it maintains
updated lists of subscribers; it receives and automatically
distributes to all subscribers any message, letter or file sent
to it; it archives these items in log books; it can perform
keyword searches of logs and mail targeted items to the
searcher.  The LISTSERV program can maintain many distinct
mailing lists on a single computer.  For example, the
LISTSERVer at Arizona State University (ASUACAD.BITNET)
maintains several dozen lists or discussion groups,
including EDPOLYAN (education policy analysis), BEHAVIOR
(discussions of special education), and COEFAC (for
discussions among the Arizona State College of Education
faculty.  The Educational Research List, ERL-L, is
maintained by the LISTSERVer at Tulane University
(TCSVM.BITNET).
      Whenever a new discussion group or list is established,
the LISTSERVer defines an address at the resident node,
e.g. ERL-L@TCSVM.BITNET.  Any item sent to "ERL-L@TCSVM.BITNET"
will automatically be distributed to all subscribers.
Subscriptions, sign-off messages, and other requests concerning
ERL-L are sent to the address LISTSERV@TCSVM.BITNET, not to
ERL-L@TCSVM.  Occasionally a person wishing to subscribe to a
list will mail the request to the list itself, e.g., ERL-L,
instead of to the LISTSERVer.  The result is mildly
embarrassing to the sender--hundreds of subscribers will
receive the request, a quaint reminder of the days when
they too did not know the difference between the list and
the LISTSERVer.  The LISTSERVer can respond to many requests.
It can add a subscriber to a list, delete an existing
subscription, send the request a description of all of the
log books, and send a list of all subscribers to anyone who
requests it. (See Pierce, Glass, and Byers, 1991)  In
addition, any LISTSERVer can send the list of all lists
upon request--a listing of nearly 3,000 discussion groups
maintained by LISTSERVers at nodes all over the world.
(Send a message addressed to LISTSERV at any node on the
BITNET and make the sole contents of the letter read as
follows:  LIST GLOBAL.  The list of all lists will be sent
to you within minutes.)
     Most of the messages were responded to privately, off
the list.  However, some topics have captured the interest
of many subscribers and inspired seminar-type discussions.
For instance, one researcher sent a message describing some
spelling software that is being developed and asked for
suggestions, criticisms, and beta test requests.  His
request led to a lively discussion when other researchers
sent replies to the list. These messages debated the
importance of teaching spelling.  Why should it be
taught when spell-checks are readily available? What should
motivate students to learn good spelling?
      One subscriber to ERL-L described a number of benefits
he has received from computer networking:
       "I stumbled across a call for papers from someone who
had proposed an invited symposium and needed a couple more
presenters.  Got a presentation and a trip to a conference
that I didn't even know about before.  I have had the
opportunity to be a 'peer reviewer' and a semiregular article
reviewer for a journal by answering similar pleas for help from
busy editors.  On numerous occasions I have conducted 'grapevine
searches' on various email lists to supplement my library-based
literature searches.  I've located interesting material in
addition to meeting "kindred spirits" with similar research
interests." (Ford, 1992).
     Subscribing to ERL-L is a course requirement for some
graduate students at Penn State, who are introduced to a wide
variety of issues, concerns, and opportunities through the
list.  Shortly after AERA's 1992 convention, these students
and the other subscribers received copies of the presidential
address given by Ann Lieberman, "The Meaning of Scholarly
Activity and the Building of Community."   During the summer,
they saw dozens of announcements from the Office of Educational
Research and Improvement (OERI).  One described OERI's planned
electronic information system, Smartline. Some described
proposed budget allocations.  Others announced the
availability of data sets, including statistics from
postsecondary institutions.  Several alerted educators about
the availability of reports concerning topics such as
drug education programs and parent involvement in schools.
One announced a conference regarding single gender schools.
Another summarised papers from a recent conference
discussing motivation.  Some announced grant competitions
such as the National Center for Dissemination and Training
for Vocational Education.  Others listed funding
recipients such as the consortium which was awarded the
National Reading Research Center.
     Anyone who has access to the list is welcome to send a
message through it.  There are only a few guidelines
regarding messages.  They need to be relevant to educational
research.  They must not be used for commercial purposes.
People who respond to a message need to refer to the
original message.  Otherwise, there may be confusion
about the train of thought.  Responses should be addressed
directly to the message sender, unless a topic is likely to
be of general interest to the educational research community.
Replies to messages that have broad appeal may be addressed
to the list.  Then,  when a researcher has asked a question
and received a variety of private answers, the questioner
is encouraged to write a summary of the responses and send
it to the list so that others will benefit from the discussion.
                How to Subscribe to a List
      To subscribe to a list, you must first determine whether
you are connected to the INTERNET.  If you have ever received
electronic mail from someone not on your campus or from a
different state, you are almost certainly connected to the
INTERNET.  All BITNET nodes are also a part of the INTERNET,
but the reverse is not necessarily true.  For example,
OREGON.BITNET is on the INTERNET, but CUBLDR.COLORADO.EDU is
an INTERNET node that is not on BITNET.  All BITNET nodes
have a BITNET and an INTERNET form of address.  Tulane
University, for example, can be addressed either as
TCSVM.BITNET or VM.TCS.TULANE.EDU. (INTERNET addresses
are distinguished by their last three letters: .EDU for
educational, .COM for commercial, .MIL for military, or
.GOV for government agencies.)
      To subscribe to ERL-L, send a message on BITNET to
LISTSERV@TCSVM.BITNET or send a message on INTERNET to
LISTSERV@VM.TCS.TULANE.EDU. The message should read,
SUBSCRIBE ERL-L yournetworkID  yourname.  For example,
SUBSCRIBE ERL-L P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET JEAN PIERCE.
      Other lists on BITNET which are of interest to
educational researchers include the following:
      AEDNET (Adult Education), LISTSERV@SUVM
      CNEDUC-L (Computer Networking Education Discussion
           List), LISTSERV@TAMVM1
      EDPOLYAN (Educational Policy Studies), LISTSERV@ASUACAD
      EDTECH@OHSTVMA.BITNET (Educational Technology),
           LISTSERV@OHSTVMA.BITNET
      IPCT-L (Interpersonal Computing and Technology Journal),
           LISTSERV@GUVM or LISTSERV@GUVM.GEORGETOWN.EDU
      NSF (National Science Foundation), LISTSERV@NOTE1.NSF.GOV
      PSYCOLOQUY (Electronic Psychology Journal),
           LISTSERV@PUCC.BITNET
      UNIVOC (University Vocational Educators),
           LISTSERV@UCBCMSA or
           LISTSERV@CMSA.BERKELEY.EDU
      VOCNET (Vocational Education Practitioners) (see UNIVOC)
      These and other lists can be read by people who do not
subscribe to them on BITNET.  It is becoming common for
universities to maintain "news readers," which are programs
that receive one copy of all list postings.  These can be read
by many persons at the university node.  If you are uncertain
whether your university has such a service, just try typing
NETNEWS, READNEWS, NN, or RN while logged on to your mainframe
computer.  Although LISTSERV lists are maintained only on
BITNET, a network named USENET maintains a few thousand
discussion fora which also are available to any INTERNET user.
                        Future Plans
     There are a variety of plans being discussed for future
uses of the list.  For instance, when AERA computerizes the
Educational Researcher, it could be sent via the INTERNET to
ERL-L subscribers.  Similarly, if the convention program is
printed electronically in the future, it might be disseminated
through the list.
      Currently, anyone sending a message to
"ERL-L@TCSVM.BITNET" knows that subscribers to the list will
receive the message momentarily. Other lists are moderated.
Messages are sent to a central location, reviewed, edited,
and then sent to the subscribers.  An example of s moderated
list is called PSYCOLOQUY.  PSYCOLOQUY concerns topics in
psychology.  As Mitchell and Paprzycki (1991) pointed out,
"as the degree of control and intervention increases,
moderated lists begin to take the form of an electronic
journal."
      An electronic journal would consist of periodic issues
featuring significant scholarly articles related to issues of
educational research.  Each issue would be automatically
distributed to each subscriber through the list.  At their
leisure, each subscriber could browse the table of contents,
read the issue directly on the computer screen, print out
all or part of the issue, or copy the issue into a personal
computer.   Having educational research available in a more
timely manner through an electronic journal has the
potential to broaden the scope of discussion for ongoing
research as well as enhance the applications of new ideas
and theories.  Pea (1988a, 1988b) has described how the
computer can help manage the "information explosion" by
providing a means to access "distributed intelligence."
In this case, an electronic journal could serve as another
mechanism for influencing change in education.
Soloman, Perkins, and Globerson (1991) provided an analysis
of how computer technology can serve to enhance our access
to significant educational findings (effects with
technology) and change the way we think about creating and
using educational research (effects of technology).  An
electronic journal is one such technology.   The sixth number
of Volume 1 of Psychological Science, November, 1990, was
devoted to the role of electronic journals in psychology.
      Advantages. The potential benefits and future
enhancements of an electronic journal suggest that it could
prove to be superior in some ways compared with paper
journals.  The advantages of electronic distribution include
reduced publication time, increased access, and potentially
reduced costs.  Furthermore, with the online discussion
capabilities of the network, greater peer review, comment,
and interaction are possible in a timely manner.  Innovative
forms of peer review and feedback/exchange with the author
would be possible (e.g., attached to each article could be the
reviews of any reader wishing to comment, or a list of rebuttal
comments, questions and responses by the author).  In addition,
electronic publication holds the potential to include a range
of full motion video illustrations that could significantly
enhance authors' abilities to convey their ideas and the nature
of their research and findings.  Electronic journals also have
the potential for the creation of a wholly new way of creating
scholarly work, using a"{
Specifically, initial "seed" articles could be annotated by
each person who reads them, creating a dynamic document that
develops and expands in its content and connections each time
it is read.  Finally, electronic journals may hold implications
for handicapped readers.  Once in electronic format, text can
be transmitted to voice synthesizers, easily manipulated in
size and form, and integrated into microcomputer-based
translation systems.
      Constraints.  Access to articles by the educational
research community would be limited by the computer
technology required to access the electronic journal and
technical knowledge for using electronic mail and major
network access.  However, this can be put into some perspective
by the constraints placed on academic access to paper journals,
as many university libraries find it increasingly difficult to
maintain costly journal subscriptions.  Electronic journals
also raise issues of copyright protection.  For example,
information in a form that is so easily manipulated by word
processing programs could (wrongly) be attributed with
facilitating plagiarism.  Electronic authors ideas are
certainly covered by current copyright laws, but the
perception of the ease of incorporating electronically
published materials into one's own writing must be addressed.
Perhaps there is even research to be done on the social
context and consequences of this new publication
medium.
                                   References
Ford, J.M. (July 5, 1992). Personal communication on BITNET,
      responding to a message left on ERL-L.
Mitchell, Tony & Paprzycki, Marcin. (1991). An overview of
      computer networks in education: Computer networks and
      network services.  Journal of Computing in Small
      Colleges. 6 (5), 1-18.
Pea, R.D. (1988a, August). Distributed intelligence in
      learning and reasoning processes. Paper presented
      at the meeting of the Cognitive Science
      Society, Montreal.
Pea, R.D. (1988b). Putting knowledge to use, in R.S.Nickerson
      & P.P.Zodhiates (Eds.), Technology in education: Looking
      toward 2020. Hillsdale, NJ: LEA.
Pierce, J.W., Glass, G., Byers, J. (January-February, 1991).
      Computer networking for educational researchers on
      BITNET. Educational Researcher. 21-23.
Soloman, G., Perkins, D.N., & Globerson, T. (1991). Partners
      in cognition: Extending human intelligence with
      intelligent technologies. Educational Researcher, 20 (3),
      209.



Need help? Contact Jean Pierce on BITNET at P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET,
on INTERNET at P30JWP1@MVS.CSO.NIU.EDU, or by phone at
815/753-8470.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU