From: sackman@plains.nodak.edu (Gleason Sackman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Using telecommunications for educational purposes at home
Date: 15 Dec 92 02:19:02 GMT
Reply-To: sackman@plains.nodak.edu (Gleason Sackman)
X-Fidonet: Split
Originator: wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com

Index Number: 26733

[Note from Bill McGarry: Forwarded from the EASI mailing
list by Patt Bromberger]

          USING COMPUTER-BASED, TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES

                TO SERVE EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AT HOME

               Jay P. Sivin-Kachala and Ellen R. Bialo
             Interactive Educational Systems Design, Inc.
                        310 West 106th Street
                          New York, NY 10025
                             212-865-3398

                             Consultants:

                             Len Scrogan
                  Educational Technology Specialist
                 Boulder Valley (CO) School District

                           Barbara Kurshan
                      Educorp Consultants, Inc.

                             Final Report
                             October 1992

             Prepared for the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

        USING COMPUTER-BASED, TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
              TO SERVE EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES AT HOME

                          Introduction

This report addresses the use of computer-based,
telecommunications services to meet educational needs at home --
focusing on services for students in grade 7 through college
(including adult education).  The curriculum areas on which this
report concentrates are mathematics, science, technology,
engineering, and career education.

This report is divided into 10 sections:

     *  An Overview of Telecommunications Functions that
        Support Educational Purposes

     *  An Overview of Service Providers

     *  Data Highway:  The Internet

     *  General Purpose, Commercial Networks that Provide
        Educational Services

     *  Regional and Statewide Networks

     *  Library Access Networks

     *  Special Purpose Networks

     *  Bulletin Board Systems

     *  Telephone Homework Hotlines:  A Model for Computer
        Network-based Tutoring Services

     *  Conclusions

           An Overview of Telecommunications Functions
                that Support Educational Purposes

Throughout this report, we refer to a number of functions, or
capabilities, typically available on comprehensive online
information services.  Important online functions are defined as
follows.

Electronic mail, or e-mail:  The electronic preparation, sending,
and receiving of messages, documents, or images.  E-mail is
generally thought to be private communication between two
individuals -- the electronic equivalent of sending and receiving
private letters.  (In actuality, some systems require the system
operator to monitor even supposedly private e-mail
correspondence.)

Electronic conference or forum:  An individual-to-group form of
electronic communication that supports ongoing discussions or
idea exchanges -- usually centered around a specific interest or
topic.  Electronic conferences or forums may involve simple
"linear" bulletin boards (in which messages appear in the
sequence in which they were originally posted) or complex
hierarchies of discussions over time (in which sets of messages
can be accessed by sub-topic).  Many ongoing electronic
conferences are conducted under the condition of delayed
response, where a participant posts a message and expects to wait
hours or days for a response.

Real-time communication, chat, or live-text conferencing:  An
online, text-based version of a telephone call, during which
information is read from the screen and responses are typed,
instead of voice transmission and reception.  This feature can be
used to connect a single caller with someone who can help solve a
problem or to bring a large audience in touch with a respected
expert (akin to a telephone conference call).

File transfer:  The ability to transmit and exchange files,
documents, graphics, or software programs.  On many online
systems, this is referred to as uploading (sending files to the
system) and downloading (receiving files from the system).

Remote access:  The ability to use your computer to connect to a
second computer and use this second computer (e.g., run its
software programs) as if you were working directly from it.  The
second computer is considered the remote computer.

Database access:  The ability to search databases for
information.  Database experts often refer to four categories of
retrievable data:  bibliographic, abstract, full text, and
quantitative.  Some databases can be searched via easy-to-use
menu systems.  Many require prior knowledge of keywords and
boolean logic.  Some offer index searching capability (e.g.,
searching on the author's name; searching for a word or phrase in
the title; searching on a category term in a field of subject
headings).

Reference tools:  Online reference tools such as electronic
encyclopedias, online library card catalogs, electronic book
reviews, and electronic indexes.

Gateways:  Electronic "doors" or "portals" through which one can
connect to different online systems from the one currently in
use.

                An Overview of Service Providers

IESD analysts have identified six broad categories of computer-
based, telecommunications educational service providers:

     *  Data Highway

     *  General Purpose Commercial Networks

     *  Regional and Statewide Networks

     *  Public Library Access Networks

     *  Special Purpose Networks and Online Services

     *  Local Bulletin Board Systems

In general, these services can be differentiated by the
geographic units they serve, their educational missions, the
audiences they serve, and the design and technical capabilities
of the systems.  Each type of service is discussed below.  Keep
in mind, however, that the telecommunications universe is in a
constant state of evolution.  Online service providers regularly
add offerings in the hope of attracting more users and drop
features that have been underutilized.  New services appear while
some others disappear.  The information presented in this report
is up-to-date as of September 1992.

Data Highway

The international data highway, called the Internet, is a network
of networks.  It consists of multiple chains of computer networks
that are linked via a common set of software protocols that allow
electronic mail, file transfer, and remote access among these
networks and the computers connected to them.  Different
computers and networks have different levels of access to the
Internet.  Many users have electronic mail access, which means
they can send e-mail messages to any other user connected to the
Internet.  Fewer networks (and, therefore, fewer users) can use
the Internet for purposes of file transfer and remote access.

The Internet data highway serves many purposes (including
education) and many audiences (including students).  It offers
great flexibility in allowing participants throughout the world
to communicate and to take advantage of each others' computer-
based resources.  However, it was not designed with computer
novices in mind and is not generally regarded as user-friendly.
Navigation among the hundreds of computer hosts throughout the
system can be a tremendous and not-always-successful challenge.

General Purpose, Commercial Networks

General purpose, for-profit networks are available nationwide,
often through local access numbers.  They are the "supermarkets"
of computer-based, online telecommunications -- providing a wide
array of information services (both educational and non-
educational).  They attract an audience with varied interests and
offer online access to the greatest number of users throughout
the U.S.

This type of online service is organized by topical menus and is
designed for ease of use.  General purpose, commercial networks
typically provide all or most of these functions: e-mail,
electronic conferencing, real-time communication, file transfer,
database access, reference tools, and gateways to other services.
Examples include Prodigy, CompuServe, America On-line, GEnie,
Delphi, and U.S. Videotel.  (Each of these is described in more
detail below.)

Regional and Statewide Networks

Some regional and statewide electronic networks are dedicated to
educational purposes, whereas others serve multiple purposes
(e.g., educational and government).  The content offerings
typically focus on needs and resources specific to the region or
state the network serves.  Some restrict usage to those within
regional or state boundaries.

These systems are organized by topical menus and are designed for
ease of use.  Most of the following functions are typically
provided:  e-mail, electronic conferencing, real-time
communication, file transfer, database access, on-line reference
tools, and gateways to other services (including region-specific
or state-specific resources).

The Free-Net (Cleveland, Ohio) and Big Sky Telegraph (Dillon,
Montana) systems are excellent examples of regional networks.
Virginia, Texas, Florida, and North Dakota have statewide systems
that serve educational purposes.  (Specific networks are
described in more detail below.)

Library Access Networks

Some public community library systems and research libraries at
post-secondary education institutions offer online card catalogs
and/or reference services.  A few such systems are described
below.

Special Purpose Networks and Online Services

Some networks and online services are dedicated to a specific
role, mission, or target audience.  These can be state, regional,
national, or international in orientation.  Their design and
capabilities vary, depending on the purposes and audiences for
which they are intended.  Examples include Learning Link
(education and public television offerings), NASA Space Link
(data related to the U.S. space program), EcoNet (ecological
issues), and Dialog (database searching), and higher education
networks and online services.  (Several special purpose networks
and services are described in greater detail below.)

Local Bulletin Board Systems

A bulletin board system (or BBS) is a small-scale computer
network that serves a specific local community.  BBSs are
typified by limited access and limited data storage capability.
Some BBSs are strong in educational content, and others are not.

A BBS is organized by topical menus and is designed for ease of
use.  A BBS most often provides e-mail, electronic conferencing
(usually the linear variety), and file transfer functions to its
users.  A growing number of BBSs provide the ability to connect
to users on other BBSs through the Internet (but connection to
the Internet is usually transparent to the user).

                   Data Highway:  The Internet

The potential uses of the Internet data highway are many --
perhaps overwhelming -- and include:  long distance communication
and collaboration; access to remote computers and networks for
the purpose of accessing or sharing software, text documents, and
electronic books and journals; access to databases and online
library catalogues; access to "distance education" -- electronic
"correspondence schools" that afford real-time, interactive
contact with teachers and fellow students in "chat" mode; even
access to supercomputers.

One important source of text-based educational information is the
Internet's USENET service -- a massive collection of topic-
specific forums in which participants can send and receive news,
debate issues, ask questions, and provide answers.  Another
valuable source of topic-specific forums is the LISTSERV service
of BITNET (Because It's Time Network) -- a network of university
computers; Internet users can access BITNET through several
gateways.  In addition, the United Kingdom's Joint Academic
Network, also known as JANET, is now available for limited
information access via the Internet.

Home access to Internet e-mail is readily available via several
of the networks described throughout this report.  However,
student home use of Internet resources requiring file transfer or
remote access is usually limited to those enrolled in an
educational institution directly connected to an Internet host
computer (true of many major universities), those in states where
free or low cost dial-up access is available (e.g., Virginia),
and students related to others who have official dial-up Internet
access (e.g., children of university professors and professionals
at high technology companies).  Once on the Internet, access to
specific resources may be free of charge, available on a fee
basis, or restricted to members of specific organizations.

In this section, we present a sampling of specific resources
available via the Internet of potential interest to students in
grades 7-college in the areas of math, science, technology,
engineering, and career education.  (However, keep in mind that
many resources available on the Internet were not originally
created with students in grades 7-12 in mind.)  Most of the
resources listed below have been culled from available Internet
resource guides (Kochmer, 1992; Kehoe, 1992) and from preliminary
Internet exploration.  These guides provide information for
accessing the sources.

Mathematics

Resources and topics include:

   Maple mathematical software tools (Maple FTP Archives)
   Mathematica mathematical software tools (Mathematica FTP
     Archives)
   Mathematical source code and algorithms (Netlib Mathematical
     Software Distribution System)
   Mathematics bulletin board articles (a variety of areas within
     higher mathematics)
   Mathematics discussion groups (a wide selection focusing on a
     variety of areas within mathematics, including American
     Mathematical Society)
   MATLAB numeric computation system functions and utilities
     (MATLAB User Group Archive)
   Science, math, and engineering education (discussion group)
   Statistics (software, algorithms, and information from Statlib
     Statistical Software and Data Distribution System; bulletin
     board articles)

Science

Resources and topics include:

   Albert Einstein's Writings (discussion group)
   Chemistry (software from the IuBIO-Indiana University Archive
     for Molecular and General Biology; bulletin board articles)
   Earthquake information
   Ecology and Environment (simulation models from CEAM-Center
     for Exposure Assessment Modeling; student environmental
     activitism discussion group; planetary ecology discussion
     group; bulletin board articles)
   Genetics and Molecular Biology (LiMB Database-Listing of
     Molecular Biology Databases; Bibliography of Theoretical
     Population Genetics; ENZYME-Dictionary of Enzymes; software
     from the IuBIO-Indiana University Archive for Molecular and
     General Biology; Johns Hopkins Genetic Databases; PROSITE-
     Dictionary of protein sites and patterns; SEQANALREF-DNA
     sequence analysis bibliography; SWISS-PROT - Protein
     sequence data bank; Genetics Bank; Human Genome Mapping --
     discussion group)
   Meteorology (data topic on the University of Maryland Info
     Database; University of Michigan weather database)
   NASA, space, and astronomy information (NED-NASA / IPAC
     Extragalactic Database; NASA SpaceLink; NASA Headline News;
     Yale Bright Star Catalog; U.S. Naval Observatory Automated
     Data Service database; NSF/SpaceMet Telecommunications
     Network; space-related bulletin board articles; Project
     Zero-G -- project involving the redesign of aspects of
     everyday life for orbiting space stations)
   Oceanography data (Oceanic Information Center)
   Physics (High school physics discussion group; Newton -- a
     physics BBS; bulletin board articles; a physics students
     discussion group)
   Public Domain and Shareware Software (Washington University
     Public Domain Archives)
   Science articles and bibliographies ("F.A.S.T. News" --
     electronic journal)
   Science awareness and promotion (discussion group)
   Science discussion groups and bulletin board articles (a wide
     selection focusing on a variety of areas within science)
   Science, math, and engineering education (discussion group)
   Science publications (full text) from the National Science
     Foundation (Science & Technology Information System
     database)

Engineering

Resources and topics include:

   Aeronautics bulletin board articles
   Marine studies (Ocean Network Information Center database --
     University of Delaware College of Marine Studies)
   Science, math, and engineering education (discussion group)

Technology

Resources and topics include:

   Computer-based communication:  legal and policy issues
     ("Effector Online" -- electronic journal)
   Computers (data topic on the University of Maryland Info
     Database)
   Computers:  hardware and operating systems (discussion groups)
   Information and discussion groups about the proposed National
     Research and Education Network (NREN)
   Information technology:  social and ethical concerns ("Impact
     Online" -- electronic journal)
   Public Domain and Shareware Software (Washington University
     Public Domain Archives)
   Robotics (discussion group)
   Source code for most brands of personal computer (useful in
     the development of new software)
   Technology articles and bibliographies ("F.A.S.T. News" --
     electronic journal)
   Technology discussion groups and bulletin board articles (a
     wide selection focusing on a variety of areas within
     technology)
   Technology publications (full text) from the National Science
     Foundation (Science & Technology Information System
     database)
   Use of computing in education ("Currents" -- electronic
     journal; discussion groups)

Career Education

Resources include:

   Articles and brochures on jobs ("PENpages" database from The
     Pennsylvania State University)
   Higher education admissions information and advice to high
     school students (Liberty High -- a component of NYSERNet's
     "Bridging the Gap" program, which focuses on connections
     between K-12 and higher education institutions)
   Job listing related to technology and science ("F.A.S.T. News"
     -- electronic journal)
   Scholarships, fellowships, and grants available at
     historically Black and Hispanic colleges and universities
     (FEDIX -- Minority On-Line Information Service)

This is far from a comprehensive listing of services.  Indeed,
one of the great challenges of the Internet is locating all the
educational resources that meet one's interests and needs.

              General Purpose, Commercial Networks
                that Provide Educational Services

IESD analysts have identified five general purpose, commercial
networks that provide educational services appropriate for some
or all of this study's target population:

     *  Prodigy

     *  CompuServe

     *  America On-line

     *  GEnie

     *  Delphi

Each of these are described in detail below.

A sixth commercial network, U.S. Videotel, has operated as a
south-western U.S. regional service but is about to go national.
It offers a range of services similar to other such networks,
including databases, e-mail, bulletin boards, chat, and online
clubs.  However, according to their representative, U.S.
Videotel's educational offerings are more appropriate for grades
3-6 than for the grade 7-college range.

Prodigy

Prodigy has one of the largest base of home users of any
national, commercial network.  (They report to have over one
million users).  It offers educational resources to students that
include:  e-mail, technology forums (electronic conferences), and
database access.  The educational features are generally more
appropriate for grades 7-12 than for post-secondary education.
One important limitation of Prodigy is that it does not yet
provide file transfer capability as part of its e-mail system.
(They have provided file transfer for a few special projects
unrelated to education.  It is reasonable to assume that file
transfer may become a regular system capability eventually.)

Prodigy is particularly well known for its excellent online
reference resources (including an encyclopedia, weather data, and
news), educational games, and topical bulletin boards.  However,
some promising "educational" items in the Prodigy index are
actually opportunities to purchase products or services.  (In
addition, advertisements appear on each and every Prodigy screen,
which may be a distraction for some users.)

One resource that is highly appropriate for grades 7-12 is the
Science Center, which includes activities and information
supplied by NOVA (the WGBH - Boston public television science
series) and National Geographic.  Every month, NOVA offers a
featured science topic.  (For example, a recent topic was Plate
tectonics and convection.)  An interactive computer tutorial is
presented, as is a lab experiment students can conduct on their
own.  All past labs and tutorials are available, as well.  NOVA
also provides virtual trips and text-based "lectures" by science
experts.  Each month, National Geographic presents an interactive
simulation in which students engage in role-playing and conduct
detective-like investigations, including map interpretation.
Other Science Center offerings include science news and a library
of interesting science articles.

Prodigy also includes a computer club, which may be appropriate
for some students in grades 7-12.

Basic service is provided at a flat monthly rate of $12.95 plus
tax (due to increase to $14.95 plus tax as of November 1992), and
all educational features are covered by it.  The flat rate covers
the first 30 e-mail messages sent, with a surcharge of 25 cents
for each message sent after the first 30.

CompuServe

CompuServe is another national/international commercial network
with a large user base.  (They report over 900,000 online users.)
Due to its wide range of features and services, and its variety
of users, CompuServe serves as a unique research community for
personal educational benefit.  Students using CompuServe can link
with scientists, mathematicians, and other experts via the
extensive forums or bulletin boards available.  (Contacts made
within forums can be continued on a one-to-one basis via e-mail.)
Forums of potential interest to students focusing on math and
science include:

     Aquaria Fish
     Astronomy
     Cancer
     Diabetes
     Health and Fitness
     Human Sexuality
     MENSA (development of human intelligence)
     Network Earth (solving environmental problems)
     Science/Math Education
     Space
     Student (a means for students to communicate with other
       students)

For students interested in technology, Compuserve offers
comprehensive forum support for products from major computer
hardware manufacturers and software publishers.  In addition,
some content areas within technology are supported by forums,
many of which are run by technology publications.  Content areas
include:

     Artificial Intelligence
     Computer Languages and Software Development Tools
     Computer Graphics
     Computer Viruses
     Databases
     Desktop Publishing
     Multimedia
     Telecommunications

Students can search for information on colleges and can
investigate career choices by means of databases or exchanges
with actual individuals in those fields.

Students can access a variety of databases to retrieve full text
or abstracts of articles from magazines, journals, and other
publications for research projects or interests.   For instance:

     Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
     Computers
     Dissertation Abstracts
     Engineering
     ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center)
     Gateways to popular comprehensive database services (e.g.,
       DIALOG)
     Health
     Human Sexuality
     Medicine, Sports Medicine, Rare Diseases
     Newspapers and Newswires
     PsychINFO (Psychological Abstracts)

CompuServe offers multiple sources of weather data, including
downloadable weather maps and continuously updated aviation
weather data.

While CompuServe offers a large downloadable software exchange,
the available educational software is of the tutorial and drill
game types, and is generally of low quality -- typical of much
public domain software.

Under development as of August 1992 is Project CAREER (CAReer
Exploration through Electronic Resources), under the direction of
Creative AdVentures in Education (CAVE), the nonprofit
organization that operates CompuServe's Education Forum.  (While
initial development is for the CompuServe network, CAVE has
expressed an interest in making Project CAREER available via the
Internet and other online systems, including Prodigy, GEnie, and
America Online.)  This project will enable young adults to link
up with online mentors, query experts in fields of interest, and
discuss careers via electronic conferences and e-mail.

According to current plans, each week students throughout the
U.S. will be invited to participate in one or more online
conferences.  Each conference will feature a special guest
"speaker" -- a successful professional who will "talk" to the
students about the challenges and rewards of his or her chosen
career.  Students will be able to type questions to the guest
about his or her work and learn more about the profession's
educational and skill requirements.  Students with a special
interest in the guest's career will be encouraged to continue
personal communication via e-mail and to conduct further research
by accessing online databases.

The developers of Project CAREER envision that it can enable
exploration in a broad range of professions or can serve more
focused exploration related to specific curriculum areas.  In a
downloaded electronic conference document, CAVE representatives
provided an example for math and science:
     ...we can foresee guests/mentors who are astronomers,
     aerospace engineers, electronic engineers,
     environmental scientists, and so on.  Young people who
     are stereo buffs and music enthusiasts may perhaps be
     inspired to become electrical engineers who design
     audio equipment.  Youngsters who enjoy fast cars may
     wish to become automotive engineers.  Students who like
     to surf and water ski might choose to study
     oceanography or marine biology.

CompuServe is available at either a flat monthly rate of $7.95 or
an hourly rate that ranges from $6.30 to $22.80 (the faster the
modem speed, the higher the hourly rate).  However, the most
desirable educational features are available only at the hourly
rates, and many of the databases require a surcharge beyond the
basic hourly rate.  Surcharges vary widely from database to
database.

America Online

America Online is a commercial network offering similar features
to other such networks.  They report approximately 180,000
subscribers.  Academic assistance is a high priority for this
network, and its educational services are highly appropriate for
grades 7 through college.  Students using this service can access
online experts, topical discussions, news, an electronic
encyclopedia, and databases providing information about colleges.

An entire section of the America Online system is dedicated to
education and reference.  Educational services include the
following:

     Interactive Education Services:  These include online, real-
     time courses in algebra, calculus, geometry, physics,
     biology, electronics, computer science; online university
     courses; information related to professional studies; and a
     clearinghouse of general educational information of interest
     to parents and students.  (NOTE:  America Online plans soon
     to restructure its main menu -- presenting the post-
     secondary educational offerings as a separate University
     Connection main menu selection.  It is actively seeking out
     additional universities to participate in offering online
     curricula.)

     Academic Assistance Center:  This section includes subject
     specific lessons, real-time tutoring, the ability to page a
     teacher for one-on-one homework help, a study skills
     service, help in preparing for end-of-term exams, and an
     online research service administered by a professional
     research librarian.  Turn-around time for homework-related
     inquiries is 48 hours or less.  Turn-around time for
     research inquiries is 72 hours or less.

     Career Center:  This section includes a "talent bank" of job
     seekers, resume templates, a cover letter library, a self-
     employment service, a federal careers database and related
     resources, a career research library, career and employment
     related databases, and career counseling.

In addition, the following features might be of interest to
students:

   Astronomy Club
   College Board Online
   Computing and Software
   Dictionary of Computer Terms
   Environmental Club
   Home Schooling
   Math Education
   National Geographic Online
   National Space Society
   Parent Information Network (also includes information for
     students)
   Public Domain Educational Software (MS-DOS, Apple II, and
     Macintosh; downloadable free of charge)
   Science Education

A few America Online services are provided at a flat monthly rate
($7.95 for MS-DOS computers; $5.95 for Macintosh computers), and
the flat rate is waived for the first month.   Most features,
including the most desirable educational features, are offered at
an hourly rate ($10.00 during prime time, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
weekdays; $5.00 during non-prime time) above the monthly rate.
MS-DOS users are given five free hours during their first month
and two free hours during their second month.  Macintosh users
are given one free hour each month.  All free hours are for non-
prime time usage.

GEnie

GEnie is a national electronic mail network with gateways to
databases and electronic bulletin boards.  They report 330,000
subscribers.  The educational feature most worthy of note is the
Computer Assisted Learning Center (CALC), which includes:

     Real-time tutoring and homework help:  Students can work
     with live tutors in "chat" mode on a drop-in or scheduled
     basis.  Tutoring hours for different subject areas are
     posted in advance.

     Real-time structured courses:  Live teachers conduct
     scheduled courses, some of which are available for college
     credit applicable to Associate's and Bachelor's degrees.
     Curriculum areas include Computer Science and Electronics,
     Mathematics, and Science.  Each course comes with its own
     private course bulletin board, where the teacher's
     instructional notes and answers to student questions are
     posted.  Course materials are downloadable from online
     materials libraries.

     Tutoring Center bulletin board:  Students can post
     curriculum-oriented queries during hours when real-time
     tutoring is not available.  (The bulletin board is regularly
     monitored by teachers.)  In addition, students who attend
     scheduled real-time tutoring sessions can access teacher
     summaries of these sessions.

     Reference Center:  This service offers automated, online
     database searching.

     Career and academic counseling

     Public domain education software library:  Students can
     download and upload software.  Software quality is typically
     not up to commercial standards.

Other features appropriate for students include:

     Computer Game Design Roundtable (conference)
     Computers and Technology
     Education Bulletin Board
     Education Roundtable (conference)
     Encyclopedia (online)
     Home Automation Bulletin Board
     Medical Bulletin Board and Database
     News
     Radio and Electronics Bulletin Board and Roundtable
       (conference)
     Renssealer Polytechnic Institute Bulletin Board
     Spaceport Bulletin Board
     Telecommunications Roundtable (conference)
     Weather

For students interested in technology, GEnie offers forum support
for products from major computer hardware manufacturers and from
some software publishers.  However, the coverage is not as
comprehensive as that provided by CompuServe.

Genie offers a body of basic services for a flat non-prime time
fee of $4.95 per month.  However, the most valuable educational
services (e.g., CALC) require additional hourly connect charges
($6 for most users; $18 for high speed, 9600 baud modems).
During prime time (8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays), the hourly connect
rate is $18 for most users and $30 for 9600 baud modems.
Attending college courses for credit requires a registration fee
of $25 to $50 per course.  Accessing the Reference Center
requires surcharges of $1.25 to $4.50 (depending on the service).

Delphi

Delphi is another commercial, general purpose online service with
a limited set of educational features applicable.  (They would
not divulge the number of subscribers.)  Its features include:
e-mail, technology forums (electronic conferences), and database
access.

Delphi has a dedicated section, SCHOLE, for information services
related to college students.  One interesting feature is called
Students and Sages, where students identify themselves as such
and ask questions -- in an effort to attract a sage, or mentor,
who can help answer the question.  There is also a Learning
Centers feature, which currently provides information about
Boston University but is soliciting for other higher education
institutions to become information providers.

Other features of potential interest to students include:

   CAIN (Computerized AIDS Information Network)
   Environment Special Interest Group Forum
   Gateway to DIALOG (extra fee)
   HealthNet (medical information)
   Online encyclopedias
   Online research service (extra fee)
   UPI News

Delphi offers two payments plans.  The basic plan costs $10.00
per month and includes four hours per month of non-prime time
usage; additional non-prime time hours cost $4.00 under this
plan.  The 20/20 plan costs $20.00 per month and includes 20
hours per month of non-prime time usage; additional non-prime
time hours cost $1.80.  There is a $9.00 per hour surcharge for
prime time usage (6 a.m. to 6 p.m.)  Some services (noted above)
require additional fees, and these vary widely.
                 Regional and Statewide Networks

In this section, we highlight several regional and statewide
networks that provide educational services with potential benefit
for students in grades 7-college.

Free-Net

Free-Net is a community-based network available in various
regions of Ohio and Illinois.  Free-Net offers students a full
range of electronic services, including electronic mail, bulletin
boards, a daily electronic news service (USA TODAY); "chat" and
conferencing services, and real-time connections to other
computer systems around the country --including major online
library card catalogues.

The major advantage of this system is that it is available free
of charge in the communities it serves, since it is funded by
grants, foundations, and volunteer user support.  The original
Free-Net was developed in Cleveland by the Case Western Reserve
University Community Telecomputing Laboratory.

Free-Net's menu structure is based on a "city" metaphor to make
it easy for users to travel from "place" to "place" within the
system.  For example, students can select the Courthouse &
Government Center (to access legal and government information) or
the Science and Technology Center (to access information and
forums on science and technology).  Features of potential
interest to students include:

   Academy One (information resources related to local school-
     based telecommunications projects)
   Access to local area universities and a statewide research
     network
   Bioethics Network of Ohio
   Computer Corner
   County Engineer's Office
   IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers)
   Jobs Wanted/Jobs Available
   Library Resources (including online electronic reference
     works, and access to public and university-based research
     libraries)
   Medical News and Resources
   Museum of Natural History
   NASA Air and Space Special Interest Group (SIG)
   Safety and the Environment
   Science and Technology News
   Skeptics SIG (for those skeptical of technology's benefits)
   Solid Waste SIG
   U.S. National Weather Service

Free-Net systems provide one excellent model for using
telecommunications for home-based educational purposes because
they are free of charge (to the user), take maximum advantage of
local information and communication resources, and also provide
access to other such systems.  (Also see the section on the
National Public Telecomputing Network, below, which is attempting
to make the Free-Net model available throughout the U.S.)

Free-Net Affiliates and the
National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN)

The National Public Telecomputing Network (NPTN) is an out-growth
of Case Western Reserve University's research related to the
original Free-Net system.  NPTN is now assisting in the
development of free, open-access, community Free-Net systems in
cities throughout the U.S. and abroad.

To this end, NPTN makes available the technical expertise and
software necessary to develop and operate community computer
Free-Net systems virtually anywhere.  The NPTN software is being
made available to qualified parties on a lease basis for $1 per
year.

Newly formed local Free-Net "affiliates" will operate much like
their Ohio progenitors.  They will be linked to other Free-Nets
by e-mail and by common programming, called cybercasting.

An example of an NPTN-assisted Free-Net affiliate is Heartland
Free-Net, serving the Peoria County, Illinois area.  Heartland
Free-Net is sponsored by the Peoria County government, and
locally-based corporations and non-profit organizations.  This
system's information and communication offerings closely resemble
those of the original Cleveland Free-Net -- with some notable
additions:

   Education Center (with separate "places" for elementary
     school, secondary school, local post-secondary schools, and
     an educational projects center)
   Educational Information and Opportunities for Senior Citizens
   Environmental Information
   Government-sponsored job service
   Science and Technology Center "place" for those interested in
     aviation, space, and astronomy
   Teen Center (including online rap sessions)

If successful, an NPTN-assisted system of Free-Nets could become
the telecommunications equivalent of National Public Radio or the
Public Broadcasting Service.

Big Sky Telegraph (Western Montana College)

The Big Sky Telegraph project operates as a bulletin board system
and software archive accessible by 116 one-room schools and
numerous private citizens throughout rural Montana and
neighboring areas.  While school use dominates the system,
innovative online training for pre-college, vocation preparation
is periodically provided to individuals as well.  The system also
supports agricultural databases and telewriting activities
related to the U.S. Forest Service.

Big Sky Telegraph consists of five separate "systems," all
residing on the same host computer, and all having features
appropriate for students:

   Rural education and online classes
   Western Montana College activities, clubs, and classes
   Community services (also including rural economic development)
   Rural peer counseling
   Computer conferencing with connections to the Internet and
     national networking systems.

Other features of potential value to students include:

   Community Medical Clinic
   E-mail
   Educational database access
   Electronic newsletters
   Information on national and international electronic
     networking
   Information on national education resources
   International educational projects (via the Internet)
   News
   Online library services (access to Western Montana College's
     research library, Montana interlibrary book loans, searches
     for journal and magazine articles, ERIC educational database
     searches)
   Public domain software (downloadable free of charge)
   Science and math teaching ideas (intended for teachers but
     available to students and parents involved in home
     schooling)
   Science essays, ideas and experiments
   Technical and educational support
   Telecommunications lessons

The complete set of offerings on Big Sky Telegraph changes over
time.  For example, MIT's Plasma Fusion Lab has previously
delivered a high school level, chaos-theory course for gifted
science students.  A local Women's Center received funding for
homebound women to receive technology training at their homes or
places of work using loaner computers and modems.  A public
affairs officer for the U.S. Forest Service learned online
telecommunications via Big Sky and then created an electronic
conference on conservation with participation from the Forest
Service, loggers, conservationists, and Earth First (an
environmental activist organization).

Big Sky Telegraph also enables local community bulletin board
systems throughout the Rockies to be linked to each other, and to
national and international networks of bulletin boards -- to
share mail and files.  Big Sky provides e-mail exchange via the
Internet and the Montana Educational Telecommunications Network
(METNET), and will soon link to the Montana University System
Network (MUSENET).

Big Sky Telegraph operates from Western Montana College under a
major grant by US West and the Murdoch Trust, and is supported by
user charges.  Most services are free.  E-mail and Internet
access require a $50.00 annual fee (with group rates available).

Statewide Educational Telecommunications Networks

Most states have developed or are developing their own statewide
telecommunications networks that serve educational purposes.
Many initially focused on administrative communication among
educational and related agencies within the state, but a few have
branched out to provide instructional services as well.

Most K-12 student access to these networks occurs within schools.
However, in a few states, it has been possible for students to
access educational services at home, sometimes on an unofficial
basis.  Students at major public and private colleges and
universities often have dial-up access to their institutions'
mainframe computers, which typically provide access to the
statewide higher education network, if one exists.  Four
statewide systems are highlighted below.

North Dakota:  SENDIT and the North Dakota University System.
North Dakota has two statewide educational telecommunications
networks:  SENDIT for K-12; and the North Dakota University
System (NDUS), serving 11 campuses.  Both are funded by the North
Dakota state legislature and are free to users.
SENDIT is sponsored by the North Dakota Educational
Telecommunications Council and is supported by North Dakota State
University at Fargo, North Dakota.  The system is intended for
North Dakota K-12 students, educators, and parents.

SENDIT features of interest to students include:

   Classroom Projects (provided by other network services
     accessible via the Internet)
   Cleveland Free-Net access
   Computer Literacy Forum
   DEONEWS (Distance Education Online)
   Discovery Channel Viewing Guide
   Junior and Senior High Chat Areas
   Library access (a variety of public and university research
     online systems)
   Math Forum
   NASA News and Spacelink
   Online Discovery - Astronomy, a six-week online course, during
     which students build their own telescopes
   Science Forum
   TAG Forum (Talented And Gifted)
   TAG - L (Talented And Gifted international forum)
   Technology Forum
   Weather Data

Additional SENDIT services that are due by early Autumn 1992
include:

   Information on course offerings
   Link between educators and homebound students
   Online homework help (all grade levels)
   Online transfer of high school transcripts to colleges
   Online transfer of transcripts among different colleges
   Online tutoring
   Peer counseling by graduate counseling students

NDUS provides local telephone access to all registered students,
including non-matriculating students.  Courses in agricultural
science, computer science, and physics are partly taught online.
In addition, the following online utilities are available to
students:

   Computer-based simulations in computer science and chemistry
   Database software
   Internet access
   Library access (including NDUS university libraries and the
     ERIC educational research system)
   Linear programming languages
   Software compilers
   Statistical software packages

Virginia:  Virginia Educational Research Network (VERNet) and
Virginia Public Educational Network (VA.PEN).  Virginia has two
statewide educational telecommunications networks:  VERNet for
higher education and VA.PEN for K-12 education.  VERNet links
most major public and private colleges and universities together
and provides unrestricted Internet access.  (Complete
interconnection should be accomplished by Fall 1992.)  In
addition, most of the larger higher education institutions
throughout the state offer local dial-up access to their host
computers, enabling students to access the Internet from home as
well.

While VA.PEN is primarily accessed within K-12 school facilities,
students in grades 6-12 can have their own home accounts, free of
charge, after completing an application form that must be signed
by both a parent and a teacher.  The application obligates
parents and teachers to supervise student use of the system.

Features of potential educational value include:

   Cleveland Free-Net access
   Curriculum-based discussion groups (read-only access for
     students)
   E-mail
   Internet access (complete and unrestricted access to date;
     VA.PEN may have to move to restricted access if independent
     student use increases)
   NASA Space Link
   News
   Student "chat" (in the planning stage)
   Study skills lessons

Homework help is not currently part of the system.  However, the
VA.PEN administration is open to providing such a service in the
future.  Real-time communication will be available throughout
VA.PEN as of Fall 1992, making online interactive homework help
technically feasible.

Texas Education Network (TEnet).  TEnet is Texas's state-wide
computer network, funded by the state legislature.  While
primarily used by schools and colleges, until this year the
network has also been available to homes for a flat rate charge
of only $25 per year.  While students have not been allowed
accounts on the system, they have had access through their
parents' accounts.

The system offers features such as electronic mail, online
simulations, bulletin boards, collaboratively-built databases,
database information, and access to the Internet.  Home use has
been higher than expected, unfortunately resulting in busy
telephone access lines and Internet access ports, and a shortage
of hard disk space.  Due to state government budget restrictions,
the system is not being upgraded to accommodate all who want
access.  The administrators of the network are debating whether
to discontinue parent home accounts.

Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN).  FIRN's original
purpose was to provide networking for educational administrative
data.  This year it has branched out to provide instructional
support targeted for K-12 and is intended to be used at school
under the guidance of a teacher.  The network is free to schools
throughout Florida.  Approximately 95 percent of the
instructional use is at the K-12 level.  However, several
services are highly appropriate for post-secondary students.

Services of potential value to students include:

   Cable in the Classroom (listings of educational TV available
     on public and commercial cable TV)
   Career and post-secondary education information (data specific
     to Florida)
   Conferencing for gifted students
   E-mail
   Internet e-mail
   Online advisement and support for home-bound and hospital-
     bound students
   Real-time communications facilities for gifted students
   Research Library Access (Florida State University online card
     catalog system and ERIC resources; separate community
     college library system access is under development)
   Weather maps (updated daily)

Most student use of the system occurs at an educational
institution, and most cannot independently acquire an account.
Home-bound and hospital-bound students are notable exceptions.
General student access at home is not in FIRN's current planning.

Other statewide systems.  Other statewide systems with long
experience in educational telecommunications and resources of
value to students include:

   University of Alaska
   University of California
   MERIT (Michigan's higher education network)

                     Library Access Networks

In this section, we describe one statewide library access system
(Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries, or CARL) and three
local libraries that offer online card catalogue access.

Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries (CARL)
Online Library System

CARL offers online access to:

   Card catalogues from a variety of public, and college and
     university-based libraries (mostly Colorado)
   Card catalogues from government libraries
   Department of Energy database
   Encyclopedia
   Environmental Education database
   Gateways to public and university library systems throughout
     the U.S.
   General and education-oriented article databases (Magazine
     Index and ERIC)
   Internet Resource Guide
   "Uncover" document retrieval service providing access to and
     delivery of articles (fee-based)

CARL's card catalogue and gateway services, and access to several
government databases are free of charge.  Access to some
proprietary databases (e.g., Magazine Index) is restricted to
Colorado residents.  Access to the "Uncover" document retrieval
service costs $900.00 per year for a single-user password, which
would be prohibitive for most home users.  However, a network
that is part of the Internet can subscribe to "Uncover" for
$5,000.00 (for multiple-user gateway) or $10,000 (for a
customized multiple-user gateway) per year.  Typically, users of
such networks are given free access.  The average additional cost
of obtaining full text research articles is $9.00 to $12.00 per
article.

There are hundreds of other major research library systems that,
like CARL, offer Internet-accessible online catalogs, including
systems of several major public universities (e.g., University of
California; major branches within the State University of New
York system).
Regional Public Online Library Systems

To provide a sense of the features of regional public online
library catalogue systems, IESD analysts sampled three such
systems:

     *  Multinomah County (Oregon) Central Library

     *  Discovery Place, Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan
        Library's On-line Catalog

     *  Indianapolis (Indiana) Public Library

All are menu-based systems that enable users to search for
library resources by:

Title (keywords or exact title)
Subject (keywords or exact subject)
Author's name

Results of the search come in the form of bibliographic data for
information resources in the library collection that match the
search criterion, along with each source's current status (e.g.,
currently available; due on a specified date).  The Indianapolis
system includes the multimedia resource catalogue of the
Indianapolis Children's Museum, in addition to traditional print
resources.  Some systems permit users to place a hold on an
information resource online.

                    Special Purpose Networks

In this section, we describe selected special purpose network
services that provide educational resources.

Learning Link

Learning Link was initially developed in New York to make it easy
for K-12 educators to integrate local public television program
offerings into the curriculum.  It has expanded to serve as an
information and communication network for both teachers and
students.  The model developed in New York has been installed in
several other cities as well, with an initial technology
investment made by the local public television station.

Learning Link services are presently heavily weighted toward
teachers.  However, the system is expanding its features intended
for students and has created a separate main menu for student
services.  Features of New York Learning Link of potential
interest to students in grades 7-12 include:

   Antartica (data and activities)
   Curriculum Connection (a database of instructional television
     programs searchable by curriculum interest and grade
     appropriateness)
   E-mail
   Environmental data and activities
   Gateway to online database searching (additional fees
     required)
   Internet e-mail
   Student File Libraries (libraries of downloadable text and
     graphics files, some of which relate to science)
   Up Up & Away Rocket Club (data and activities on rocketry)
   Young Astronauts Forum (including references to information on
     space exploration)

In addition, many of the teacher materials available throughout
Learning Link are potentially valuable to parents engaged in home
schooling.

In most Learning Link communities, access accounts are free of
charge (i.e., subsidized by the local public television station);
the maximum charge in any community is $50 per year for an
individual account.  For communities that do not have a local
Learning Link service, there is a similar national service,
called IntroLink.  IntroLink is available on a yearly
subscription basis with a variety of payment options.

NASA Space Link

NASA Space Link is a free-of-charge, open access, comprehensive
depository of information on the U.S. space program.  It is
accessible via the Internet and many other online networks.

Virtually all of NASA Space Link's features are appropriate for
students.  These include:

   Aeronautics
   Classroom Materials (intended for educators but of value to
     some students as well)
   Current NASA News (including status reports on a variety of
     NASA projects)
   History of Space Exploration
   NASA and its Centers (information on NASA as an organization)
   NASA Educational Services (intended for educators but of value
     to students as well)
   Shuttle Program and the Future of U.S. Space Exploration
   Space Program Spinoffs/Technology Transfer

EcoNet

EcoNet is a telecommunications network focusing on ecological
information and issues, developed by the Institute for Global
Communications, a division of the Tides Foundation.  It is the
official network for both the North American Association for
Environmental Education and the Alliance for Environment
Education.  It offers e-mail, as well as public and private
conferences.  Online database access is in development.

Conferences of potential interest to students include:

   Agriculture
   Appropriate Technology
   Climate Change
   Energy
   Environment-related Jobs
   Forest
   Marine
   Water
   Wildlife

Last year, EcoNet held an online "dialog" among children ages 10-
15, encouraging them to think about and discuss their future.

EcoNet is also the network home of the Technical Education
Research Center's (TERC) "Global Laboratory" project, the goal of
which is to:
     ...improve science education by involving students at
     the secondary and college level throughout the world in
     scientific collaboration in global
     ecological research.1

This project involves students, teachers, and professional
scientists and engineers.  The network is used for information
exchange.  While this project is essentially school-based,
students can continue project-related telecommunications at home
because EcoNet provides local dial-up access.

Access to EcoNet costs $15.00 for initial sign-up and a $10.00
per month service charge.  In addition, users are charged $10.00
per hour during prime time (7 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and $5.00 per hour
during non-prime time.

Dialog Information Service:  Knowledge Index

The Dialog online system offers the most comprehensive array of
searchable databases available in the U.S.  Knowledge Index is a
subset of these databases, intended for home users.  Knowledge
Index is available only outside of normal business hours -- after
6 p.m. and on weekends.  Searches can be conducted via a menu
system, using keywords and boolean logic, or by index searching.

Clusters of databases of potential value to students include:

   Bibliographic References (2 databases)
   Chemistry (8 databases)
   Computers and Electronics (10 databases)
   Medicine, Drugs, and Biosciences (21 databases)
   News and Current Affairs (45 databases)
   Science and Technology (11 databases)

There is significant overlap in the databases included within the
categories listed above.  (For example, MATHSCI, a database of
mathematics and science articles, is grouped within Computers and
Electronics and also within Science and Technology.)

In addition to these clusters, there are general reference
databases of potential value when conducting research in
mathematics, science, technology, engineering, and career
education (e.g., DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS, MAGAZINE INDEX,
PETERSON'S COLLEGE DATABASE, PETERSON'S GRADLINE).

Knowledge Index is available at a fixed rate of $24 per search
hour (40 cents per minute), which includes network connection and
data output.

Higher Education Networks

Many colleges and universities have their own computer networks,
some of which offer dial-up access to students.  IESD analysts
have identified several examples of innovative applications of
such networks to offer educational services to students away from
campus.  In addition, we describe one networked-based alternative
to traditional institutions of higher learning.

Texas A & M.  This institution has developed a sophisticated
system for delivering academic tutoring and advisement to student
athletes when they are away from campus during sports
competition.  (Such services became an NCAA requirement for
____________________
1.  EcoNet fact sheet received by fax transmission, May 1, 1992.

Division I schools as of 1991.)  Traveling with the team is an
academic advisor and laptop computers, outfitted with
wordprocessing and communications software, and modems.  Students
connect to the university network via long distance lines and a
telephone credit card.  Students taking mathematics, science, and
engineering courses can access practice programs and chapter
outlines, can deliver assigned papers electronically, and can
access the online library catalogues at Texas A & M and the
University of Texas at Austin.  They can also schedule times to
receive real-time online tutoring, using the network's chat
capability.  In addition, student athletes are organized in study
clusters, with students from different sports in the same
cluster; when a student athlete is on the road, s/he can contact
and receive help from other students in the study cluster.  There
are some mathematics, science, and engineering majors among the
student athletes.

Cornell University.  This university offers dial-up (and on
campus) access to a unique career information service on the
university computer network.  Career guidance comes in the form
of Auntie Em, an ongoing electronic dialog between students with
career questions and an anonymous member of the university Career
Center staff who plays the continuing role of a kindly and all-
knowing (at least about career questions) Auntie.  This service
is a spin-off of Cornell's longstanding, online, psychological
counseling service, called Uncle Ezra.

Georgia College.  Education students (including prospective math
and science teachers) have dial-up access to EduNet, a resource
on PeachNet, the Georgia network for higher education.  While
students are engaged in student teaching and on through the first
few critical years as novice teachers, EduNet provides access to
the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum, sample lesson plans, a
curriculum-to-textbook matching service, and e-mail communication
between students and professors.

El Paso Community College (TX).  This community college of
approximately 25,000 students located near the Juarez, Mexico
border is a feeder institution to both the University of Texas at
El Paso and the University of New Mexico.  The college has its
own network that provides access to the Texas Higher Education
Network (THEnet) and the Internet.  Dialup access to the college
library is available throughout metro area.  Starting in the
fall, Allied Health Services students will have access to health
professions training software (from a local hospital) via dialup.

Connected Education, Inc.  This organization offers network
conference-based academic courses for college and graduate level
academic credit, in affiliation with The New School for Social
Research and Polytechnic University of New York.  (In fact, the
computer conferencing facility is provided by the New Jersey
Institute of Technology.)  The New School offers a complete
online masters program in Technology and Society.

Over a pre-scheduled period of time, students access course
reading material and respond in "writing" to the material and any
previously-posted student reactions to it.  The instructor is the
last person to react, summarizing the themes that evolve from the
ongoing discussion.  Students participate from throughout the
U.S. and several other countries.

Online courses offered through The New School include:

   Applications in Telecommunications
   Artificial Intelligence & Real Life
   Computer Conferencing
   Microchip Economy
   Philosophy of Technology
   Technological Forecasting

There is a registration fee of $20.00 for undergraduate courses
and a per-course charge of $1179.00.  The registration fee for
graduate courses is $60.00 and a per-course charge of $1248.00

                     Bulletin Board Systems

Virtually every community throughout the U.S. with a population
of 20,000 or more has free access bulletin board systems, some of
which focus on specific science or technology topics.   For
example, IESD analysts sampled topical bulletin boards in the
Denver, Colorado area and found BBSs for:

   Astronomy
   Computer Care
   Earthquake Data
   Electronic Professionals and Enthusiasts
   Space Environment
   Space Exploration Information

                  Telephone Homework Hotlines:
      A Model for Computer Network-based Tutoring Services

As home computers become more prevalent throughout the U.S.,
online homework help and tutoring services have great potential
for providing academic support to students at home.  Commercial
services such as America Online and GEnie are currently providing
such services.  However, these require per hour charges that are
likely to discourage significant use.

Free or low-cost, flat-rate access networks, such as Free-Net,
Big Sky Telegraph, Learning Link, and (in some regions) the
Internet, would provide an appropriate "home" for online homework
help and tutoring services.

The best model for providing such services are telephone-based
homework help services, available in some communities throughout
the U.S. free of charge to local students.  These services are
frequently organized by the local teachers union, the local
school district, a regional education agency, or some combination
of these organizations.  IESD analysts identified 30 such
services and investigated seven in depth:

   Baton Rouge, LA
   Bridgeport, CT
   Indianapolis, IN
   Los Angeles, CA
   New York City, NY
   Rochester, MN (serving the entire state of Minnesota)
   Trumbull-Shelton-Stratford, CT

Five of the seven services report taking calls from students in
elementary, middle/junior high, and senior high school (including
one site that is only funded for elementary students).  Two
services are not prepared to answer questions from senior high
students, due to funding limitations.  Three sites specifically
mentioned that they occasionally field questions from college
students.

Where funding limitations do not restrict the range of students
served, over half the calls are from middle/junior high students
and older.  Half or more of the calls from these students concern
mathematics.  Typically 5-10 percent focus on science questions.

When Homework Services Operate

Homework services are typically available Monday through
Thursday.  (One was available Sunday evening as well.)  Most are
in operation for 3-4 hours per day, within the time span from
3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Staffing Issues

At every one of these services, the homework helpers are paid,
licensed, practicing teachers.  A few services have additional
requirements (e.g., a masters degree, five or more years of
teaching experience, passing a screening process for
temperamental suitability).

All seven services require helpers to undergo initial training.
Typically, training focuses on how to engage students in a
dialogue that helps them through their problems without having
the helper do the thinking for the student.  Some services have
trainees simulate actual sessions or buddy with a working
homework helper before working independently.

In four of the seven programs, junior and senior high students
are automatically referred to subject matter specialists (e.g., a
math teacher for math questions; a science teacher for science
questions).  At the other programs, the administration prides
itself on the versatility of the helper staff.  However, for
questions requiring special expertise, students are referred to
subject matter specialists.  Typically, 40 percent or more of the
helpers on call on any given day have special expertise in math,
and at least 20 percent have science expertise.  In some
programs, a few teachers have expertise in both science and math.
(In Los Angeles, 3 of the 8 math and science teachers are
bilingual.)

The number of student queries per day varies greatly from program
to program (from an average of about 35 calls per day in small-
town Connecticut to an average of approximately 550 calls per day
in New York City), reflecting the size of the available student
population.  Staffing ratios range from a low of .02 (2 helping
teachers per 100 student calls) to a high of .15.  The average
staffing ratio is .08.

Helping teachers work from 3 to 9 hours per week -- an average of
6 hours per week.

Costs and Funding

Pay for helping teachers at the services investigated for this
study ranges from $10 to over $25 per hour -- an average of about
$18 per hour.  (Pay rates in New York and Los Angeles are the
highest.)  Assuming that a homework helper service were in
operation 120 days per year and teachers were paid at an hourly
pay rate of $18, it would cost $6,480 per helper per year if the
service were in operation for 3 hours per day and $8,640 per
helper per year if the service were in operation for 4 hours per
day.

Other costs to run homework helper services include:
     *  Administrator's salary

     *  Cost of clerical support

     *  Cost of computer equipment

     *  Cost of physical plant (if not an in-kind donation)

     *  Cost of reference library (if not donated by
        publishers)

     *  Publicity costs

     *  Telephone expenses

Initial start-up is typically funded through government or
private grants.  On-going funding is provided by the local school
board, teacher associations, state or federal funds, and/or
private donations (including in-kind donations).

How Homework Helper Services are Organized

Location of service.  All of the services contacted for this
report have the homework helper staff work at a central location.
(We contacted one additional service, in Arizona, where they had
tried to route students' calls directly to the helper teachers'
homes and where teachers worked on a voluntary basis.  This
system failed after one year due to lack of teacher interest.)

Materials available to helping teachers.  All of the services
provide print-based instructional and reference materials that
teachers can access as calls from students come in.  These
materials include:

     *  Teacher's editions of textbooks in all subject areas
        (the actual textbook series used in the region
        served)

     *  Encyclopedia

     *  Dictionary

Additional materials available to helper teachers at one or more
of the services include:

     *  Almanac

     *  Maps and globes

     *  Contact information to refer students to a local
        library information service

     *  Homework helper service-developed materials focusing
        on frequently-asked student questions

     *  Teacher-developed materials

Time required per call.  The typical interaction between student
and helping teacher takes from 5 to 15 minutes.  Some services
report that calls from high school students concerning advanced
topics can take more time -- as much as 45 minutes to an hour.
Questions Asked and Kinds of Help Provided

Math questions.  Most mathematics questions fielded from junior
and senior high students refer to problems assigned from a
textbook or developed by the classroom teacher.  Content areas
and topics frequently mentioned include:

     Rounding
     Percents
     Fractions
     Decimals
     Factoring Equations
     Algebra
     Geometry
     Trigonometry (fewer calls than other topics)
     Calculus (fewer calls than other topics)
     Word problems (of all types)

Science questions.  Science questions from junior and senior high
students typically focus on the following content areas and
topics:

     Life Science
     Earth Science
     Biology
     Chemistry
     Ideas for Science Projects
     General study help (e.g., where to look in a science
        textbook for specific information; use of the table
        of contents, index, chapter heading)

Relatively few questions are asked concerning Physics, perhaps
because fewer students take Physics and these tend to be students
who have demonstrated an aptitude for science.

Procedure for helping.  Help to students most frequently comes in
the form of a Socratic-style dialogue, in which the helping
teacher asks a series of questions that eventually lead the
student to the correct answer.  When necessary, the helping
teacher provides a general rule or procedure for solving the type
of problem at hand.  The student is expected to apply the rule.
Representatives from the homework helper services stress the
inappropriateness of supplying students with correct answers.

Since homework helper services rely so heavily on Socratic-style
dialogue, online networks offering such a service will require
real-time communication capability.  Without real-time
communication, Socratic-style give and take between teacher and
student is impossible.

Difficulties Faced by Homework Helper Services

Difficulties include:

     *  Raising funds to keep the service going

     *  Overcoming resistance (during the service's start-up
        period) from classroom teachers who are concerned
        that the helping teachers will replace them or will
        do the work for the students

     *  Screening for patient, caring, committed helping
        teachers
     *  Providing the service past 8 p.m., to satisfy the
        needs of older students

Innovations that have
Improved Homework Helper Services

Valuable innovations include:

     *  CD-ROM access to reference materials

     *  Computerized logging and tracking of student calls

     *  Service-developed reference manual of typical math
        and science questions

                           Conclusions

The following conclusions are impressions based on our review of
educational resources available via telecommunications and on
discussions with experts in educational technology.

Computer-based telecommunications for educational purposes is
still in its infancy.  Despite this, there is a wide variety of
appropriate applications, including e-mail, database searching,
electronic reference tools, file transfer, conferencing, and
simulations.  However, relatively few math and science resources
have been developed to date that are intended for students in
grades 7-12 for use outside of a school context.  This is an area
of potential opportunity and growth.

Use of telecomputing for educational benefit in the home by
students is limited.  There is more use by college- and
university-affiliated students (including students in grades 7-12
whose parents have a higher education affiliation) than others.
Children of parents who work in high technology industries are
also more likely to benefit from online services.

Potential for Increased Usage

Cost as a factor.  The home use of online services by students is
likely to increase with the availability of free or flat rate
access.  For students in grades 7-12, parents tend to control the
access to networks when time-based fees or surcharges are
involved.  While most national, commercial networks are moving
towards flat rate structures, the flat rates do not typically
include the most desirable services for educational benefit in
the home.  (Prodigy is a notable exception.)

More and more low-cost state, regional, or community-wide
networks are being formed across the country.  Where such
services are available and are publicized, students take
advantage of them.  Two important issues that must be faced are:

     1. Funding for the expansion that must come with
        increased usage

     2. Responsibility for and supervision of students who
        may be given access to resources that some adults
        feel are unsuitable for children (important when
        providing open access to the Internet)

Ease of use.  The user interfaces of most online services and
networks were not developed with children in mind.  Friendlier
interfaces, especially those designed specifically for children,
are likely to stimulate increased usage.  The trend towards
easier-to-use interfaces has already begun.

Proliferation of low cost computers.  Home computers have become
a commodity product.  Especially in the MS-DOS-compatible market,
there are many quality brands available, which is causing prices
to spiral downward.  And because of the newer windowing operating
environments (e.g., Microsoft Windows), MS-DOS computers are
beginning to compete with Apple Macintosh in terms of ease of use
-- causing Apple to keep its prices down.

As prices continue downward, home computer purchases are likely
to increase.  As the supply of home computers with modems
increases, so may the demand for online educational services.
This, in turn, may make such services more economically viable.

Trends to Watch

IESD analysts note the following trends regarding computer-based
telecommunications and education.

1. On-line access to public library collections is likely to
grow.  In the future, more and more full text sources are likely
to become available.

2. Networks that have traditionally been special purpose in
nature are acquiring multiple features.  General information
services and special networks are converging.  Meanwhile,  the
interest in local BBSs so evidenced in the 1980s has evened out,
in favor of more connected and comprehensive services.
Specifically educational services are likely to co-reside with
consumer and business-oriented services.

3. More networks are providing mail exchange protocols and/or
gateways to other networks.  The use of the Internet as a low-
cost mail carrier is growing rapidly.

4. More real-time educational activities are likely to be
developed.  We can expect that many of these will combine text-
based communication with video-based communication.  Cable
television and telephone companies (providers of fiber optic
connectivity) are becoming involved in such ventures.

5. Educational help services will be able to offer different
modes of communication, including voice, fax, and text on
computer screen.  Some services may combine these types of
communication.

                       SELECTED REFERENCES

Eiser, L. (November/December 1990) Keeping in Touch:  A Guide to
  Online Telecommunications Services.  Technology & Learning, pp.
  36-43.

Kehoe, B.P. (1992) Zen and the Art of the Internet:  A Beginner's
  Guide to the Internet.  Brendan P. Kehoe.

Kochmer, J. (1992) NorthWestNet User Services Internet Resource
  Guide (NUSIRG), Third Edition.  Bellevue, WA:  NorthWest Net
  Academic Computing Consortium, Inc.

Kurshan, B. (December 1990) Home Market for Educational Online
  Services:  Growth of Market and Strategies for Expansion.

Kurshan, B. (December 1990) Statewide Telecommunications
  Networks:  An Overview of the Current State and the Growth
  Potential.

Kurshan, B. and Harrington, M. (November 1991) Creating
  Communities:  An Educator's Guide to Networks.  (Prepared for
  the National Science Foundation.

Mooers, C. (August 1991) Exploring Janet from the Internet.  NSF
  Network News, No. 10. p. 5.

NSF Network Service Center (1989) Internet Resource Guide.
  Cambridge, MA:  BBN Systems and Technologies Corporation.

                            APPENDIX

                          Contact List

Project Consultants

Barbara Kurshan
Telecommunications Consultant
Educorp Consultants, Inc.
Roanoke, VA
Phone: 703-774-0193
E-mail address2: Kurshan@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU

Len Scrogan
Telecommunications Consultant
Educational Technology Specialist
Boulder Valley School District
Boulder, CO
Phone: 303-661-9132
E-mail address:  72065,1113 (Compuserve)

Online Services

America Online
Quantum Computer Services
Vienna, VA 22182
Phone: 800-227-6364; 703-448-8700

Big Sky Telegraph
Western Montana College
Dillon, MT  59725-3598
Contact Name: Frank Odasz
Phone: 406-683-7338

CARL Systems, Inc.
Colorado Alliance of Research Libraries
Denver, Co. 80210
Phone: 303-758-3030
E-mail address: help@carl.org

____________________
2.  E-mail addresses are for the Internet unless otherwise noted.

Cleveland Free-Net and the National Public Telecomputing Network
(NPTN)
Cleveland, Ohio  44106
Contact Name: Tom Grundner
Phone: 216-368-2733
E-mail address:  aa001@cleveland.freenet.edu.

CompuServe
500 Arlington Center Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43220
Phone: 800-848-8199

Connected Education, Inc.
New York, NY
Contact Name: Paul Levinson
Phone: 212-549-6509
E-mail addresses: levin@dde1pl.das.net
                  72517,3107 (CompuServe)

Cornell University Career Center
Auntie Em
Ithaca, NY
Contact Name: Tom Devlin
Phone: 607-255-5221

Delphi
1030 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact Name: Robert Adams (Product Development)
Phone: 800-544-4005; 617-491-3393

Dialog Information Services, Inc.
3460 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Phone: 800-3-DIALOG

EcoNet
Institute for Global Communications
A Division of the Tides Foundation
San Francisco, CA 94107
Phone: 415-442-0220

El Paso Community College
El Paso, TX
Contact Name: Mike Wolf
Phone: 915-775-6101

Florida Information Resource Network (FIRN)
Florida Department of Education
Tallahassee, FL 32399
Contact Name: Bebe Smith
Phone: 904-487-8668

GEnie
GE Information Services
Rockville, MD 20850
Contact Name: Sandra Meeker
Phone: 800-638-9636; 301-340-4310

Georgia College
231 West Hancock Street
Milledgeville, GA 31061
Contact Name:  Frank Lowney
Phone: 912-453-5121
Learning Link/IntroLink
LinkNet, Inc.
New York, NY 10019
Contact Names: Robert Spielvogel; Erica Marks Panush
Phone: 212-708-3054; 212-708-3056
E-mail address: rspiel@linknet.com; llncem@linknet.com

North Dakota:  SENDIT and the North Dakota University System
North Dakota State University
Fargo, ND
Contact Name:  Gleason Sackman
Phone: 701-237-8109

NYSERNet
Bridging the Gap/Ask Liberty High Project
111 College Place
Syracuse, NY 13244
Contact Name: Linda Carl
Phone: 315-443-4120

Prodigy
Prodigy Service Co.
White Plains, NY 10615
800-776-3449

Texas Education Network (TEnet)
Texas Education Agency
1701 N. Congress Ave.
Austin, TX 78731
512-463-9734

Virginia Educational Research Network (VERNet) and Virginia
Public Educational Network (VA.PEN)
Virginia Department of Education
P.O. Box 6Q
Richmond, VA 23216
Contact Name: Harold Cothern
Phone: 804-225-2921

Homework Hotline Services

Baton Rouge Dial-A-Teacher
Baton Rouge, LA 70808
Contact Name: Marian Baun
Phone: 504-766-6453

Connecticut Education Association
Bridgeport Education Association and
Trumbull-Shelton-Stratford Homework Hotlines
Bridgeport, CT
Contact Name: Jeff Rosenburg
Phone: 203-378-2101

Indianapolis Public Schools
Parents in Touch/Dial-A-Teacher
901 N. Carrollton
Indianapolis, IN 40202
Contact Name: Frances Richey
Phone: 800-232-6277; 317-226-4134
National Education Association
National Center for Innovation (information on homework hotline
services)
Washington, DC 20036
Contact Name: Shari Castle
Phone: 202-822-7927

Southeast Minnesota Educational Cooperative Service Unit
Homework Helpline
Rochester, MN
Contact Name: Diane Fritcher
Phone: 507-288-1282

United Federation of Teachers/New York City Board of Education
Dial-A-Teacher
New York, NY 10010
Contact Names:  Betty Holmes and Grace Friedman
Phone: 212-598-9205

United Teachers of Los Angeles
Dial-A-Teacher
Los Angeles, CA  90057
Contact Name: Teresa Montano
Phone: 213-487-3739

Other

EDUCOM K-12 Networking Project
Washington, DC 20036
Contact Name: John Clement
E-mail address: JRC@BITNIC.BITNET

                   Additional Online Projects
                          and Services

Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306
Has developed an online student information system, which
includes:  an e-mail system for students to communicate with
faculty advisors; a student information database (e.g., space
available in a particular course); career services; and current
student employment opportunities.
Contact Name: Hal Caldwell
Phone:  317-285-8686

Earth Kids Net BBS
Earth Kids Organization
P.O. 3847
Salem, OR 97302
A non-profit telecommunications service that focuses on ecology
projects.  One past project involved measuring CO2 levels at
local sites throughout the country; participants included
students in middle through high schools, home schoolers, church
groups, and graduate students.  Has begun a new project in which
participants study the local impact of ozone on frog populations.
Contact Name: Marshall Gilmore
Phone: 503-363-1896
E-mail address: marshall.gilmore@F606.n103.z1.fidonet.org
FrEdMail
FrEdMail Foundation
P.O. Box 243
Bonita, CA 91908
A network of bulletin board systems that includes educational
projects and e-mail.  The projects are intended primarily for
elementary school students, but some are suitable for older
students.  Some projects involve math and science (e.g., a noon
observation project, in which students at sites across the
country measure the shadow cast by the sun at noon and then use
the data to estimate the earth's circumference).  While most of
the system's activity occurs within schools, some students access
FrEdMail at home to communicate with others and to obtain answers
to questions.
Contact Name: Al Rogers
Phone: 619-475-4852
E-mail address:  arogers@bonita.cerf.fred.org

Laptop Take Home Project
New York City Board of Education (NYCBOE), Bureau of Non-public
Schools
Brooklyn, NY
Provides access to online remedial math and reading instruction
(an integrated learning system) to non-public school students at
home.  (The project is funded under the U.S. government's Chapter
I remedial education program.)  Each student is loaned a laptop
computer equipped with an internal modem; the computers have been
customized so that they work only with the NYCBOE's
telecommunications software.   Besides accessing instruction,
each student can send and receive e-mail to a NYCBOE teacher, who
is responsible for monitoring progress.  The project covers
grades 1-8, with approximately 200 students on the junior high
level.  In addition, some homebound NYCBOE public school students
use the same system but have access to a greater variety of
courseware.
Contact Name: Margaret Weiss
Phone: 718-935-4162

KIDSNET Mailing List
c/o University of Pittsburgh
Physics Department
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
A good source of information about news and e-mail interfaces
suitable for children's use, and online services for the K-12
audience.  Subscribers include teachers, administrators,
scientists, developers of software and hardware, and funding
agencies.
Contact Name:  Robert Carlitz
Phone: 412-624-9027
To Register: kidsnet-request@vms.cis.pitt.edu or
             joinkids@vms.cis.pitt.edu

KIDLINK, KIDLEADER, KIDPROJ, KIDPLAN, and
KIDCAFE LISTSERV Lists
A set of information resources and a source of projects organized
around the idea of a global telecommunications network dialogue
for youth aged 10 to 15.
Contact Name:  Odd de Presno
               Saltrod, Norway
Fax: +47-41-27111 (an international exchange)
E-mail address:  opresno@extern.vio.no
MicroMuse at MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
A multi-user, text-based, simulation environment based at MIT's
Artificial Intelligence Lab, providing explorations, adventures,
and puzzles that combine social, cultural, and educational
content.  Examples include: the MicroMuse Science Center, which
provides interactive exhibits based on experience with Science
Museums around the country; a detailed tour of Mars; and a
working model of a futuristic version of Yellowstone National
Park.  The centerpiece of MicroMuse is Cyberion City, a simulated
orbiting space station that exists in the 24th century.
To Register:  micromuse-registration@chezmoto.ai.mit.edu

MIT Plasma Physics Lab
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA
Teaches a course in non-linear dynamics to high school students
over the Internet.
Contact Name:  George Johnston
E-mail address: glj@nerus.pfc.mit.edu

New York Network/State University of New York (SUNY)
Albany, NY 12225
Has formed a public/private partnership with Instructional
Systems, Inc. (ISI), of New Jersey, to research and develop a
service that integrates widely available learning technologies to
provide instruction to homes, the workplace, and community sites.
Technologies include computer-based telecommunications (to
provide an integrated learning system), cable television (to
provide a live teacher), and telephone (to allow for student
communication with the teacher).
Contact Name: Gregory Benson, Jr.
Phone: 518-443-5333

NovaNET
Computer-based Education Research Laboratory (CERL)
University of Illinois
Champaign-Urbana, IL 61801
A network accessible via phone lines or satellite that offers a
continuously updated library of interactive educational software.
(The system is the higher-technology successor to the original
PLATO integrated learning system.)  There are currently 90,000
users in 13 states, and at some locations, the network can be
accessed via home computer. Over 10,000 hours of instruction are
available on the network, ranging from elementary level through
post-graduate education, in a wide variety of subjects (including
job training).
Contact Name: Lorella Jones
Phone: 217-333-1138
Project Homeroom
c/o Ameritech Corporation
2000 West Ameritech Center Drive
Location 4B35C
Hoffman Estates, IL
An experimental project developed by IBM, Ameritech Corporation,
and Illinois educators, in which students and teachers use
computers at home that are linked via special (ISDN) telephone
lines to a school local area network (LAN).  The system also
provides access to Prodigy's e-mail and online encyclopedia.  The
project is designed to foster cooperative learning among students
and to encourage out-of-class teacher-student and teacher-parent
communication.  Another goal of the project is to introduce
interdisciplinary instruction.
Contact Name: Gene Dunne, Ameritech Corporation
Phone: 708-248-5404

Rochester Institute of Technology
P.O. Box 9887
Rochester, NY 14623
Offers online bachelors and masters degree programs, including
science, applied computing, telecommunications, and software
development and management.
Contact Name: Susan Rogers
Phone:  800-CALLRIT; 716-475-5089
E-mail address:  smrasv@isc.rit.edu

Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Has developed an online program called "Study Smart," providing
study skills for middle school and high school students
(distributed by America Online).  Currently developing a college
version, which will be available over Virginia Tech's on-campus
network.
Contact Name: Thomas Sherman
Phone: 703-231-5598

                      Additional Resources

Ecolinking
Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA
A how-to book for using telecommunications to access ecology
information.
Author: Don Rittner

Electronic Networking:  Research, Applications and Policy
A journal published by Meckler Corporation.
Westport, CT 06880
Phone: 203-226-6967
E-mail addresses: meckler@jvnc.net
                  70373,616 (Compuserve)

Exploring the Internet:  Searching for K-12 Resources
Connecting Schools Task Group of the Massachusetts Telecomputing
Coalition
580 Whetstone Hill Road
Somerset, MA 02726-3702
A publication covering the basics of Internet use, including:
what you need to get started (including hardware and software
requirements); understanding Internet addresses; accessing remote
computers; e-mail; and file transfer.
Contact Name: Martin Huntley, Computer Technology Center
Phone: 508-672-2060
E-mail address:  mhuntley@umassd.edu
Laptop Notes
c/o Bank Street College of Education
New York, NY 10025
The newsletter of the Panasonic Laptops for Education Project.
Contact Name: Katie McMillan (Bank Street College)
Phone: 212-875-4400

"Linking for Learning:  Computer-and-Communications Network
Support for Nationwide Innovation in Education," Journal of
Science Education and Technology, Vol. 1, No. 1, March 1992.
An overview of the planned future of the National Research and
Education Network (NREN), which seeks to provide a
telecommunications link between the educational and research
communities throughout the country and the world, to support
educational reform.
Author:  Beverly Hunter, National Science Foundation,
       1800 G St. N.W. Washington, DC 20550

National Universities Degree Consortium
Colorado State University
Spruce Hall
Fort Collins, CO 80523
Works with and tracks universities that provide technology-based
distance learning (including computer-based telecommunications)
to homes and workplaces.  They are especially interested in
encouraging and helping universities to provide baccalaureate
degree programs via distance learning.
Contact Name: Joan Bowen
Phone: 303-491-5288
Voice Mail: 800-688-6245 (at the sound of the recorded
            voice, press 2, then extension 7070).

National University Continuing Education Association
1 Dupont Circle, Suite 615
Washington, DC 20036
Publishes the Directory of Distance Education through
Telecommunications, which identifies universities that are
providing instructional services using a variety of
telecommunications technologies.
Contact Name: Noah Brown
Phone: 202-659-3130
Fax:  202-785-0374

Old Colorado City Communications
6 North 24th Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80904
Provides a variety of services related to educational
applications of online technology, including:  a network from
which educational services can be provided and accessed;
consulting on the development of educational telecommunications
systems; development and ongoing administration of online
instruction; instruction on how to use telecommunications and the
Internet, and how to teach online; and consulting on government
policy related to educational technology.
Contact Name: Dave Hughes
Phone: 719-636-2040