A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

OERI Bulletin - Summer 1995

Technology and OERI

Technology is changing the way we work, live, and learn. And the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), through many of its services and programs, is making it easier for everyone everywhere--researchers, practitioners, teachers, students, parents, and policymakers--to access information.

Star Schools and Teacher Networking Technology

Electronic access to information is perhaps one of the most pressing needs of the nineties. What's available, and how is it being used by OERI? Satellite, Internet, cable, interactive videodiscs, microcomputers, and fiber optics are some distance education technologies used by projects funded by OERI's Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination (ORAD). Through its Star Schools Program, quality, cost-effective instruction through distance education technologies is provided to more than 1,640,000 learners annually in the 50 states and U.S. territories. Schools have access to instructional programs that not only serve K-12 students, including limited-English-proficient and disabled students, but also parents and teachers. One project, the Education Satellite Network (a service of the Missouri School Boards Association), publishes a monthly satellite program guide, the Education SATLINK. The guide provides schools across the nation with information about satellite programs, training, and technology available via satellite and cable. For information about the guide, call Kris Hoopingarner at 1-800-243-3376.

Another project funded last fall through ORAD's Fund for Innovation in Education supports teacher networking. The Teacher Networking Project awarded more than $1.8 million in grants to 15 projects designed to link teachers with curriculum and instruction specialists. Projects include activities such as teacher mentoring and development of curriculum materials for electronic networking. Title I teachers, those serving disadvantaged urban and rural students, and students on Indian reservations are receiving special attention. For information about the projects, call Tawanna Colbert at 202-219-2143.

Information Online

OERI's National Library of Education (NLE) maintains an electronic repository of education information and provides public access through electronic networks: INet (an Internet-based service) makes information available through World Wide Web, and FTP servers; and the OERI toll-free electronic bulletin board (see OERI Online Access).

NLE also shares information through the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC), the world's largest education database; the 16 subject-specific ERIC clearinghouses; 9 adjunct clearinghouses; and 4 ERIC support components. ERIC's database contains over 850,000 records of journal articles, research reports, curriculum and teaching guides, conference papers, and books on education research and practice.

The ERIC database can be accessed in both printed and electronic forms via online vendors, standalone CD-ROM products, and - Internet-based files. Through OERI's online AskERIC service at askeric@ericir.syr.edu (OERI-funded and operated by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology), teachers, library media specialists, administrators, and parents nationwide can get answers to education questions. Questions sent by e-mail are answered within 48 hours. Parents also can get information about raising and educating their children from the National Parent Information Network (NPIN), an online service of two ERIC Clearinghouses: Elementary and Early Childhood Education and Urban Education. For more information about NPIN, call 1-800-583-4135 or 1-800-601-4868. If you have Internet access, you may visit their World Wide Web site at http://npin.org or their gopher at ericps.crc.uiuc.edu. For a list of the ERIC Clearinghouses and help finding the best way to use ERIC, call 1-800-LET-ERIC.

NLE's state-of-the-art Technology Resources Center serves as a demonstration site for the application of technology at all levels of education. It provides introductions to new technologies (both hardware and software), examinations of programs and products, and demonstrations designed for specific needs. For more information about the Center or to arrange a visit, call Sheldon Fisher at 202-219-1699.

OERI's Library Programs (LP) Office administers a variety of programs under the Library Services and Construction Act and the Higher Education Act which are available on a state formula grant or discretionary grant basis. Grants are used to develop and enhance technologies to simplify access to the information superhighway for everyone and to foster resource sharing and cooperation among libraries.

One of LP's most recently funded projects in Maryland became the first in the nation to offer residents free direct connection to the Internet. Spearheaded by the Maryland Department of Education's Division of Library Development and Services, and with the help of librarians from across the library community, the SAILOR project is an online public information network that connects Marylanders and their libraries to resources within the state and worldwide and provides free access to the Internet. Access to the network can be gained through computers in local public libraries or by modem from an individual's home or business computer. Students have access through their school's library media center. Many of the network's services are free; however, for full interactive access to Internet, an Internet account must be purchased from a local public library system or a commercial vendor. For more information about the SAILOR project, contact Barbara G. Smith on 401-767-0436. For information on federal library grant programs, call the Office of Library Programs at 202-219-2293.

Statistics Online

Getting the word out on the data it collects is a primary activity of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Presently, NCES is upgrading its electronic dissemination techniques to reach a broader audience and to reflect the rapidly changing technologies available not only to NCES but also to its current and potential users. These techniques include CD-ROM and Internet. Information available through the Internet includes announcements of new publications and datasets, press releases, and full-text publications. Internet users, through the National Data Resource Center (NDRC), also have access to, and can request analysis of, data collected from the various education surveys and studies that NCES conducts. Send requests to NDRC online at ndrc@inet.ed.gov. Major databases, electronic codebooks, and table generation software are available on CD-ROM (see New Data on Tape and Disk).

A project recently funded by NCES with Nysernet Corporation will focus on developing a client/server application set designed to support the electronic collection and dissemination of education data between and among participating state and federal agencies. For more information about NCES' technology activities, contact Bill Freund at bill_freund@ed.gov or 202-219-1373.
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