TechKnowLogia: It's About Knowledge And Learning
Wadi D. Haddad, Editor

TechKnowLogia is a forum for dialogue and sharing of knowledge and experiences, and an instrument to encourage thinking `outside the box.` The editor-in-chief outlines the context, raison d'etre and editorial policy of the Journal.

The Information Age: A Triumph of Knowledge, Not Just a Triumph of Technology
Federico Mayor, Director-General of UNESCO

Not only can education use technology, it can define technology's uses in ways which reinforce creativity, empowerment and equality.

The View from the Private Sector: Development Challenges and Opportunities
W. Bowman Cutter, Steering Committee Chair, GIIC

As a public policy maker, a practitioner in the field of information, and a business decision-maker, Cutter sees a variety of technology investments and technology possibilities for education in the information age.

The Thread Of A Great And Long Tradition
James Johnson, Deputy Director, GIIC

Several threads of technology development, seemingly disparate, are being woven together, often accidentally, to produce the unprecedented opportunities which we, on this eve of a new millennium, have to educate the coming generations and to spread learning and knowledge to all.

Information Literacy: How does it differ from Traditional or Computer Literacy?
Taizo Nishimuro, President, Toshiba Corporation

Information technology, in particular the Internet and the web, have introduced a new society where people can share information freely, anywhere, at anytime, across the globe. Now the skills required are not merely how to use computers or how to get information.

TechKnowNews

Technology Translates Real Speech � Online University Gets Accredited � Hong Kong: All Teachers Must Be On Net by Next Year � Sowing Technology's Seeds in Developing Countries

New Technologies For Human Resource Development: What Works; What Makes Sense
Alexander J. Romiszowski, School of Education, Syracuse University

This article presents a synthesis of current uses of computers and telecommu-nications in education and training, and focuses on the use of computer networks in professional education, corporate training and human resource development.

Before the E-mail there was the P-mail -- Distance Learning by Postal Correspondence
Sonia Jurich

Correspondence education filled the gaps of an educational system that was either too small to absorb the increasing demand, or too rigid to respond to the needs of a society in transformation. Even in this technologically advanced era, correspondence studies serve both as an adjunct to the regular educational system and as an innovator.

RADIO -- Wiring The Schools With Wireless
M. Irene Oujo

This article describes the potential of broadcast and interactive radio instruction and relates a specific example in Costa Rica whereby radio is used to enhance rural multigrade classrooms.

Mexico's Telesecundaria -- Bringing Education by Television to Rural Areas
Claudio de Moura Castro, Laurence Wolff and Norma Garcia, Inter-American Development Bank

Throughout its thirty years of operation, Mexico's TV-based educational program, Telesecundaria, has been hailed as an innovative and well-managed program, geared to the poor. This article describes what Telesecundaria is, how it works, what it costs, and why it is successful.

Ghana: Networking For Local Development -- How You Can Use A Computer Without Owning One
Mary Fontaine and Dennis Foote, The LearnLink Project, Academy for Educational Development

One model for providing public access that is growing rapidly around the world is the telecenter: a public place where people can come to use computers when they need them. This article describes a project in Ghana that is exploring the practicality of non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, establishing self-sustaining telecenters.

Web Based Learning
Gregg B. Jackson, Ph.D., George Washington University

Web-based instruction will revolutionize learning in developing countries. Its impact is likely to be greater than the introduction of printed books. This article will explain how the web can facilitate learning in developing countries, its main advantages and disadvantages, and its costs.

Instructional Technology -- Then And Now
Laurence Wolff, Inter-American Development Bank

In 1974, Wilbur Schramm and others at Stanford University completed a major study on instructional technology. Twenty-five years later, the conclusions of that study may still be relevant. This article presents a matrix of conclusions from that study compared to tentative conclusions for 1999.

The Impact of Video Technology in Education: From Here to Where?
Sonia Jurich

This article presents review of literature relating to the impact of video technology in the different areas of learning, and the issues and variables that must be considered in planning their integration into the instructional process.

Does Hypermedia Accelerate Learning?
Gregg B. Jackson, Ph.D., George Washington University

The author summarizes a major review of experimental studies testing hypermedia's impacts on learning.

The Economics of Educational Technology
Jeffrey M. Puryear, Inter-American Dialogue

In assessing educational technologies, there are at least three kinds of issues to look at: costs, effectiveness, and surrounding conditions. Only when we look at all three can we determine whether a given technology is suitable.

Computers in Schools: 10 Points to Avoid Past Errors
Claudio de Moura Castro, Inter-American Development Bank

The path to the successful use of computers in schools is full of traps and pitfalls. This article discusses the challenges of bringing computers to schools. It also proposes a strategy beginning with easy applications of computers in education and progressively moving to more difficult but more rewarding modes.

Overhead Projectors

This article describes the advantages of using overhead projectors in the classroom and how they can be used in conjunction with computers.

Educational Software Sampler

There are thousands of education software CDs that cover curricular and non-curricular subjects. This issue reviews a sample of six educational CDs that offer programs in mathematics, science, grammar, culture and problem-solving.

Worth While Webs
Frank Method, Director, Washington Unesco Office

Each issue of TechKnowLogia will review selected web sites of interest to readers. For the first issue, a range of web sites is presented, responding to the diverse interests of readers.

Roll Up Television -- Watch It Or Wear It

Within five years or less, a new discovery can soon make your TV as thin and as flexible as your handkerchief and you can roll it up and put it in your pocket.

Electronic Books: The Future Of Publishing?
James Johnson, Deputy-Director, GIIC

Fundamental to the education and learning enterprise worldwide is the use of textbooks, reference books and other published materials by teachers and students alike. This familiar teaching tool is undergoing a substantial change. This article describes a number of electronic books, and their uses and advantages.

Fiber Optics -- Without The Fiber

Using beams of light to transmit information directly through the air, a breakthrough optical networking system from Lucent Technologies will dramatically boost the capacity of local data networks and extend the reach of today's high-capacity fiber-optic systems, which are the basis for many distance education programs.

The Internet: A Global Explosion of a Military Brainchild

This article traces the evolution of the Internet from its limited military use to a global network.

Global Information Infrastructure Commission

The Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) is an independent, non-governmental initiative involving communications related industry leaders from developing as well as industrialized countries. GIIC's areas of focus are: Global Information Infrastructure Development, Electronic Commerce, and Education in the Information Age.

AED: Academy For Educational Development

The Academy for Educational Development (AED) is an independent, nonprofit organization committed to solving critical social problems in the United States and throughout the world through education, research, training, social marketing, policy analysis, and innovative program design and management. AED works at the frontiers of new thinking, new approaches, and new technologies.

An International OECD Study: Information And Communications Technology And The Quality Of Learning
Jarl Bengtsson, Counsellor and Head, The Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI)

This article introduces a major study being carried out in the OECD's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI). The study is mainly being carried out through three inter-connected sets of activities on: Software Quality, Market Issues, and Research and Evaluation.