Yet, how can the Web be used for something more than surfing, chatting, making money, or wasting time? Can it provide an environment for learning? Can it be used with other educational technologies? What pedagogical possibilities do these technologies bring to schools, teachers, and students? In this article, I discuss this aspect of Internet.

One of the more explosive growth areas of the Web is distance learning. Web-based distance courses can run the range from text-based, e-mail, correspondence courses to full-blown interactive multimedia presentations. The vast majority of courses more closely resemble the text-based model, while many offerings use video, audio, and even some interactivity. Of particular interest is the newer interactive multimedia technologies found on the Web, such as Java, VRML, Shockwave, and others.

Several sites offer distance-learning offerings. The World Lecture Hall (www.utexas.edu/world/lecture/) offers hundreds of courses from universities all over the world, many with multimedia components. Java and VRML applets used in education are featured at www.gamelan.com. The Internet University (www.caso.com and www.internet-university.com) offers more than 500 courses. Other exemplary sites include San Francisco State University’s “Introduction to Multimedia” course, which features excellent design, interactive multimedia, graphics, streaming audio, and chat features (www.cel.sfsu.edu/MSP/msp.html). Also there are many homepages that offer free online courses, like www.learn.com and www.free-ed.net.

Educational Uses of the Internet

The following is a list of different educational uses of Internet. This is not exclusive, but rather a starting point.

Communication: Educators and students use the Internet to communicate when they exchange e-mail, contribute to electronic discussions groups, participate in Internet Relay Chat (“chat rooms”), and use video conferencing. These tools allow Internet users to send and receive messages from one or more people at the same time. The message may include words, pictures, illustrations, sounds, or movies (Education and the Internet 1996).

Collaborative Learning: Collaborative learning involves communication as well as individuals working in a cooperative team (Erkens & Kanselaar 1995). Team members share a common task and/or project. Collaborative projects may be student-based, for example, student-to-student and classroom-to-classroom projects that rely on teamwork established by teachers from different classrooms. Teacher-to-teacher and teacher-to-expert projects provide additional assistance and create a collaborative environment (Story 1996).

Resource Sharing and Information Gathering: Resource sharing consists of publishing information on the Internet for others to view and use. For educators, this includes lesson plans, learner activities, research papers, articles, newsletters, announcements, and school policies. The Web can serve as a gateway to the Internet’s vast resources. Educators and students use the Internet to solve problems, gain knowledge, and research almost any topic (Edwards, Havriluk, and Roblyer 1997).

Presentation Medium: Educators can use electronic presentation aids rather than overhead transparencies. For electronic presentations, users need a personal computer, presentation software (e.g., Adobe Persuasion, ClarisWorks Slideshow, Microsoft PowerPoint), and a projector. Software, hardware, and/or HTML scripting allows electronic presentation aids to be viewed via the Internet.

Interacting with Web Applications: With the Web’s multimedia capabilities, Web pages are being developed in such a way that users can input data and receive an output or a product. Search engines and dictionaries are examples of such interaction. Internet users can obtain e-mail addresses, interact with “live” animation, take virtual museum tours, locate an individual’s phone numbers, play games, and create their own Web pages. Feedback and assessment can be used to monitor student progress, control the learning pace, and evaluate teaching strategies. Using HTML Forms is a simple but powerful way to collect student feedback and control it to improve teaching. Forms collect data from students using Web-based course materials. Student feedback provides instructors an informed evaluation of their teaching. By using this evaluation method, instructors can get immediate feedback on course material, teaching style, and student progress. After this, they can make the necessary adjustments.

Interactive Multimedia Technologies

Every day Netscape, Microsoft, or another company announces an exciting new piece of technology that will deliver audio, animation, 3-D graphics, or allow one to wander through virtual spaces on the Web for free. Some of these are Live Audio, Shockwave, Java, Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), Active X, and QuickTime Video.

What is new about such technologies? Physics teachers using Java created an applet for projectile motion that allows users to set the launch angle and coefficient of linear air resistance.

It then animates the body’s trajectory and calculates some of its properties numerically. (http://www3.adnc.com/~topquark/fun/applets.html.) What’s new and fascinating about such applets is that they offer hard-to-do simulations of physical events, are free, can be demonstrated on several computer operating systems, are highly interactive, and can be accessed at any time by anyone in the world with an Internet connection.

What would an interactive multimedia course module delivered over the Web look like? Physics teachers could videotape real-world phenomena depicting certain laws of physics, for example, the Ferris wheel and the “whip” for circular motion. They could supplement the video with audio lecture material, allow students to manipulate variables in a Java program, use VRML to create 3-D walk-through virtual models of how the laws of projectile motion apply, animate the behavior of balls on a track, conduct a synchronous two-way conversation with one student or the entire class via chat lines, correspond with individual students asynchronously via e-mail, and then quiz and grade students using online interactive exams.

Are there other reasons for using multimedia in teaching? The power of multimedia to impact learning positively can be seen in physics. Laws of physics that run counter to students’ commonsense notions of how the world works provide a stimulating catalyst for further investigation. In “The Initial Knowledge State of College Physics Students” (Journal of Physics 1986), I. A. Halloun and D. Hestenes demonstrated that freshman physics students’ intuitive notions of the behavior of a ball leaving a track are often contrary to the laws of circular motion, a major topic in freshman physics.

Other research indicates that these misconceptions may be overcome through video and animation. In one experiment conducted at the University of Massachusetts, the path of a ball on a circled track was videotaped. A segment of the track then was removed, and another video segment captured the ball’s path as it was about to leave the track. When queried at this point as to where the ball would go next, many students get stuck: their instinctive senses tell them it will go off in an upward path or a downward, not the straight-ahead path that it actually takes. A third video segment showed the actual straight-lined path of the ball leaving the track. An animation done in Director and then put on the Web with Shockwave showed that a circle is really composed of an infinite number of straight lines, and that when the ball hits one of them it goes off in a straight line. This straight-line path is, in fact, counterintuitive to many students. Using these multimedia supplements to regular course materials could improve test grades significantly. Web-based course materials are being used extensively to provide supplementary as well as standalone instruction in educational settings. One of the Web’s most powerful elements is its ability to engage learners in an interactive format. Although many technologies allow teachers to develop interactive Web course materials and receive student feedback, many continue to use the Web only for distributing static documents. This severely limits its potential to improve the teaching-learning process. Most education Web sites provide such basic course information as syllabus, schedule, announcements, and reading lists. Others include synchronous or asynchronous communication, online testing, discussion groups, conferences, bulletin boards, and streaming audio and video. These materials are available for courses that meet in classrooms regularly and use Web materials as supplementary tools, as well as for courses delivered entirely over the Web and without any traditional classroom meetings.

Web Interactivity

Web interactivity helps engage students in the active application of knowledge, principles, and values. It also provides them with feedback that allows their understanding to grow and evolve. Chickering and Ehrmann (1998) suggest that while using technology to teach, educators should avoid didactic materials and search for technology-assisted solutions that are interactive, problem-oriented, and motivate students. Students can either read or print a static Web page; with an interactive Web page, they can interact with content, other students, and instructors, as well as participate in discussion groups, quiz questions, simulation program, conferencing, live chat, or fill out a feedback form. This Web-based informal assessment represents a cognitive behavior-modification technique designed to help students develop goal-setting behavior, planning, and self-monitoring. It also allows them to master concepts (Good and Brophy 1995). For example, students can regulate and monitor their own learning in a sequential and constructive fashion as they respond to the questions and receive ongoing feedback. In traditional, as well as Web-based courses, there is a gap between what is taught and what is learned. Reid (1997) mentions that methods of assessing the teaching and learning experience in online education are in high demand but short supply. No existing measurement adequately evaluates how well a teacher performs in a virtual classroom. Angelo and Cross (1993) observed that by cooperating in assessment, students reinforce their grasp of course content and strengthen their own self-assessment skills. Furthermore, student motivation is increased when they realize that teachers are interested in their success as learners. Teachers can empower themselves by using technologies to facilitate a proven educational process of receiving and acting on feedback from learners. This will lead to pedagogical improvements in interactive Web environments for assisting teaching and promoting learning.

Top Educational Resources on the Web

Education World (www.education-world.com): A free resource for primary and secondary school educators. It includes lesson plans, articles by education experts, and information on using technology in the classroom. Developed by people with backgrounds in education, the site contains more than 8,000 pages, a weekly e-zine, and a searchable database of over 115,000 education links. Strength: a well-organized interface to the world of primary and secondary education; original material and good annotations. Weakness: needs more quality evaluation of the links so that educators are guided toward the most valuable resources. GSN (http://www.gsn.org): Global School Net Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the instructional application of telecommunications at the primary and secondary school levels. It includes a registry of the best curriculum projects, tutorials, articles about Internet use in the classroom, news and discussion, and events and contests. It also includes a link to the collaborative project with Microsoft to create a comprehensive site for education resources on the Internet. Strength: appealing interface; good selections from many sources. Weakness: inconsistent design does not do justice to the depth and breadth of offerings. Blue Web’n (http: //www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn): This is a library of Internet-based instructional information for primary and secondary school levels. You can search this database quickly by audience type, application type, content area, and other search terms. It contains activities, lessons, references, tools, and projects listed for a variety of educational audiences, and is part of the Pacific Bell initiative (Education First) and umbrella program to benefit education (Knowledge Network). Strength: quick way to search for lessons and resources; good method for reviews of resources; Weakness: a bit over-generous with the ratings stars, caveat surfer. AskERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) (http://ericir.syr.edu): ERIC is a clearinghouse on information and technology. Its collection of education-related resources is funded by the American government. AskERIC includes a question-and-answer service, a virtual library, and a research and development team. Collections are well-organized and frequently updated. Strength: broad coverage of many educational topics; extensive support for educators. Weakness: graphic slab design of Web; coverage is not deep in all areas; some resources are outdated. EDUCAUSE (http://www.educause.edu/): This association manages and uses information technology in higher education. The site includes a discussion of current issues, conference information, professional development, publications, information services, and collaborative alliances with other organizations. It focuses on the future of higher education in the information age. Strength: this site is well organized and has breadth and depth; Weakness: not all content is available online.

References

Angelo, T., and K. Cross. Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers. 2d ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1993. Chickering, A., and S. Ehrmann. “Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as a Lever.” Retrieved November 3, 1998 from www.tltgroup.org/resources/darticles.html Edwards, J., M. A. Havriluk, and M. D. Roblyer, M. D. (1997). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1997. Erkins, G., and G. Kanselaar. “A Cooperative System for Collaborative Problem Solving.” 1995. http://www-cscl95.indiana.edu/cscl95/kanselaar.html Good, T. L. and J. Brophy. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 1995 Knuth, R. A., and D. J. Cunningham. “Tools for Constructivism.” In T. Duffy, J. Lowych, and D. Jonassen (Eds.), Designing Environments for Constructivist Learning. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1993, 163-87. Reid, J., Jr. “Measurements in Online Study: Items Useful in Quantifying Pedagogical, Social and Technical Issues.” 1997. Retrieved November 3, 1998 from www.caso.com/articles/reid05.html Story, D. “World Wide Web 101.” 1996. www.thejournal.com/magazine/vault/M2311.cfm

Time continues its relentless movement forward at an ever-faster pace. Despite of all the technological advancements and other labor-saving devices that are aimed at making our lives simpler and carefree, we still feel the burden of keeping up-to-date with developments and becoming more productive by using our time wisely. As every day brings more information, it becomes difficult to determine what should have priority and what can be postponed or ignored.

The Fountain seeks to help you with this hard task. Although it is not possible to freeze time, we can lessen its impact by providing you with information designed to help you expand your worldview, to re-interpret spiritual and scientific information so that it becomes personal knowledge. We believe that this knowledge will awaken a desire in your mind and heart, which will transform it into wisdom.

In this issue, we present an article on the relation between healing and faith. At the end of the millennium, many scientists began to move away from the traditional mechanical methods of the universe. Ordinary Americans and people across the world are increasingly exhibiting a strong interest in alternative medicines, such as acupuncture, meditation, herbal foods supplements and drinks, and a wish to find some way around chemical-based medicines that cure only one problem only by causing a host of unwelcomed side-effects. The health industry has been conducting research of their own to see if their proponents’ claims have any basis in truth. Also, scientists are more willing to study possible relationships between mind and matter, breaking a long-standing taboo. Psychologists have conducted experiments and research to see if a person’s faith and outlook on life can influence his or her recovery. We consider this a positive trend, for each individual has both spiritual and physical dimensions. Focusing on just one dimension to the total exclusion of the other cannot cure the individual completely. This new holistic approach to solving people’s problems and illnesses should open an entire new branch for medicine.

Another article focuses on humanity’s progress to happiness and decline to misery. Human beings have a special rank in the universe, for they are the only members of creations who can change the face of the world. Using their God-given comprehensive abilities to drive themselves forward, only human beings can change themselves by submitting themselves to God and living as He wants us to live. Thousands of civilizations, both past and present, show us how these abilities can be seeds for peace, understanding, and positive progress, as well as seeds for destruction and desolation. This article sheds light on these issues from a spiritual perspective.

As readers of The Fountain, your expectations are very important to us. Publishing The Fountain is an interactive process-you contribute articles, comments, and support, and we spread your views to a much larger audience than they would otherwise reach. Such an interactive relationship has mutual benefits, and has potential far-reaching results. Any act that has wide support and appeal result in cultural variation and richness, and broadens people’s thoughts, ideas, and intellect. The Fountain is dedicated to playing such a role, and seeks your continued support in this worthwhile effort. Therefore, rest assured that your feedback and articles will find a receptive audience among our staff members.

The Fountain staff is eagerly looking forward to receiving your submissions for our writing competition! We hope that our young scholars will also grab this opportunity to share their knowledge, experience, and outlook on life with people who seek to understand and make sense of the events happening around them, and the ideas and beliefs that give rise to them. Your participation will help us provide answers to those who have these questions.

Enjoy your magazine!

While almost everybody who has access to a computer is somehow involved with the Internet for a variety of personal reasons, scientists and the academic community also use it for their own purposes. Examples are sharing data and information, browsing technical papers, searching for related documents, and posting their research activities to colleagues and other interested parties. Recent developments have proven to researchers and academia, both of which publish large amounts of technical literature, that the day of electronic publishing is close at hand.

The easiest way to publish electronically is to post documents on the Internet by generating Web pages. In this case, however, the user remains a passive recipient of information, for the Internet’s interactive communication ability is not being used. This particular capability of the Web allows a scientist or researcher to generate Web pages with which the user can interact. One example of such interaction is performing mathematical operations over the Internet. This is very useful and powerful, for it allows the user to become an active receiver by gathering the needed information from that particular home page.

For instance, if you visit Rice University’s home page for its Department of Mathematics, you will find several interactive math tools designed to help students taking the Ordinary Differential Equations course.3 These tools are activated by using Java or MATLAB programming language. For example, Figure 1 shows a tool called PPLANE, which draws the magnitude and direction of a differential vector in an x-y plane. PPLANE also graphs the linearization about equilibrium points, and displays eigenvalues, eigenvectors, nullclines, and stable and unstable orbits. The user can change the differential equation’s variables and then run the associated MATLAB code over the Internet. A licensed MATLAB copy in the user’s personal computer is not required, for the MATLAB routine is run on the server and displays the output on the user’s browser. This makes it easy for the student to understand how the changes made alter the equation’s features.

This technique is very efficient and powerful for a student who is still in the learning process. It also suggests that the Internet’s interactive feature will affect the education system and the way courses are taught in the future.

Another home page that contains a wide variety of interactive math tools is found at the Web site for Dartmouth College’s mathematics department.4 Professor Richard Williamson has written about 30 interactive math programs for common scientific problems. These vary from differential equations to heat equation solvers, from Newton’s method of calculating the root of an equation to simulating a swing’s motion. All of these programs are activated by the user’s input parameters, and display the answer in the same manner.

Another interesting and very useful Web site is http://www.integrals.com (see Figure 2). This interactive site allows the user to take any symbolic integral over the Internet. It is provided by Wolfram Research, which also produces the well-known and widely used Mathematics tool MATHEMATICA. After the user enters an expression, the integrator automatically runs MATHEMATICA on the server, integrates the expression, and sends the result back to the user’s browser.5 This site is already helping many calculus students with their homework, and is quite handy for researchers who deal with complex integrals in their everyday research.

Another useful interactive math Web site can be found at the Geometry Center Web page of the University of Minnesota, Science and Technology Center.6 This site offers such interactive math tools as hyperbolic triangles, Lorenz simulation, and interactive proofs of popular theorems. There is also a tool for taking numeric integrals. If you get tried of doing mathematics, you can take a break and play some Tetris games at the same site. In fact, interactive games on the Internet are also a particular type of interactive math tool. A better graphical version of Tetris can be found at http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Pines/522 7/tetris.htm.

All of the above Web pages show that cybermath has found its way onto the Internet, thanks to the Web’s interactive communication capability. It is not difficult to imagine that students in other majors will apply this useful and efficient tool to their own field, thus making the Web even more interactive

FOOTNOTES

1. http://www.flifo.com/and http://www.reservations.com/, respectively.
2. http://mallblvd.net/and http://www.internet.net/index.html, respectively.
3. http://math.rice.edu/.
4. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~rewn/index.html.
5. http://www.integrals.com.
6. http://www.geom.umn.edu/.

The personal computer industry has created an enthusiastic, ever-growing market for multimedia technology for use in homes and businesses, the high profile of Internet (‘the data superhighway’) and continuing pressure to work and learn more efficiently have added to the demand for new concepts in education and training. The characteristics in demand are flexibility, user- friendliness and lower costs.

Ten years ago computers were command-driven and mostly used for simple tasks such as word-processing. These days graphical interfaces and user-friendly programming have revolutionized the old ‘cold face’ of computer working. Applications such as Windows, OS/2, and Mac Systems are now mouse-driven, capable of multi-tasking, and less intimidating for the novice. Computers are now used for CAD (Computer Aided Design), CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing), graphics, communication, automation, simulation, animation, and much more. Complex tasks are easier then ever before and have replaced human labour in many areas.

Development of new and better computers, local area networks (LANs). remote access software (especially ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and ISDN (Integrated System Digital Network)), using the latest in leased and digital telephone lines, have opened up new horizons in working, teaching and learning practices. These developments in remote communication systems have greatly reduced the need to travel. Wide availability of this technology has changed the working practices of some companies fundamentally. Teleworking is recognized as a practical alternative to conventional office working. Video-conferencing facilities enable direct visual and audio contact between emote offices, and almost instantaneous information/document transfer. Working from home means not having to be in the office, more control over daily schedules, the freedom to live further from the workplace, and relief from the stresses (and costs) of commuting. The company benefits from reduced office rental and personnel costs: expertise and skills can he dialled up as needed,

Reduced hardware and software costs and increased computing power have extended and popularized teleworking applications. Medical specialists can now examine patients on a screen and give advice down a phone line: just such a link-up exists between some hospitals as far apart as the USA and Saudi Arabia. It is possible to attend a lecture without leaving one’s favourite chair, while still having the opportunity to ask questions and have them answered. ‘Distance learning’ technology has especially important implications for the disabled who can access education without the stress of getting to a class or (unless they want to) facing class-mates. New York University’s School of Continuing Education is building its own Virtual College. Other institutions, such as California Polytechnic and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, are exploring similar projects.

Interactive distance learning is not just a future project. In many isolated places in the USA school children already enjoy such facilities via dial-tip modems: they do not have to travel through rain and snow any more. And getting on to the school communications network does not cost the user any more than an ordinary telephone call.

In the past, computers in schools ate into school budgets without providing any appreciable return. In companies, investments in information technology were used mostly to automate old learning processes instead of to enable new ones. All that is starting to change. Enormous growth in CD-ROM drives, LANs and Internet connections, multimedia, and collaborative software environments, is fuelling a wave of new, better teaching tools. Networking enables virtual workgroups to be set up almost instantly. There are dial-in services that permit anytime/anyplace access to course materials and fellow students.

The technology promises more than just an improvement in educational productivity: it may deliver a qualitative change in the nature of learning itself. Because computers have no feelings, they make very patient teachers, incapable of exasperation or anger: and they can work 24 hours a day. Also, because they have enormous memory capacity and don’t make choices about what to remember, they can be responsive to questioning in many disciplines. The information they can offer can therefore be multi-disciplinary, multilevelled. Multimedia interactive packages exploit this to the benefit of system users. The consequence is a dramatic change in educational methods. Instead of a one-way information flow to the learner – typified by TV broadcast, video cassette or a teacher addressing a class of students passively taking notes – the new teaching techniques are two-way, collaborative, interactive, and interdisciplinary. Multimedia enables teaching material to change from a flat, one-dimensional text to something that moves, speaks, sings, has innumerable examples and references and lines of inquiry on hand if the individual user feels inclined to follow them up. Cut- and-paste features, now more or less standard, mean the user can compose notes, essays and reports which are just as lively and varied as the source he or she is accessing.

Studies on multimedia argue in favour of its effectiveness as a learning tool. The Software Publishers Association’s 1994 report on technology effectiveness cites accounts of measurable improvements from the use of animation, video, laser discs, CD-ROM books, and hypermedia. Cognitive studies show thaw people get 80 percent of their information visually but retain only 11 percent of that. They acquire significantly less through hearing but then remember a much higher proportion of it. A combination of the two methods is, unsurprisingly, the most effective of all boosting retention rates by as much as 50 percent. Therefore, the new system of ‘Education on demand’, in homes and on-the-job, is likely to become part of everyday learning activities.

Producing educational systems and materials has long been very big business in the world. The US spends $300 billion yearly on education from nursery through high school. More than half the schools in the country now use computers in almost every discipline, and 99 percent of schools have at least one computer. According to a report from IBM Academic Consulting, American institutions of higher education have spent an estimated $70 billion on computer-related goods and services over the past 15 years; of that amount, as much as $20 billion was for teaching and learning technology. Training magazine, in its annual industry survey, estimates that US corporations with more than 100 employees budgeted $51 billion for training in 1994. Some estimates put the total spending per year by all companies and their employees at $90 to $100 billion.

The Software Publishers Association’s Report on the Effectiveness of Technology in Schools, 1990-1994, a summary of 133 studies, found that educational technology clearly boosted student achievement, improved student attitudes and self-concept, and enhanced the quality of student-teacher relationships. In this area of learning, the most promising technologies are interactive video networking and collaboration tools. Computers are amazingly diligent teachers, they can stimulate creative thinking, promote enterprise, and sharpen curiosity. Of course, availability of hardware and software is not by itself the solution to current educational problems. Reaping the benefits of available technology first requires extensive teacher training, adapted or new curricula, and, most important, changes to educational models. Modern educational concepts emphasize individualized, hands-on learning: teamwork; and guided discovery of information. All of these require technological assistance, and they are almost impossible to achieve without the help of computers. It is right to note that for teacher training and for the preparation of individually designed course materials, the latest software packages, even with relatively little preparatory training, provide the appropriate tools.

The interactive technology has made education more accessible and more enjoyable. With the help of computers educators can tailor tutoring to the individuals own needs. There is more information about any topic these days than anybody can handle. Therefore, storing and retrieving readily available study materials on computers mean teachers can focus on explaining in form at ion instead ol conveying information. The implications of this transformation affect both students and teachers. Teachers become more like coaches, while students are free to discover knowledge on their own – they can browse, pick and choose what and how, and how fast, they want to learn.

Multimedia applications include analogue and digital video, 2-D and 3- D animation, audio, and even hyperlinks and digital links: CD-ROM discs and drives, graphics display hardware and sound cards. Digital signal processors for speech recognition and signal processing are starting to appear in desktop systems and will play an increasing role in learning systems. Given the enormous growth of CDROM-equipped PCs in homes, multimedia could soon become the key ‘crossover’ application linking the home and school markets.

Instead of the conventional broadcast model of distance learning, which requires participating students to watch a live video transmission via cable or satellite links or wait for days to receive a videotape in the mail, new schemes allow students to dial in at their convenience and participate in a class asynchronously. While it isn’t in real time, the opportunity for feedback and participation is enhanced by rich two-way communications channels.

The new employee-training concept of training on demand, learning while working. promises to bring information to employees at their workstations. Training as a separate centralized department in a company may soon be a thing of the past. The changing nature and growing diversity of the work force require new kinds of training in cultural sensitivity, communications skills, and problem solving. Employees are more geographically dispersed than in the past, and staff turnover is higher because companies and employees are less loyal to each other. Hardly anyone holds a job for life. Technology is evolving so quickly that skills require frequent refreshing. Taking workers to traditional classrooms means losing man-hours, heavier training costs and less hands-on training. Also, employee-training is a risky investment, given that the employee is free, after training, to go elsewhere. Companies are therefore trying to link learning to the job itself. This can take the form of expert systems integrated into the work area or even hand-held computers connected via wireless communications to a constantly updated information base. This kind of distant’ and ‘on-the-job’ learning is significantly less expensive than transporting employees to a central location, putting them up in hotels, and forfeiting their lost productivity. If the training material is distributed throughout the Local Area Network, trainees can pick it up for themselves. This increases retention of information and decreases learning time.

The single recent advance that is making the biggest difference in training and education is the Internet. It gives everybody easy access to information they cannot find locally or even, sometimes, nationally. Via Internet anybody can access almost any library resources in the world, talk to any interest groups or obtain any information from more than 30 million users in the Internet ‘community’. Thousands of Gopher, WWW, FTP, WAIS, ARCHIE servers offer terabytes of information on every subject imaginable. One can visit virtual galleries, virtual museums, virtual schools, virtual libraries, virtual communities, shop at virtual malls – and play games.

But, but….

Clearly the new technology facilitates access to information and in doing so makes many tasks easier, more agreeable, often more exciting. However, as we are all social beings, the importance of direct contact between people in the creation of the more subtle human skills should not be forgotten. Being paid for the efficient performance of tasks is not the only reason people work; they may also need to be out at work, away from their home-base, for purposes other than recreation, and to he physically part of a team. The sharing and exchange of experience between people. both in the context of the family and the work-place, is certainly instrumental in the creation of sound, responsible human character. That in turn is relevant to the capacity people have for making good’ decisions relating to their own and other people’s lives.

Information is not quite the same thing as knowledge, still less is knowledge to be confused with wisdom. Few parents can equal the capacity of television programmes, for example, to convey information to their children. Nevertheless, the role of parents in conveying (however indirectly and inexpertly) their experience of life to their children is the more decisive influence in moulding their children’s characters. It is certainly true that, in some families, children have more contact with the ‘present, immediate’ world of TV images than with the ‘past’ of their parents’ experience of life, but in these cases the TV is being abused, which is not the fault of the technology. Similarly, the new interactive multimedia information technologies should not be rejected because they might be abused. Rather, the dangers, the possible abuses, should be pondered and understood and proper regimes introduced to avoid the dangers. These new technologies are there and make available a vastly increased potential to get at and handle information. They cannot be a substitute for human relations, nor can they replace the learning and understanding that come through the experience of human relations.