Electronic Networks: Crossing Boundaries/Creating Communities

In spite of all the hype about the Internet and the ways networks are changing the face of education, there is surprisingly little information of pragmatic value to teachers. This book addresses that problem head on.

Electronic Networks is a book written by practicing classroom teachers about actual instructional computing projects in real classrooms. Rather than talk about "the classroom of the future," the authors provide the help teachers need to integrate instructional technologies in their classrooms. They do so by addressing the real problems and real successes of teaching in networked environments.

One way to read this book is to look for specific conditions and activities that ensure success with computers. Taken as a whole, the book is an argument for building a human infrastructure at the same pace we are installing computers and writing; for developing effective ways to assess whether students are truly benefiting from technology; and for addressing issues of equitable use.

Chris Benson has taught literature and writing at Clemson University. As the editor of the semi-annual Bread Loaf Rural Teacher Network Magazine, he has collaborated for several years with teachers on writing and publishing projects. He is a research associate at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government & Public Affairs at Clemson University, facilitating school-reform projects. As an associate of Write to Change, a nonprofit organization for literacy, he works to promote school and community partnerships that encourage action research, writing, and public service.

Tharon Howard teaches in Clemson University's graduate program in professional communication, where he also directs the Multimedia Authoring Teaching and Research Facility, the Document Design Lab, and the Usability Testing Lab. Howard has served as technical consultant on several instructional computing projects and has published and presented extensively on the use of networked computers in English classrooms. As Chair of NCTE's Instructional Technology Committee from 1993-1996, Howard was instrumental in developing the organization's first websites and e-mail discussion groups.