There is a broad range of perspectives on what is meant by "learning," and a correspondingly large number of frameworks that are held up as the model by which learning should occur. Dirk Rodenburg discusses several of these points of view and their implications for Shifting Perspectives in Educational Technology in this month's Vision article.

Effective Web-based instruction often requires a different design than well-designed face-to-face classroom teaching. Many aspects of the Internet can be used to maximize the benefits of distance learning by creating a responsive and friendly learning environment. In this month's Commentary, Maggie McVay details the various ways in which Internet technology can facilitate learning, and the ways in which this technology can be used to the best advantage.

The concept and design of research methods can be complicated when high-tech tools are used in the research itself, but this can be balanced when these technologies are used in the training process. In this month's Case Study, Russell K. Schutt, Floyd J. Fowler, and Ray Melcher discuss a multimedia CD-ROM Training Program they developed specifically to assist students in developing survey questions for their research projects.

In our Faculty and Staff Development section for December, Chris O'Hagan tackles the problems faced by many educational technology services, and how they can better integrate themselves into an academic environment, becoming more than just the "icing on the cake of learning."

The Site of the Month for December is WWW 4 Teachers, a valuable resource for the K-12 educator looking to add Web technology to their instruction. Beginners especially will find this site easy to navigate and extremely useful.

In this month's Letter to the Editor, Tom Hazlett replies to Glenn Ralston's discussion of the resistance of educators to technology, offering a possible reason for their reticence.