New developments in computer and communications technologies are reshaping how we conceive of the world and ourselves. These advances now permit computers to be connected to each other along vast fiber optic superhighways reaching throughout the world; they reduce the communication time from anywhere in the world to mere fractions of a second; they can open up huge stores of information with the click of a key; and they can link human beings together in a new kind of community, an electronic community — an "electronic village."

In dramatic new ways, the electronic village can connect teachers with students and parents, physicians with their patients, employers with their employees, and citizens with their government representatives. What opportunities does it bring? What problems or concerns can it create? What do we need to do to deal with the difficulties we see now? And how can we act now to avoid others before they arise? The forum was designed to help us probe the possibilities and problems that an electronic village may bring to the different environments in which we live and help us determine what living in an electronic village may do to our quality of life.

This forum was held on March 30, 1995 in Blacksburg, Virginia, on the Virginia Tech campus and was organized by the Humanities, Science, and Technology program at Virginia Tech. We are grateful for grant support received from the Public Humanities Projects Program, Division of Public Programs, of the National Endowment for the Humanities; and for the cooperation of the PBS Adult Learning Service, which brought the teleconference to over 330 satellite sites in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.

This Choices and Challenges forum examined the ethical, social, and policy concerns associated with new communication technologies — now and in the future. Now, so can you.

• By clicking on Moderator and Panelists, you will be introduced to the professionals and scholars who discussed this very important topic at Virginia Tech in March 1995.
  
  
• Prepare for this Electronic Village discussion by browsing the background tutorial and glossary.
  
  
• Video Excerpts will link you to selections from the Main Session. View a series of questions posed by the moderator and audience members at the forum — and the reponses of the panelists.
  
  
• Want to participate in a discussion with other people who have viewed the materials and are energetically thinking about electronic villages? Click on Discussion Topics to link to a public bulletin board and additional resources on the topic, such as a Reading List and Related Websites.
  
  
• News will provide updated information about this topic.
  
  
• Materials and information developed for:
  
  
  • Humanities, Science & Technology Classrooms
  • Virginia Tech Alumni
  • Continuing Medical Education Credits
  • Your K-12 Classroom
    
    

  Click on these links or use the tabs at the top of this webpage to navigate our site.

• Have a question? Email the module designer. Please also send comments and suggestions.

Transcripts of all video segments are available.

Enjoy!

Choices and Challenges Project
Center for Interdisciplinary Studies
Virgina Tech, Mail Code: 0227
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061
Phone: 540 231-6476 Fax: 540 231-7013
Email: choices@vt.edu