conts14-1 Australian Journal of Educational Technology Volume 14, Number 1, Winter 1998 ISSN 0814-673X Contents Editorial .......................................................................................................... iii-iv The origins of educational broadcasting in Australia ............................... 1-24 Tony Lapsley Speaking under gum trees with palmtops ............................................... 25-34 Larry Nelson Meeting the needs of gifted and talented students through technology supported distance teaching .................................................. 35-47 Catherine McLoughlin and Ron Oliver WWW support of student learning: A case study ................................... 48-58 Tony Greening Virtual reality: What is the state of play in education? .......................... 59-73 Colin Macpherson and Mike Keppell The Australian Journal of Educational Technology is published twice a year jointly by the Australian Society for Educational Technology and the Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education. For details on submission of manuscripts, subscriptions and access to the AJET online archives, please see: http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/ajet/ or for manuscript submission contact the Editor, Dr Ron Oliver, Mt Lawley Campus, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050 , or for subscriptions contact the Production Editor, Dr Roger Atkinson, Teaching and Learning Centre, Murdoch University, Murdoch Western Australia 6150 . Members of ASET and ASCILITE receive AJET as a part of their membership benefits. © 1998 All rights reserved. No part of this journal may be reprinted or reproduced without permission from the publishers. ii Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 1998, 14(1) ASET's EdTech series of national conferences http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/aset/confs/edtech98.html 5-8 July 1998, Perth, Western Australia ASCILITE’s series of national conferences http://cedir.uow.edu.au/ASCILITE98/ 14-16 December 1998, Wollongong, NSW Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 1998, 14(1) iii Editorial When the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE) joined with the Australian Society for Educational Technology (ASET) in publishing a re-invigorated Australian Journal of Educational Technology it achieved a goal which had been held by the Society for many years. With the publication of issue 14(1) we can start to see the benefits of that decision. Initially, an interim management committee was established to set up the processes and policies under which AJET was to be published. This committee was made up as follows: Sue McNamara President, ASET Rob Phillips President, ASCILITE Ron Oliver Senior Editor (representing ASCILITE) Roger Atkinson Production Editor (representing ASET) It is now clear that the journal is running in a self-sustaining fashion. The publication process is running very smoothly, and the turnaround time for authors is reasonably rapid. Sufficient papers are received to ensure a high level of academic rigour in the selection process. An average of twelve papers are received for each issue, but only five are accepted for immediate publication. There is no longer any need for the interim management committee. Agreement has been reached in principle between ASET and ASCILITE to hand management of AJET over to the Editorial Board, managed by Ron Oliver, with production assistance from Roger Atkinson. The Editorial Board will report to both Societies, and consult them on policy matters. One of the last acts of the interim management committee was to consider electronic publication policy. It was felt that the integration of an online discussion with the journal would not add any particular advantage, given the range of other avenues for such activities. However, given the nature of the subject matter of many papers, authors are encouraged to supplement their papers by 'adjunct sites', which are URLs containing, for example, sites or examples referred to in the paper. iv Australian Journal of Educational Technology, 1998, 14(1) Authors will be responsible for the maintenance of their adjunct sites. Papers will be reviewed without reference to the adjunct site, ie. the paper must be acceptable in print form. In this way, we hope that authors will be better able to convey the multi-faceted nature of their work, and that readers will be able to see the paper in context. Dr Rob Phillips President Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education AJET’s 1998 Editorial Board, nominated by the Australian Society for Educational Technology and the Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education is: Ron Oliver (Editor), Edith Cowan University Roger Atkinson (Production Editor), Murdoch University Cathy Gunn, University of Auckland Barry Harper, University of Wollongong Mary Jane Mahony, Orange Agricultural College, University of Sydney Clare McBeath, Curtin University of Technology Sue McNamara, Monash University Rod Sims, Southern Cross University Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education http://www.ascilite.org.au/ Australian Society for Educational Technology http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/aset/ Copyright in individual articles contained in Australian Journal of Educational Technology is vested in each of the authors in respect of his or her contributions. Copyright in AJET is vested in ASET (1985-86), AJET Publications (1987-1996), and ASET and ASCILITE (from 1997). Republishing in the online archives at ASET's web site is by permission. For details on submission of manuscripts, subscriptions and access to the AJET online archives, please see: http://cleo.murdoch.edu.au/ajet/ or for manuscript submission contact the Editor, Dr Ron Oliver, Mt Lawley Campus, Edith Cowan University, Mt Lawley Western Australia 6050 , or for subscriptions contact the Production Editor, Dr Roger Atkinson, Teaching and Learning Centre, Murdoch University, Murdoch Western Australia 6150 Desktop publishing by Roger Atkinson.