Telecommunications
Off-line composition saved money and provided students the opportunity to send well-constructed messages.
Abstract
Content of the Letters PEOPll the telephone charges stopped. Now off line, the letters were printed and distributed to the students. The students spent off-line time reading messages; organizing their thoughts; composing letters on paper; and correcting errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar. They typed letters from handwritten drafts off line and used word processing software to save the letters on a files disk. The letters were sent from the files disk in less than 2 minutes on-line time using the telecommunications software. Off-line composition saved money and provided students the opportunity to send well-constructed messages. (The Telecommunications Planning Guide for Educators [McGraw-Hill, 1988] is recommended reading for detailed information on installation, modems, software, networks, and budget planning.)