The Cutting Edge: COMPUTING / TECHNOLOGY / INNOVATION

America Online

* Today, 1 p.m.: Leo Rice, a high school science coordinator, and two of his students will lead an on-line discussion about how to create multimedia in the classroom. Keyword: Centerstage

CompuServe

* Today, 6 p.m.: Donna Hoffman, Internet expert and management professor at Vanderbilt University, answers questions about the Net. Go WWFORUM

* Thursday, 7 p.m.: Val Holley, biographer of movie idol James Dean, takes questions in an on-line discussion. Go CONVENTION

Prodigy / TimesLink

* Thursday, 7 p.m.: Film critic Jeffrey Lyons talks about upcoming holiday movies in Prodigy on-line chat. Jump: CHAT

* Friday, 7 p.m.: Promoter Pete Bennett and author Bill King talk about their experiences with the Beatles in Prodigy on-line chat. Jump: CHAT

Internet

* Today, 4 p.m.: Legendary newsman Walter Cronkite makes his on-line debut as the Discovery Channel launches a new weekly talk show in cyberspace. https://www.discovery.com/ * A complete index to more than 1,500 Web sites about the greater San Francisco area is at https://users.aol.com/mentorms/sanjose.html

* A master guide to European Web sites, complete with a powerful search engine, is at https://www.ukshops.co.uk:8000/thedoor.html

Sources: Times, wire and company reports