This digest addresses issues that should be considered in proposing technological solutions to the problems of public education. Although the potential benefits of the widespread application of media to instruction are supported, emphasis is on the need to define technology as a technique of designing instruction, rather than the more common…

One elementary teacher runs her classroom as a technology-based token economy. Students hold classroom jobs and use software to track money earned, manage checking accounts, and disburse classroom cash. The strategy boosts math and technology skills. A list of software programs is included. (SM)

Describes the Joint Education Initiative (JEdI) project designed to instruct teachers how to access scientific data and images for classroom instruction. Presents a sample CD-ROM classroom computer activity that illustrates how CD images and databases can be combined for a science investigation comparing topography to gravity anomalies. (MCO)

Integrating technology into the Adult Basic Literacy Education (ABLE) classroom can be very helpful to students and teachers, but it requires a shift in the teacher's role. The idea of "delivering" instruction--teacher-centered classes or tutor-directed lessons--should be replaced with student-centered, self-paced learning. Although the first…

In an interview, Lucinda Roy, a professor of English at Virginia Tech who teaches online courses in creative writing, the civil rights movement, and literature, discusses the risks and dynamics of this style of teaching and the need to maintain some personal interaction with students. She notes that technology liberates learners, giving them a…

This report describes a three-year project at Hampton University (Virginia) to improve the core freshman year curriculum and, ultimately, to improve student learning outcomes. The project involved the development of annual week-long seminars on the teaching of freshman courses in composition, speech, history, and mathematics. Emphasis was on…