Describes two stages of potential development that could make multimedia the core of an information infrastructure for educational reform: (1) incorporating hypermedia to enable knowledge construction by learners; and (2) using visualization and virtual communities to create artificial worlds. (16 references) (MES)

This paper suggests that the systems of representations that we use in mathematics have a cultural origin and concludes that the knowledge produced with the help of these systems of representation likewise has a cultural origin. This assertion forces a reformulation of the issue of objectivity in terms that differ from those inherited from…

Focusing on the role of language in learning, this paper discusses schemata and symbolic thinking that help students learn from unfamiliar experiences. The first part of the paper introduces the idea of symbolic thinking by comparing students encountering new ideas with convention-goers making their way around a new city. The section suggests that…