Augmented Reality (AR) simulations superimpose a virtual overlay of data and interactions onto a real-world context. The simulation engine at the heart of this technology is built to afford elements of game play that support explorations and learning in students' natural context--their own community and surroundings. In one of the more recent…

We conducted a series of summer workshops on bioinformatics to increase educators' knowledge of this new field of inquiry with the assumption that their knowledge will, in turn, impact student achievement. The workshops incorporated experiential learning and self-reflection (Loucks-Horsley et al. 1998). Educators demonstrated significant increases…

The National Center for Supported eText (NCSeT) has a research agenda designed to investigate the effects of supported electronic text on the ability of students with disabilities to read and learn from text. This article introduces four studies conducted by research teams who have collaborated with NCSeT to implement that agenda. It describes…

The future world of students will present challenges for the education community in determining how to educate and properly prepare them for their place in the new information based society. In order to meet the challenges, computers and other technological innovations will have to be used to enhance learning experiences for students, increase…

The mission of UNICOR is both to employ and educate inmates of federal prisons. Currently, UNICOR provides employment to approximately 8,000, or 26% of the total federal prison population, in emerging fields such as electronics, data graphics, wood, and plastics and in traditional fields such as metals, shoe and brush, and textiles. In support of…

The Portable Courseware Project (PORTCO) of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is typical of projects worldwide that require standard software interfaces. This paper articulates the strategy whereby the federal multimedia courseware initiative leverages the open systems movement and the new realities of information technology. The federal…

Pointing out the difficulties in passing from the industrial age to the information age, this paper discusses the advent of new technologies and worldwide recognition of the significant influence technology will have for education. Conferences resulting in development actions aimed at introducing new information technologies into education and…

Discussion of the role of the federal government in supporting educational technology focuses on its efforts to enhance the growth of computer use in the nation's schools. Highlights include legislation, emphasizing the Hawkins-Stafford Elementary and Secondary School Improvement Act of 1988; and programs sponsored by the Department of Education…

Describes how computer technology has been integrated into the mission of the National Reading Research Center (NRRC). NRRC's rationale for including computer technology in its research agenda is outlined, current research projects involving computers and literacy are reviewed, and several projects that reflect NRRC's major emphases and goals are…

In 1997, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research started an initiative to promote e-learning in Germany by installing an extensive research program. The Virtual University of Applied Sciences in Engineering, Computer Science and Economic Engineering is the most prominent and best-funded of the more than 100 projects in the field…

The impact of advanced technology has increased computer usage at all levels as evidenced by the popularity of video games, increased interest on the part of students using computers to enhance learning, and business/school partnerships forming with such companies as Digital Equipment Corporation, International Business Machines, and Tandy/Radio…

This project was created to help music students in their development of part-writing and harmonization skills, requirements for college-level music study. It was developed and programmed by members of the Instructional Technology Center and Department of Music at the University of Delaware. The software developed during this project provides…

This final performance report for the Lewistown City Library L.E.A.R.N. (Let Every Adult Read Now!) literacy project begins with a section that provides quantitative data. The next section compares actual accomplishments to the following project goals for 1992-93: to serve a minimum of 25 adult literacy students within an 18-month period and to…

Demonstrating wave processes quantitatively in the classroom using standard classroom tools (such as Slinkys and wave tanks) can be difficult. For example, waves often travel too fast for students to actually measure amplitude or wavelength. Also, when teaching propagating waves, reflections from the ends set up standing waves, which can confuse…

Pointing out a serious decline in the educational attainment of the nation's youth, this discussion of ways in which technology can begin to renew and improve education in American schools argues that, just as cable television and computer teleconferencing opened communication capabilities, the microcomputer presents unlimited possibilities for…