Idaho's second largest school district adopted a computerized version of the achievement tests it had been using in paper-and-pencil form for students of grades 3-12. Two of the most significant benefits of the computer-based testing program are the timeliness of the data and the ability to monitor student progress. The district worked closely…

Provides a definition of e-mentoring and an exploration of its potential for enhancing mentoring relationships from technical and social perspectives. Considers benefits of and barriers to e-mentoring and describes strategies for establishing an e-mentoring relationship. Includes Internet resources. (EV)

Describes how the authors took a small step toward using technology as they developed and used a rubric as a guide for reviewing software. Provides an example of the process of creating a rubric and a model for teachers to adapt or change for their own software evaluations. (SG)

The computer can play a role in several forms of assessment, including diagnostic and self-testing, continuous, and grading assessment. Focuses on the educational aspects of an assessment engine for mathematics. (Author/ASK)

Describes how computer-aided assessment can provide a means of preserving formative assessment within the curriculum at a fraction of the time-cost involved with written work. Illustrates a variety of computer-aided assessment styles. (Author/ASK)

Describes an interactive computer program that provides students with a means for learning classification concepts in the psychology classroom; if computers are not available, clip art can be utilized to study classification. Maintains that the program encourages students to see the importance of modifying any classification system as new data…

One fourth grade class studied Van Gogh by investigating his art and life on the computer, painting still lifes, then learning to draw in perspective, creating colorful images of their own bedrooms using Van Gogh's bedroom as a model. Students extended their learning by examining relevant literature and completing timelines, biographical reports,…

Describes a variety of Internet threats to computers and networks used in schools. Discusses electronic trashing; clearing hard drives; cyber spying on Web sites visited; protection against cyber spying, including disposable email accounts; password sniffers; privacy policies; email snooping; email attachments that carry viruses; and hoaxes. (LRW)

Many kinds of professional development exist within and across schools, but the IMPACT Model School Grant has provided enough professional development dollars to allow some "best practice" modifications to two common models that have reputations for being less than effective: conference attendance and outside consultants. The principal…

Personal digital assistants (PDAs, also known as handheld or palmtop computers) are, in this author's opinion, the next great step in educational technology. The educational community has spent countless hours and dollars on providing desktop or laptop computer access to PK-16 students. Most students now have some experience with the Internet,…

For largely historical reasons, information and communication technology in education has been heavily influenced by a form of constructivism based on the transmission and transformation of information. This approach has implications for both learning and teaching in the field. The assumptions underlying the approach are explored and a critique…

Finding Internet sites useful in the K-3 classroom and library can be a challenge. Between needing activities that will allow the users to be independent, searching for sites without a great deal of advertisements, and checking to be sure that any information gathered is kept private and respects the user's safety, it may b difficult to provide…

A year ago, my colleague Charles Grisham and I wrote an EDUCAUSE Review article entitled "Why IT Has Not Paid Off As We Hoped (Yet)." In short, we argued that information technology has not yet transformed higher education because the areas of teaching and scholarship, the "heart" of colleges and universities, have remained relatively untouched by…

Have you ever heard, "If we could just find a good CIO, these problems would go away"? Certainly, having a strong and wise leader at the top of the IT organization is important; however, having such a person is not sufficient to effectively integrate IT into a key part of the institutional strategy. In a number of recent EDUCAUSE Review articles,…

Handheld computers give students access to the larger world of information beyond the classroom. Wireless access allows students real time access to all networks resources, including downloading e-books and documents, searching the library media centres catalog and searching databases to which the library has subscribed.