Many types of technology support caregiving: (1) Assistive devices include medicine dispensers, feeding and bathing machines, clothing with polypropylene fibers that stimulate muscles, intelligent ambulatory walkers for those with both vision and mobility impairment, medication reminders, and safety alarms; (2) Telecare devices ranging from…

Data integration is one of the single most challenging tasks any district can face. Fortunately for school districts throughout the country with data scattered in disparate systems, an open specification known as the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) is mitigating that challenge. SIF has emerged as a cornerstone of K-12 data warehousing,…

Proving that technology works is not as simple as proving that a new vendor for art supplies is more cost effective. Technology effectiveness requires both the right software and the right implementation. Just having the software is not enough. Proper planning, training, leadership, support, pedagogy, and software use--along with many other…

Len Annetta, Marta Klesath, and Shawn Holmes describe how avatars in virtual learning environments (VLEs) can contribute to the learning experience by giving students a sense of social presence and investment in the learning community that may otherwise be difficult to access. VLEs have the potential to become the next generation of instructional…

As technology grows more pervasive in education, the data recovery issues that school systems encounter are becoming increasingly problematic, as districts work to accommodate a range of concerns that do not encumber commercial businesses. State and federal laws often require schools to report on student populations and educational progress…

There are multiple stages to developing critical skills when both the librarian and faculty member are partners in the process. One of the first actions is for both the librarian and the faculty member to be in the library class to help students with information literacy. A teaching dynamic becomes evident, and the students understand the…

The aim of this descriptive study is to review the applications and problems on the teacher training programs for computer education and computer assisted education (CAE) in Turkey. The study, firstly, introduces some applications and major problems on using instructional media and computers in developing countries and instructional technology…

The term "blended learning" is being used increasingly to describe the learning and teaching activities which involve a mixture of online teaching and face-to-face teaching. This paper describes the requirements of distant learning engineering courses, and proposes that a blended learning model suits best to the needs of such courses…

PowerPoint is widely used for a variety of purposes in today's university and public school classrooms. Many children in the elementary grades quickly learn to prepare PowerPoint presentations with ease. Sometimes, however, we believe that PowerPoint presentations are overused and ineffective, especially when one is subjected to viewing several of…

Each school, district, or state has a unique set of circumstances and obstacles to deal with in implementing a one-to-one laptop program. That is especially true of Denali Borough School District in Alaska. Located in the Alaskan interior, it encompasses Denali National Park (with North America's tallest mountain), covers more than 12,000 square…

This article discusses teachers' use of hand-held computers in a rural New Mexico district to assess student's reading progress. With the help of a federal Reading First grant, the district began using the DIBELS assessments across its elementary schools along with the mCLASS: DIBELS assessment and reporting system. The district's experience helps…

It is widely accepted that inquiry-based curriculum programs have positive effects on cognitive achievement, process skills, and attitudes toward science (NRC 2000). Science teachers seek engaging, effective, and inquiry-based activities that are standards-aligned and convenient to implement in their classrooms. For many years, the web has…

It is common to find students believing that they have a high skill level in computer use yet this does not normally include proficiency in the use of computer packages for data presentation. This exercise develops team work in data collection, requires the production of a simple spreadsheet, and the exporting of the data from that into one or…

In the fall of 2006, students could purchase an entry-level notebook computer with a 15-inch LCD for $500. This price crossed an important threshold, moving notebooks into the range of consumer electronics--the category of phenomena that fuels mass consumer trends such as cell phones, digital cameras, and iPods. Most colleges and universities…

As technology becomes more pervasive on community college campuses, administrators are leveraging emerging solutions to cultivate highly interactive learning environments, using next-generation tools to target instruction and furiously digitizing arcane administrative functions. Despite the potential to revolutionize the community college campus,…