Asserts that while prospective distance educators are flocking to certification programs, some academics question their value. Although certification programs, which can differ significantly in nature and intensity, go well beyond simple technology training, many newly certified distance educators have found that the certification does not…

Suggests that the Internet plays an important role in socialization and that children need to be recognized as active participants rather than passive recipients of multimedia texts and messages. Argues that there needs to be a shift away from the current emphasis on restriction to a focus on communication between adults and children. (LRW)

Examines the implementation of Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE), which can incorporate modeling tools and hand-held devices. Describes WISE design team practices, features of the WISE learning environment, and patterns of feature use in WISE library projects. (SOE)

Describes DocML, a Web-based digital library of university data that is used to build a system capable of preserving and managing student assignments. Topics include requirements for a digital library of university data; metadata and XML; three-tier architecture; user interface; searching; browsing; content delivery; and administrative issues.…

Presents a workshop on graphing technology that targeted a diverse group of students from elementary and secondary grades. Includes an activity on exploring the relative rates of heating and sections on reading the graphs, practicing with sensors, and plotting 3-D graphs. (YDS)

Presents five areas to consider to help establish the value and improve the effectiveness of a course management system (CMS). Highlights include faculty use to improve teaching effectiveness; changes in support strategies to improve the value of a CMS; increasing enrollment or retention; controlling costs; and identifying barriers to desired…

Examines the current status of optical technology, in particular the CD-ROM and its projected obsolescence due to DVD technology. The article focuses on the recent COBUILD release, addressing the rationale for integrating the learning of prefabricated items and collocations into the language learning syllabus. A unifying theme of this article is…

Proposes a way of thinking that integrates technology into elementary education. Describes the first four years of efforts at the University of Colorado at Denver to integrate technology into its preservice teacher education program. Outlines information and learning technologies skills, knowledge, and attitudes for two teacher training courses.…

Presents the case of a Mandarin Chinese language curriculum to provide an illustration of how technological tools can be used to hurdle a formidable learning task. Examines curricula for opportunities to introduce complementary technology components. Discusses the software-activity design process and presents an overview of the resulting…

Presents a twenty-year history of computer-based technology integration, focusing on print automation, learner-centered approaches, and virtual learning via the Internet. Discusses integration strategies applicable in the present-day classroom, the hierarchy of teacher effectiveness, and current challenges and trends. Asserts that the ultimate…

Considers the idea of interactivity and its parameters, suggesting that historians must raise their expectations for educational software used in teaching their students. Presents a taxonomy of interactivity for computer tutorials stating that students need motivation, opportunity, and a means to learn. (CMK)

Discusses the use of Blackboard COURSEINFO at Miami University (Ohio). Focuses on the promotion of courseware intended for supplementing traditional teaching, but not replacing it. Describes the content of COURSEINFO and includes graphics, displaying sections of COURSEINFO. (CMK)

Reviews the literature on groupware (a type of software that supports people working together by facilitating group processes) illustrating the strengths of the software for group learning. Describes a case study where groupware was used in a macroeconomics course during an economic impact project. (CMK)

Describes the Delta Health Education Partnership, an interdisciplinary distance education program intended to recruit, educate, and retain interdisciplinary groups of primary care health practitioners to increase access to health care in medically underserved and health professional shortage areas of the lower Mississippi Delta. It spans six…

Examines teachers' working identities, highlighting gender inequities among teachers, within school systems, and in society, especially in relation to computers. Highlights tensions central to teaching in relation to new technologies, emphasizing gender inequities that structure understandings of teaching. Documents how, for the teachers studied,…