Schools should anticipate unavoidable problems when implementing a technology plan, project, or program. Technology programs should be built around curricular needs, not gurus. Programs are costly, software remains problematic, and (large) size matters. Blending laptops and desktops is feasible. Faculty consensus helps, and upgrades are…

This article describes what happened when Palm Pilots were given to 28 sixth-graders, 6 with special needs. Students preferred using the Palm Pilot to a traditional notebook for recording assignments and used the Palm Pilots to access spelling lists and to check math and spelling. (Contains references.) (CR)

Using computers only for word processing, drill-and-practice, and computer literacy wastes expensive technology. After allocating funds for computers, the Shawnee Mission (Kansas) School District established a study team to investigate district computer use and develop an integrated system. Success depended on planning, commitment, training,…

Describes an evaluation program designed to assess the effectiveness of technology enhanced instruction within the context of the Technology Enhanced Secondary Science Instruction (TESSI) project, a field-based research program of technology integration into secondary science. Includes analyses of student enrollment and achievement, ethnographic…

Discusses school responses to changes in information technology, based on survey data and case studies of four school districts in Manitoba, Canada. Financial, administrative, and political issues appear to have dominated the agenda. Debates over priorities, costs, and expectations of teachers have been central. Information technology has not yet…

Describes collaboration of two teacher educators, one in early childhood language arts and one in computers in education. Discusses advantages and disadvantages and extensions of this model, including how a college-wide survey revealed that students in teamed courses are better prepared to teach and learn with technology. (DR)

Proposes a three-dimensional model of content for the study of technology. The dimensions are elements (humans, information, energy, tools, processes, materials); contexts (transportation, production, communication); and levels (cybernation, mechanization, handcraft). (CT)

The authors present a suggested content outline for the structuring of a program in materials and processes technology. They also discuss program rationale, content structure, and program goals. (CT)

To help educators create electronic communities, the U.S. Department of Education sponsors Challenge Grants for Technology in Education, designed to stimulate local innovations in using learning technologies. Presently, 43 districts are receiving substantial five-year grants. Partnerships involving schools, hardware manufacturers, software…

A Sioux Falls (South Dakota) project that supplied middle school teachers with Macintosh computers and training to use them showed gratifying results. Easy access to portable notebook computers made teachers more active computer users, increased teacher interaction and collaboration, enhanced teacher productivity regarding management tasks and…

Describes the evolution of student evaluations and discusses the current trend of encouraging students to compile portfolios of their work organized around major themes. Explores the nature of portfolios, including their advantages and limitations, and describes the use of portfolios in two different university educational technology courses.…

The MARBLE Project is a collaborative venture that provides on-line resource-based learning materials to students at three higher education institutions in Scotland. As per capita funding from central government decreases without a decline in graduate quality, new methods are sought in universities to cope with this challenge. This paper discusses…

This article discuses how assistive technology affected the emergent literacy of 10 preschoolers (age 3) with multiple disabilities. The children used picture communication symbols, adapted books, a BIGmack, and a computer with Intellikeys, Intellipics, and Overlay Maker, alternative keyboard, and software. The benefits to the children are…

Learning objects are digital content that can be used and reused for teaching and learning. They are modular, flexible, portable, transferable (interoperable) and accessible. Learning objects may be used to teach a particular skill or concept, or to provide stimulating thinking and learning experiences for the teacher or student. A learning…

This paper examines e-learning, with particular focus on the new education businesses that are redefining and reshaping the experience of becoming educated. The unique role played by for-profit businesses in developing and expanding the learning opportunities for children in K-12 schools through the design and delivery of e-learning experiences is…