It's no secret that fewer and fewer women are entering computer science fields. Attracting high school girls to computer science is only part of the solution. Retaining them while they are in higher education or the workforce is also a challenge. To solve this, there is a need to show girls that computer science is a wide-open field that offers…

A frequent criticism of technology applications in classrooms is that they are little more than extraneous bells and whistles pointlessly tacked onto routine instruction. The flash and splash of a PowerPoint presentation may look good, but many question the value added to student learning. This leads to the question, how can technologies genuinely…

Suggests ways to use ClarisWorks to motivate students when only one computer is accessible: (1) class database; (2) grade book; (3) classroom journal; (4) ongoing story center; (5) skill-and-draw review station; (6) monthly class magazine/newspaper; (7) research base/project planner; (8) lecture and presentation enhancement; (9) database of ideas…

Describes an eighth grade computer literacy course in which students used spreadsheet programs to illustrate statistics for classroom presentations. Discusses the use of color and animation in graphs, and the value of active participation using technology to increase student motivation, retention, and self-expression. (AEF)