Some recent proposals on CSCL scripts have suggested that one key factor for their effectiveness is the ability of the teacher to adapt the scripts to the students and to the specific teaching and learning situations. In this context, this paper presents a multiple-case study dealing with the relationship between the assistance given by the…

Information and communication technology (ICT) programs like Microsoft PowerPoint and Apple Keynote have become the norm for large university lecture classes, but their record in terms of student engagement and active learning is mixed at best. Here, the author presents the merits of a "populist" lecture style that takes full advantage of the…

Role-plays in a virtual world hold tremendous potential for higher education because they allow synchronous, immersive participation by students located across the globe. They also have the added advantage of allowing students to adopt roles and carry out tasks that are not possible in the real world. In this article, a project that involved…

Technology is increasingly used to aid the teaching of statistics. Personal Response Systems (PRS) involve equipping students with a handset allowing them to send responses to questions put to them by a lecturer. PRS allows lectures to be more interactive and can help reinforce material. It can also allow the lecturer to monitor students'…

Peer-response remains a central process in first-year composition; faculty can make it effective and efficient by "spotlighting"--designing the process as digital, emergent, and distributive. In this article, the author first elaborates on his own use of peer-response terminology. He favors "peer-response" as the descriptive term for…

This article presents an exchange between Kip Strasma and Elizabeth Tomlinson. Strasma responds to "Gender and Peer Response" by Tomlinson, and Tomlinson responds to Strasma's ""Spotlighting": Peer-Response in Digitally Supported First-Year Writing Courses." Both of them respond to each other's cross talk.

The larger the classroom, the more likely is it that communications consist of a one-way flow from the instructor to students. Classroom Response Systems (CRSs) are frequently hailed as technologies capable of improving communications by opening the space for dialogic engagement; yet, a causal relationship is not documented in the literature. The…

Despite rapid advancements in educational technology, postsecondary teaching methods remain remarkably traditional. However, the microcomputer has emerged as a powerful tool that is transforming what and how students learn, both inside and outside the classroom. (Author/MSE)

Based on research on cognitive style and forms of intelligence, and in light of the new advantages offered by computer technology, this article proposes that college educators must investigate new ways of teaching and explore curricula that are very different from the traditional approach. (MSE)

Discusses ways to use the Internet as a pedagogical tool in higher education, with illustrations from techniques and resources used in a graduate course in accounting information systems. Examples include use of an online textbook, an Internet-based project, electronic mail, a class Web page, and Internet searching to find course-related…

Summarizes some of the opportunities and difficulties in integrating Internet-based activities in the traditional marketing classroom, and offers ideas for future applications and research. Marketing specialists are encouraged to examine both how, and when, the Internet can be used productively in the classroom. (Author/MSE)

A college psychology teacher enamored of instructional technology examines what techniques and applications have worked, which ones have not worked well, and what might work with some modification. Topics include various audiovisual aids, strategies for designing instructional materials, and creation of new forms for computer-enhanced classroom…

Twenty-nine essays in the fields of economics, mathematics, and philosophy are presented in this semiannual report on undergraduate teaching. The articles are researched and written by education journalists, and intended for use by educators in all disciplines. Among the topics included are teaching methods (case-study approach, self-paced…

A multimedia module for training college faculty in discussion-leading techniques consists of a computer-based component, demonstration videotape, and practice session. Use of the module with an initial group of teachers has resulted in increased confidence in discussion skills, rearrangement of participants' classrooms, and positive participant…

A discussion of the use of hypertext for college instruction looks at the potential of hypertext to support active construction of knowledge and outlines hypertext applications as a vehicle for traditional computer-assisted instruction, information retrieval, and creation of intentional learning environments and knowledge construction…