Draws upon the metaphor of "apprenticeship" to explain how individual cognitive development of children and adults alike can be enhanced by mentoring relationships within a particular educational "culture." Proposes that computers and related technologies can be instrumental in creating socially interactive and reflective learning communities.…

University portals provide a new computerized interface between colleges and constituent groups. This article discusses: campus portals and possible features they may contain, nine strategies for portal projects, collaborative mechanisms to develop and implement portal projects, criteria for determination of campus portal readiness, potential…

Reports on a study of 267 primary children in five schools in South and Mid Wales. Examines their use of information and communications technology (ICT) in school and at home using a combination of interview and questionnaire data. Data reveal that although the vast majority of children are making some use of computers in schools, patterns of…

Articulates how the term "community" has been used to identify, describe, and construct online contexts and groups--online communities. Discusses how one particular online discussion group, SpreadNet, attempts to socially construct and negotiate the meaning of the term and how such negotiation influences the (inter)actions, values, and social…

Discusses how a networked classroom environment--either to supplement or to replace traditional face-to-face class discussion--offers English teachers opportunities that can help make class discussion more engaging, more worthwhile, and significantly more effective as a teaching tool. Considers how to use new technology in the classroom to enhance…

This article reviews the books, "Virtual Architecture: Designing and Directing Curriculum-Based Telecomputing" and "Design Tools for the Internet-Supported Classroom," both by Judy Harris. The books outline the activity structures and provide information to enable teachers to integrate telecomputing activities in the classroom. Chapter content is…

Helping students become information seekers, synthesizers, analyzers, evaluators, innovative thinkers, problem solvers, decision makers, producers of knowledge, communicators, and collaborators is one way to create an environment that minimizes cheating, plagiarism, and copyright violations. In such an environment, you may also be able to take…

With the expansion and continued development of computer technology, a new world of educational opportunities is opening up via on-line distance learning. While distance learning is far from new, recent years have seen an explosion in the mechanisms and tools available for its implementation and support (Spodnick, 1996). It is also reported that…

This article briefly reviews initiatives that have attempted to create communities of educators using Web-based, electronic conferencing. The authors critically analyze the advocacy for electronic communication as a medium for bringing educators together across time and distance with an emphasis on what is known about urban schools, access to…

Where learner discourse has been the focus of much recent research on asynchonous online instruction, the specific forms of instructional discourse used by online educators has yet to be examined. Indeed, the majority of work in the area of foreign language and telecommunications has concentrated on student-student, student-peer interaction, and…

Over the last 10 years the Internet has become an essential part of the way companies do business. These days, it is as important to have a Web site as it is to have a phone book listing. Unfortunately, many Web sites are riddled with perplexing navigation and unclear priorities that leave many users confused and frustrated. This article presents…

The education of science teachers necessarily involves instruction around the use of computer technologies. Acadia University, a laptop institution, offers a unique setting where students are immersed in the critique of pedagogical applications of computers. The current trend to employ constructivist approaches in teaching provides a backdrop for…

The potential represented by the use of computer-mediated conferencing and instruction offers access for and collaboration among learners around the world. Yet, an important aspect of successful online learning experiences--student socialization in cyberspace--appears to suffer from a somewhat fractured research history. Some research indicates…

Researchers studying socialization in online learning note that definitions are quite broad, suggesting that "Socialization is about people being able to mingle and establish connections on one or more levels. They speak[with] one another; share ideas and information and confirm the connections made through an agreed upon means." More broadly,…

The term of "new technological paradigm" is become an indispensable concept for all educational organizations. Consequently there is a growing necessity to describe what the term technological paradigm is. With the gaining speed of technological changes, a new dimension of educational and training paradigm is being formed. The sources of this…