Introducing science inquiry early in young children's education is imperative, and providing opportunities for conducting investigations that develop process skills can lay a foundation for later learning. Combining inquiry-based instruction with appropriate technology allows the students to explore, reason, test, and revise their ideas about…

Many teachers look for a creative and engaging way to bring physical science topics of force and motion to life for their students. In this project, fourth-grade students weren't "forced" to investigate physical science topics--they were thrilled to! With the help of various technology tools--digital cameras, the Internet, computers, and…

Can second-grade students construct an understanding of sophisticated science processes and explore physics concepts while creating their own inventions? Yes! Students accomplished this and much more through a month-long project in which they used Legos and Robolab, the Lego computer programing software, to create their own inventions. One…

Assistive Technology (AT) helps a person with a physical, cognitive, learning, or speech disability perform tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. There are hundreds of specialized AT devices on the market, but their price tags often prevent their use in elementary science classrooms. Fortunately, affordable technologies "are"…

The challenge for today's elementary teachers is not "whether" but rather "how" to use computers to effectively teach students essential skills and concepts. One exciting way of meeting this challenge is to use Geographic Information Systems (GIS), computer software that captures, manipulates, analyzes, and displays data on specialized layered…

Reviewed are six computer software packages including "Invisible Bugs,""Chaos Plus...,""The Botanist's Apprentice,""A Baby is Born," Storyboard Plus-Version 2.0," and "Weather." Hardware requirements, functions, performance, and use in the classroom are discussed. (CW)