In Spring 1996, the author sought and received funding for a multimedia interactive laboratory classroom that would serve English as a Second Language (ESL) students at Kean College (New Jersey) from their beginning level course work through their advanced studies in composition and research. Reasons for seeking funding were many, the most…

This paper discusses the changing role of teachers and students working on the World Wide Web and outlines the following eight characteristics and associated descriptors of the engaged learning model: (1) vision of learning (responsible, strategic, energized, collaborative); (2) tasks (authentic, challenging, multidisciplinary); (3) assessment…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the process used by learners to direct, locate, and integrate information resources for use in a project-based environment. Four cases (n=9, including three group projects and one individual project) were analyzed from an introductory educational technology course for preservice teachers during a unit…

This exploratory study examined a field-based project in which preservice teacher candidates and faculty collaborated to implement a problem-centered, technology integrated curriculum for a multiage (4th, 5th, and 6th grade) intersession at Timber Lane Elementary School. Content included detective skills such as fingerprinting and handwriting…

"Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments" describes the most contemporary psychological and pedagogical theories that are foundations for the conception and design of open-ended learning environments and new applications of educational technologies. In the past decade, the cognitive revolution of the 60s and 70s has been…

This chapter will address questions centered on the integration of new telecommunications technology in the classroom by responding to concerns over Internet access and content through media literacy initiatives. While much research about online computer technology focuses on the communication "end"-goal of accessing the "Information…

This paper presents findings demonstrating benefits of cooperation between Edunetics, a commercial multimedia production company, and the Plano Independent School District (Texas) that resulted in a unique curriculum integration project. The "Message in a Fossil" (MIF) simulation software was used with three pairs of second grade…

The programs and publications of the Wisconsin Center for Education Research from 1980 to 1984 are listed and described in this document. The center's efforts focus on the study of the nature and effects of diversity among students. The research program adds to knowledge about how children learn, how they are taught, and what characterizes…

FORTY-NINE ESSAYS ON CURRENT ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN COLLEGE TEACHING ARE INCLUDED. THE SIX MAJOR TOPIC DIVISIONS ARE THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY, THE ACADEMIC MAN, THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF COLLEGE TEACHERS, TEACHING AND LEARNING, THE EVALUATION OF TEACHING PERFORMANCE, AND CURRICULUM REFORM. THE AUTHORS--ACADEMIC ADMINISTRATORS, PROFESSORS,…

This report, which is intended for technical institutions planning to use benchmark processes to facilitate change, contains five benchmarking studies describing future-oriented practices at two-year technical and community colleges that meet the design specifications stated in the report "New Designs for the Two-Year Institution of Higher…

This document is a working paper from Cyberstep, a 3-year project during which five literacy service innovators are collaborating to identify practices for educating English-as-a-second-language learners and adults functioning at low literacy levels, extend the use of technology to facilitate learning, and provide practical tools for educators.…

There has been little research on how a content-based teacher education course can embed effective training in the use of the World Wide Web to search for information and present learning outcomes. To address this gap, the present study documents the experience of 64 pre-service and in-service teachers who completed a web-based group project in an…

A 2-year project to specify new designs for the comprehensive high school of the future identified the following important features: (1) a guaranteed set of learner outcomes closely linked to present and future life roles and responsibilities for all students; (2) learning applied to life situations, using authentic assessment; (3) multiple ways…

A model of educators' learning experiences in educational technology was developed by studying 205 educators who participated in professional development in educational technology at metropolitan area graduate schools of education over a 7-year period. Data were gathered over the entire semester for all participants. Additional data on a limited…

For the twenty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Chicago, Illinois. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…