The widespread use of personal computing presents the opportunity to design educational materials that can be delivered online, potentially addressing low financial literacy. The authors developed and evaluated three different educational tools focusing on interest compounding. In the authors' laboratory experiment, individuals were randomized to…

This case study investigated undergraduate students' first experience in online collaborative learning in a project-based learning (PBL) environment in Taiwan. Data were collected through interviews of 48 students, instructor's field notes, researchers' online observations, students' online discourse, and group artifacts. The findings revealed…

Presents a general framework for evaluating the effectiveness of educational technology in enhancing student learning and achievement. Describes the following components and their relationships: instructional objectives, learning domain, learner profile, task characteristics, grouping, delivery system, control, presence, media, connectivity, and…

While the World Wide Web receives most of the publicity, another aspect of the Internet also draws considerable attention. IRC, more formally referred to as Internet Relay Chat, provides a means by which one user can type a message in real time to one or more Internet users, and almost instantaneously, the message appears on the monitors of all…

Comparison of 8 toddlers and 14 preschool special needs children who participated in teacher-facilitated computer play activities and 15 similar children whose curriculum did not incorporate computer activities found statistically significant differences favoring the experimental group for amount of simple and cooperative social play and positive…

Describes efforts of Florence-Darlington Technical College (South Carolina) to improve academic programs through the development and implementation of computer-assisted instruction (CAI). Includes results from a study investigating four variables of student performance in CAI and traditional lecture sections for five courses. Reports mixed results…

Learning at a distance has been on the fringe of educational acceptance since the first correspondence course was delivered through the mail system in return for academic credit. As distance learning has matured, elements of enhanced instructional design and advances in educational technology have migrated this medium of learning closer to the…

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…

This paper provides a balanced set of guidelines for reviewing educational software, and offers a simple and practical procedure that can be used to select software for instructional purposes. The procedure applies equally well to individual "titles" or to large-scale curriculum-based systems. It applies to software delivered on a CD-ROM, through…

Teacher-librarians can learn more about the effect of media and new technologies, and how to introduce these topics in the classroom. The Media Awareness Network World Wide Web site offers well-organized information and teaching units on privacy and other pertinent topics. Provides excerpts of online materials provided by the Media Awareness…

Describes the use of Mathcad, an interactive software package that responds to mathematical input, in an undergraduate economics class. Mathcad uses a rules-based programming language that "reads" the relationships among variables and constraints defined by the user, solves for unknowns, and graphs for one or more equations. (MJP)

Asserts that current software makes it easy for instructors to integrate visual displays into their lectures. Reviews the benefits of using visual displays, provides a taxonomy of visual displays, and proposes principles for constructing each type of display. Includes reproductions of related computer graphic screens. (MJP)

Provides some cursory guidance on the mechanics of establishing and instructing in a virtual classroom. Briefly discusses the history and central issues of distance education, describes how to teach an online virtual seminar, and offers recommendations for future courses. Discusses such issues as instructor availability, directing discussions,…

There exist two commonly held views regarding the use of multimedia and Internet technology within learning environments. Many educators believe that the presence of content material on CD-ROM or the Internet will help students reach their learning goals, and students "like" multimedia and/or Internet based delivery. This paper explores…

A study used hypertext to analyze links between 45 learning/instructional theories, 18 concepts, and 17 learning domains in the Theory into Practice (TIP) database. Results suggest that there is less overlap in theories of learning and instruction than commonly assumed. Use of this kind of tool for research and practice is discussed. (MSE)