The rapidly changing landscape of instructional materials in elementary education has involved both a wider range of available materials, particularly online, as well as increasing use of materials provided to teachers by other teachers on sites such as Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. In this commentary, I outline three key shifts in…

In her Forum piece, "What's an Adult Numeracy Teacher to Teach? Negotiating the Complexity of Adult Numeracy Instruction," Lynda Ginsburg set the stage of the current problem (poor numeracy levels in American adults) and the bevy of standards, legislation, and new exams that have recently been developed to address it. Ginsburg also…

The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) was founded more than six decades ago to build a knowledge base of research and effective practice for the field of educational leadership. UCEA is a collective of approximately 100 top research institutions with programs in educational leadership and policy and is the leading…

Instructional materials are essential tools in the English language arts classroom. They allow students to interact with words, images, and ideas in ways that develop their abilities in multiple literacies such as reading, listening, viewing, thinking, speaking, writing, and technology. Because selection policies should reflect local interests and…

This column provides an overview of the Common Core text exemplars and gives examples of ways teachers can group text exemplars and other trade books in ways that will support middle graders' understanding of complex texts. Building background by supplementing text exemplars with other titles is particularly emphasized. Suggestions for grouping…

In their paper, Munoz and El-Hani propose to bring video games into science classrooms to promote culturally sensitive ethics and citizenship education. Instead of bringing "educational" games, Munoz and El-Hani take a more creative route and include games such as Fallout 3[R] precisely because they are popular and they reproduce ideological and…

In turning toward that which has fallen out of use, one approaches the threshold between presence and passing; between knowing and forgetting. It is the "place", perhaps the unexpected "pause", where language and loss meet. This essay speculates on the particular apparatus of print, the making and unmaking of its medium in a time of technological…

Discusses selection of equipment and materials and gives suggestions for teaching machine transcription in order to prepare students for today's office. (JOW)

Guidelines for the selection of appropriate educational media are presented, including a discussion of the role of technology in enhancing learning, and a consideration of the characteristics of various forms of learning resources. (SK)

Because the cost of computer software is expensive and hardware costs are going down, it is important to choose software systems that are independent of hardware. (JOW)

Discusses the use of slide sets in teaching adults. Provides principles for planning, production, and use. (JOW)

Recommends a five-step process for selecting the appropriate program for training administration. Includes selection criteria, a list of programs, and resources and suppliers. (JOW)

Discusses the debate on reading and the relationship between children's reading and television viewing habits. Describes a multimedia class project that produced an animated film which included dialogue, sound effects, and music. Posits that children are empowered through "reading" in a wider selection of media. (PA)

Describes various types of video producers and suggests how to decide which one is best for training needs. (JOW)

The choice of appropriate instructional material is crucial to effective teaching. Selecting materials is an integral part of the instructional plan. (JOW)