Technology and a variety of resources play an important role in students' educational lives. Vygotsky's (1987) theory of tool mediation suggests that cultural tools, such as computer software influence individuals' thinking and action. However, it is not completely understood how technology and other resources influence student action. Middle…

This article describes a project that helped fourth-grade students connect personally with and bring North Carolina history to life. Over the months of this project, students asked questions, investigated topics of interest that they chose, conducted in-depth research that included interviewing experts, learned to use a video editor to combine…

With the increasing complexity of technology and large quantities of data in our digital age, learning and training has become a major cost of employers. Employee competence depends more and more on how quickly one can acquire new knowledge and solve problems to meet pressing deadlines. This paper presents a practical method to use REU (Research…

Here we present a multidisciplinary educational unit intended for general, advanced placement, or international baccalaureate-level high school science, focused on the three-dimensional structure of proteins and their connection to function and disease. The lessons are designed within the framework of the Next Generation Science Standards to make…

In the Dutch secondary education system, students must carry out at the end of their school career a research or design project to demonstrate their ability to apply acquired knowledge and skills while pursuing a rather large research question or design goal in some depth. They are encouraged to choose the topic themselves and they are to some…

In this article, the authors report a case study where Blackboard's wiki function was used to create electronic lab books for the supervision of undergraduate students completing laboratory based research projects. This successful experiment in supervision using electronic notebooks provided a searchable record of student work and a permanent…

We describe a unique Research Experience for Undergraduates and Research Experience for Veterinary students summer program at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis on the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The program focused on interdisciplinary research at the interface of biology and mathematics.…

Original research and content creation in the university environment have historically been the domain of faculty and their graduate students. Nowadays, however, undergraduate programs at universities across the country are putting undergrads in the center of the action. This article describes some of these programs--at Duke University (North…

The advent of computer technology in the classroom raised the issue of its appropriate use by teachers and their students alike. It has been recommended that teacher education programs provide more opportunities for teacher candidates' use of technology including teaching their own technology-enhanced lessons. With a goal of integrating…

Studies suggest that course-integrated information literacy instruction is an effective way to enhance the quality of student research. However, many political science professors are unfamiliar with the growing information literacy movement in higher education today, with strategies for integrating information literacy into their courses and…

A teacher in a multi-age elementary classroom including 16 gifted students describes an independent study project in which students used a variety of technological aids (such as hypermedia) to develop a presentation on their chosen topic and publish it on the Internet. Examples of forms used to guide students and evaluation criteria are offered.…

Research by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that teenagers use the Internet as an essential study aid outside the classroom and that the Internet increasingly has a place inside the classroom. Findings from a survey of 754 youths ages 12-17 conducted November and December 2000 include: 94% who have Internet access say they use the…

Argues that hands-on, project-oriented teaching offers an ideal approach to integrating Geographical Information Systems (GIS) education and training. Presents a project-oriented GIS teaching experience as an instructional paradigm that can be used to ensure balance between conceptual GIS learning and software-based hands-on training in…

This research is part of a broader project being carried out by Erain School (San Sebastian) since February-March, 2004. The project is centered on the educational use of digital video. It has been catalogued as an R&D&I Project by the Diputacion (provincial council) of Guipuzcoa and the Basque government who collaborated in financing it,…

Discusses the increase of Internet access for K-12 education and the difference between knowledge and information. Provides an example of a student research project using the Internet and describes a 13-step process for knowledge-making. Suggests interpretation and application of information sources on the Internet is crucial. (AEF)