In Iowa, the practice of two-way interactive full motion video instruction is embodied in the use of the Iowa Communication Network (ICN). To facilitate innovative practices in distance education, the preservice component of the Iowa Distance Education Alliance's (IDEA) Teacher Education Alliance provided support for pilot projects which had the…

Classroom teachers have long used group activities as part of their repertoire of teaching techniques. Personalities, goals, the group dynamic, the teacher's level of supervision, and other factors play a role in the efficacy of student collaboration. This paper describes five cooperative learning techniques: student teams-achievement divisions;…

This paper reports on student reaction to the use of computer programs in political science courses during 1991-1995 at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The courses were junior-senior level courses, except for the honors section. Three types of software were used: (1) simulations; (2) Internet materials; and (3) data processing software…

Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) is introduced and some of its benefits for foreign language teaching are discussed. The focus of the discussion is on fundamental principles and advantages of the CALL methodology, along with types of learner's role. Advantages of CALL are identified, including the versatility of presentation of material,…

This paper presents a rationale for using high-fidelity computer simulation in planning for and implementing effective multicultural education strategies. Using computer simulation, educators can begin to understand and plan for the concept of cultural sensitivity in delivering instruction. The model promises to emphasize teachers' understanding…

This book shows teachers how to effectively integrate the Internet into the classroom, and illustrates how teachers are developing classroom communities filled with the excitement of learning and discovery. Each chapter begins with a story of how a talented teacher uses the Internet in the classroom and then discusses the lessons that can be…

The goal of this document is to bring instruction in graphic design to the presentation of information in all subject areas and to encourage educators to embrace graphic design as a powerful tool for accomplishing the daily task of communicating information and ideas to students. The document uses activities to reinforce the concepts discussed in…

Technology, software, and design activities that have been used to create presentations for a class in visual literacy taught to graduate students in the instructional technology program of Northern Illinois University are described. In the past, the language of visuals was introduced through a slide and tape produced for the class. An additional…

The teaching of thinking has become the focus of a new interventionist paradigm in schooling. Four perspectives have been particularly influential in the development of the paradigm: (1) the cognitive view of intelligence, which asserts that intellectual ability can be changed; (2) the constructivist approach to learning, which maintains that…

The purpose of this inservice project was to help elementary teachers overcome their reluctance to deviate from commercially prepared materials by becoming aware of and building connections between the understanding of mathematical processes through the use of concrete, representational, and symbolic manipulatives with the four arithmetic…

This document consists of six issues of a newsletter that provides a forum for the sharing of research findings and instructional strategies by faculty of Western Michigan University. Issue Number 1 addresses writing in the Writing Across the Curriculum Program with notification of a faculty workshop, hints on how to encourage good writing, and a…

As drill and practice programs in computer assisted instruction (CAI) in English give students a chance to test their understanding and free the teacher from test grading, they seem a legitimate if unexciting use of the computer; but what seems less defensible is that, according to some estimates, 90% of available CAI software is of this drill and…

Advantages of using the microcomputer as an interactive electronic blackboard are discussed, and programs and programming techniques are described to illustrate the construction, design, storage, and modification of colorful and animated graphic displays. The methods described are based on use of an Atari 800 microcomputer but could be used on…

Claims that computers and other high technology can replace teachers and staff, thereby reducing educational costs, are unwarranted for several reasons. First, most cost analyses focus on hardware costs, which are not the major factor directing the cost of computer assisted instruction (CAI). Second, technology is more likely to change the skill…

Businesses use both classroom and facilitation forms of leadership development. In this article I describe over 20 leadership-development methods, placing them in either of two categories, classroom or facilitation. I then provide the results of a quick survey of leadership development companies on the Internet, over 200 in all, about which group…