We describe the design of a knowledge-building environment and examine the role of knowledge-building portfolios in characterizing and scaffolding collaborative inquiry. Our goal is to examine collaborative knowledge building in the context of exploring the alignment of learning, collaboration, and assessment in computer forums. The key design…

This study provides detailed descriptions, analyses, and interpretations of student interactions and participation that occurred in computer-mediated interactive writing activities in two different college classroom network situations. A freshman composition class focused on the teaching of writing through assigned exercises and incorporated…

The Collaboratory Notebook, developed as part of the Learning Through Collaborative Visualization Project (CoVis), is a networked, multimedia knowledge-building environment which has been designed to help students, teachers and scientists share inquiry over the boundaries of time and space. CoVis is an attempt to change the way that science is…

Six conference panel discussions on uses of technology in education are presented. The first panel, "The Use of Hypermedia in the Teaching and Learning of Programming" (Tom Boyle, Chair, and others) discusses achievements in hypermedia-based instruction, design needs, and experiences. The second panel, "Virtual Clayoquot Video…

The advertising section of the Proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "Advertising versus Product Publicity: The Effects on Credibility and Purchase Intent" (M. Catherine Chew and others); "Introducing Introductory Advertising Students to the World Wide Web" (Beth E. Barnes); "In Defense of Puffery" (John H.…

Telecommunications in the classroom helps transform familiar types of assignments into new forms, increasing students' motivation while extending opportunities for critical thinking. This goals of this study were to increase apprentice teachers' technology use and evaluation skills while determining the value of e-mail communication in…

At the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI), both a four-year high school and a two-year junior college, students spend weekday evenings at their desks in mandatory study hall. The goal of NMMI for its campus network is to have a network tap on the desk of each cadet (as well as faculty and administrative staff). The Internet, now already…

The Multi-User Simulation Environment (MUSE) software is designed to motivate students across many age levels to engage in reading, writing, problem-solving, and collaborative and creative projects. MUSE software provides a text-based, virtual world on computers connected to a network, allowing synchronous and asynchronous communication among…

The task for the National Data Management Project is to share technological capabilities with the Head Start Community in order to implement improved services for children and families involved in Head Start. Many Head Start programs have incorporated technology into their programs, including word processing, database management systems,…

Adopting and adapting electronic networks for classroom instruction requires refining and redeveloping. Teachers must discern which potential element or elements (for example, classroom projects, databases, or e-mail) operates best in their classrooms, for their students, and with their teaching styles. Teachers develop individual processes of…

This paper reports preliminary findings from an ongoing longitudinal study of preservice teachers mathematical knowledge and confidence. The subgroup for this study consists of 11 preservice teachers from a group of 60 students enrolled in the 2-year teacher education pilot program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), Toronto…

To explore and document the status of computer use in Arkansas, a survey was sent to each of the 310 school superintendents in the state, and 221 surveys were returned. Results indicated that only a minority of the schools had a computer in every room; these tended to be placed in lower grade classrooms. Excepting kindergarten, the majority of…

This paper describes a year-long project in a fifth grade classroom to investigate the recurring flooding of the Pecatonica River (Illinois) and its effects on plant and animal life. The project was funded by a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to involve elementary school classrooms with a consortium of museums in the…

The use of computers in English departments, especially in composition classes, has become a primary site of contention between those who find technology liberating and those who find only new configurations of the same old hierarchies. Much of the excitement stems from a perceived connection between new classroom technologies and current theories…

This narrative recounts experiences at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the design process of two university courses meant to test the potential and the limits of the technologies represented in the Internet. The courses described evolved as a means for teaching a junior and senior level political theory class for…