In this article we propose that the grammar of schooling [Tyack, D., & Tobin, W. (1994). "The 'grammar' of schooling: Why has it been so hard to change?" "American Educational Research Journal, 31"(3), 453-479.] is responsible not only for the well-known and world-wide difficulties in integrating ICT into formal educational settings, but also for…

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA; 2000) requires an Internet filtering and public awareness strategy to protect children under 17 from harmful visual Internet depictions. This study compared high school students who went online with the CIPA restriction and college students who went online without the restriction in order to…

We present results from a randomized study of a well-defined use of computers in schools: a popular instructional computer program for pre-algebra and algebra. We assess the program using a test designed to target pre-algebra and algebra skills. Students randomly assigned to computer-aided instruction score 0.17 of a standard deviation higher on…

Many professionals in instructional education have experienced a relatively new potential virtual learning environment, called Second Life (SL). This article will connect the virtual world to the essential next step in our learning and communicating approach, electracy. Initially, humans utilized an oral mode to communicate, followed by literacy…

For most of our students, video games are a normal part of their lives. We should take advantage of this medium to teach physics in a manner that is engrossing for our students. In particular, modern video games incorporate accurate physics in their game engines, and they allow us to visualize the physics through flashy and captivating graphics. I…

This paper describes the Generic Automated Marking Environment (GAME) and provides a detailed analysis of its performance in assessing student programming projects and exercises. GAME has been designed to automatically assess programming assignments written in a variety of languages based on the "structure" of the source code and the correctness…

In this paper "Derive" functions are provided for the computation of the Moore-Penrose inverse of a matrix, as well as for solving systems of linear equations by means of the Moore-Penrose inverse. Making it possible to compute the Moore-Penrose inverse easily with one of the most commonly used Computer Algebra Systems--and to have the blueprint…

North Carolina State University may never build another computer lab. Instead the university has installed racks of equipment in windowless rooms where students and professors never go. This article describes a project called the Virtual Computing Lab. Users enter it remotely from their own computers in dormitory rooms or libraries. They get all…

Stories offer a powerful framework for engagement, reflection, and other important skills that young people need to learn. As digital media have expanded, so have the possibilities for creating stories. Here, several examples of those new possibilities are examined, examples that highlight student-produced online broadcasting initiatives,…

Electronic communication is a powerful tool teachers can leverage to improve learning. In this article, the authors explain how they used chat and discussion forums to improve their mathematics classes, and how others can adapt their strategies across the curriculum.

We adopt the Web 2.0 paradigm as a mechanism for preparing, editing, delivering and maintaining educational content, and for fostering ongoing innovation in the online education field. We report here on the migration of legacy course materials from "PowerPoint" slides on CD to a fully online delivery mode for use in the "Swinburne Astronomy…

This article describes the development of interactive text message applications at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. We describe how the university's information technology innovation program led to the formation of a faculty owned company in which the university holds an equity interest. Next, we discuss the collaborative development…

Reflective practice, or reflection, is considered such a vital component of the learning process that strategies and supporting tools warrant continued research in the learning sciences. Reflection has been defined as "deliberating on experience" (Pennington, 1995, p. 47), "an activity or process in which experience is recalled,…

Students in career and technical education (CTE) programs have many environments they need to discover, explore, and understand. For CTE teachers, transporting their students to these environments can be difficult, dangerous, or even impossible. However, there is now a way to take students on location anywhere without leaving the classroom.…

In a previous article in this journal, simple constructions were considered to study the reflective property of a parabola and of a paraboloid. The purpose was to help middle school students understand the importance of the parabola shape and its ability to focus parallel rays. The examples demonstrated a use of the two "Cabri" products to study a…