Describes an investigation into the social dynamics of a technology-mediated preservice teacher environment (an Internet discussion group) and the extent to which community-building occurred. Discourse analysis examined how the technology-mediated discourse community reflected five main categories characterizing the ethos of classroom communities.…

A $500-billion industry, K-12 education offers attractive investment possibilities. Public education is being broadly criticized; state governments favor new program structures; the school-age population is growing; new technologies offer entrepreneurial opportunities; school revenues provide ready capital; and the knowledge industry is booming.…

Discusses the use of technology in training and higher education. Considers current technologies; establishing a vision before implementing technology; needs assessment; hardware and software considerations; facility limitations; design considerations; curriculum support; and student and instructor needs. (LRW)

Offers tips for parents to help maximize the educational benefits of a trip to a science and technology center. (WRM)

Summarizes the latest issues and research on reading that are of particular interest to classroom teachers. Discusses phonics versus whole language, meeting individual student needs, matching teaching strategies to grade levels, the reading-writing link, and using technology to support instruction. (WRM)

The staff of teacher education institutions in Scotland are under increasing pressure to ensure that teachers in training acquire a range of information and communications technology skills. This paper reports a study of current skills and attitudes of some Scottish training institutions and students' related experiences. Ways of ensuring…

Describes the effectiveness of censoring software, the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program, virtual book reports, technology uses in language-arts instruction, the latest school-technology information, and strategies for dealing with kids who send threats on the Internet. (LMI)

Argues that the reason computers have failed to become central to education is that they offer no added value to the traditional "factory-model" school of today. Outlines changes that must be made in goals of schooling, standards, accountability, intellectual diversity, and new structures. Discusses shift of values from standardization to…

Reports results of surveying directors of university career centers. Respondents supply information about what types of technology they use and how they use the technology for job searching. They also describe what types of training they provide for students and the methods they use to implement training programs. (MKA)

Presents a lesson plan for grade 5 social studies in which small groups of students use computers and three software programs to develop geography skills (latitude, longitude, compass reading, plotting courses on maps), create their own continents, and keep a five-day journal of exploration. Includes examples of student work. (PEN)

Describes the workings of computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Focuses on the key concept of information and then discusses two important components of a CAT system: the calibrated item bank and the testing algorithm. Describes a CAT that was designed for making placement decisions on the basis of two typical test administrations and notes the…

Outlines important issues to address when planning video production facilities in a school's media center. Discusses spatial, light, and temperature considerations; determining amount to be spent, what the studio will be used for, and selecting equipment; considering digital video and nonlinear editing systems; visiting schools that already have a…

Distance education has potential to overcome barriers to rural women's participation but must consider women's attitudes toward technology and ways of knowing. Strategies are outlined for developing gender-friendly models of distance education. "Value-added" distance education requires rethinking traditional instructional settings and…

Describes changes in public education over the last 150 years, discussing how changing politics have affected education; the influence of the electronic revolution (television and the Internet); the relationship between global economics, electronic communication, and education; and the movement from schools as a place to acquire basic language and…

Exhibits in London's Science Museum are critiqued in this discussion of the problem of balance in presenting controversial issues in museum exhibits. Science museums claim to portray controversial issues in a neutral manner, but neutrality is impossible. Asks how science museums can involve visitors in the controversy and how the museum's role can…