Meaning making in new media presents new opportunities and challenges for those working in formal and informal educational contexts. How this impacts on a literacy curriculum that attempts both to deliver "the basics" and to respond to new technology demands careful exploration. This paper examines what we mean by digital literacy and how it…

This study examined the factors influencing pre-service teachers' perceptions of computers' self- efficacy. Participants in the study were 305 pre-service science teachers at a four-year public university in Turkey. Two instruments were used for this study: the Turkish version of the Microcomputer Utilization in Teaching Efficacy Beliefs…

The numbers of disconnected youths (adolescents and young adults aged 16 to 21 who have dropped out of school and who don't have jobs) in adult education programs continue to grow at the Turning Point Educational Center in Brooklyn, New York. These youths can be particularly challenging to teach. They often have negative attitudes toward what they…

In this study, the author investigated the relationships among Turkish students' perceived computer skills, computer attitudes, quantitative skills, qualitative skills, and gender. The author collected data from a total of 362 undergraduate students. He found that gender was a significant variable to predict computer attitudes but not perceived…

In this article, the author relates the big role of computers in his life as a writer. The author narrates that he has been using a computer for nearly twenty years now. He relates that computers has set his writing free. When he started writing, he was just using an electric typewriter. He also relates that his romance with computers is also a…

Background: Based on analyses of the difficulties encountered during the process of integrating technology into instruction and the efforts made by researchers to overcome barriers to such integration, we propose that the efforts made to date (e.g., increasing the availability of computer equipment and enhancing computer literacy, support, and…

It's the first day of the "Animals" unit for Tami Brester's third-grade class and the first day her students are using Glossopedia, a free online multimedia science encyclopedia. But you wouldn't know that from observing the kids, who are excitedly researching animals on the internet. This is inquiry-based learning of a special kind, incorporating…

This study evaluates the reliability of self-assessment as a measure of computer competence. This evaluation is carried out in response to recent research which has employed self-reported ratings as the sole indicator of students' computer competence. To evaluate the reliability of self-assessed computer competence, the scores achieved by students…

This document presents the principles behind modern computer graphics without straying into the arcane languages of mathematics and computer science. Illustrations accompany the clear, step-by-step explanations that describe how computers draw pictures. The 22 chapters of the book are organized into 5 sections. "Part 1: Computer Graphics in…

A study investigated whether the computer anxiety of novice users would be reduced more with graphic user interfaces than with command line interfaces. Computers have become an integral part of communication research, and undergraduates are being required to take research courses that necessitate the use of computers. Forty-five students enrolled…

New technologies brought about by the computer are causing writing to take on more and more the features of orality. The computer's emphasis on speed reduces or even eliminates distance, which is one of the key features of orality. Orality is immediate and relies on assumptions, on gaps to be filled in by the auditor. It is also "socially…

Because metaphors offer ready perspectives for comprehending something new, this document examines various metaphors educators might use to help students develop computer literacy. Metaphors described are the computer as person (a complex system worthy of respect), tool (perhaps the most powerful and versatile known to humankind), brain (both…

Early childhood practitioners should evaluate whether or not computers contribute to the growth of their students by considering computers in the planning phase of the educational program. The first approach, computer assisted instruction, includes drill and practice programs, tutorials or programmed instruction, and simulations or games. Computer…

A model syllabus is presented for promoting literacy in information technology for elementary and secondary school teachers. In the syllabus, information technology is defined, and educational implications of new information technology are discussed in terms of the societal context, and teaching and learning. Educational uses of the new…

Designed as a self-teaching tool for those who have had no experience with computers and who are seeking an understanding of the microcomputer, this set of lesson cards teaches the beginner how to write simple computer programs in the BASIC language. The learner is also taught to (1) determine what computers can and cannot do; (2) load a tape or…