Describes the services and resources of the San Mateo Educational Resources Center (SMERC) and presents the results of a survey of linking agents operating within SMERC contracts, including findings about their organizational settings, educational backgrounds, marketing activities, and perceptions about the usefulness of the service. (FM)

Reviews a variety of resources for media courses teaching about advertising. Divides the material into three categories: assaults on unannounced values (critics), thoughtful thematic compilations (collectors), and semiapproving rhapsodies on the medium's formal brilliance (cheerleaders). (TJ)

Presents annotations of recent educational materials focusing on civil rights, civil liberties, the Constitution, and Constitutional Amendments. Materials include books, curriculum guides, teachers' manuals and materials, and films. Information is presented for each entry on title, author, publisher, cost, approximate grade level, and description.…

Although the gypsy moth defoliates over 2 million trees annually, it can serve as an extremely valuable tool for promoting environmental awareness. The gypsy moth can illustrate insect life cycles, sexual dimorphism, scent attraction, many stimulus response experiments, evolution, natural controls, and pesticide uses and dangers. (SB)

Describes a seven-level taxonomy intended to assist design teams to produce more generalized, flexible media to support instruction. The levels are defined as jargon and definitions, component point recognition, awareness of purpose, components of usage skill, awareness of sequences, skill performance or application of relationships, and…

The Minneapolis Urban Arts Program preaches and practices two ideas: The arts are basic to education; they're for all students, not just the talented. (Editor)

Describes how fifth-grade teachers and a school library media specialist in Malvern, Pennsylvania collaborated in a student reenactment of the Ellis Island experience. Includes a bibliography of immigration resources and sample background information, identification, entrance papers, and experience of a simulated immigrant. (PEN)

Lists the names and addresses of contacts within the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) which link Canadian, American, and Mexican educators with Environmental Education and Communication (EECOM) in Canada. (AIM)

Describes resources for information and activities involving volcanoes. Includes an activity that helps students become familiar with the principal types of volcanoes and explores how the viscosity of magma affects the way a volcano erupts. (MKR)

Describes common curricular components of 10 education programs to teach students democratic citizenship. Highlights characteristics of three programs: a high school government course, a college-level program, and an adult education program. Describes three broad priorities of successful programs: commitment, capacity, and connection. Includes a…

Reports on the design and development of video-based learning objects created to enhance the educational experiences of American Sign Language (ASL) hearing participants in a distance learning course that used video conferencing and Web-based technologies and, following the course, the creation of new applications for use of the learning objects.…

Lists science trade books published in 2001 that are considered outstanding. Organized by scientific discipline. (DDR)

Focuses on the challenges faced by one state's efforts at systemic reform. Evidence of changes in teaching practice and in student learning and the meanings that may be drawn from that evidence is detailed. Discusses five aspects of systemic reform that needed to be addressed and aligned, and the lessons learned in attempting to meet the…

Presents information about watersheds including water quantity, water quality, floods and floodplains. Lists resources for learning more about watersheds as well as Internet resources. Includes a foldout that can be used to teach children about watersheds and floodplains. (JRH)

Describes a protocol designed to help students taking their first undergraduate physics course acquire the basic skills of physics problem solving. Discusses the evaluation of the educational effectiveness of this protocol and its use in an interactive multimedia learning package. Contains 16 references. (Author/JRH)