The importance of digital and media literacies to literacy instruction and learning for today's elementary students is shared in this article. A student's routine literacy activities are documented to provide a view into how digital and media literacies are woven into a fourth-grade classroom. This example brings the use of technology as a tool to…

The Montessori philosophy advocates that the classroom be a reflection of the home, the community, and the world. Now, a century after Maria Montessori founded her Casa dei Bambini, the world is becoming a high-technology society, with computers a part of everyday American lives. Computers are almost a household necessity, and basic…

With budgets and staff stretched thin, schools are turning tech-savvy students into technology leaders and a popular, important source of IT support. Providing professional tech support is a very expensive a proposition, so districts from Tupelo to Greenville, and from Hattiesburg to Columbia, are enlisting students to fill the gaps. This article…

Examines the critical role of information and communication technologies (ICT) in Swedish early childhood classrooms. Suggests that for children to become skillful users of ICT, equipment and a variety of software must be readily available, and teachers must develop their expertise with technology in order to use it effectively and creatively in…

It is not necessary for students to learn about numbers and number operations before effectively using calculators; rather that such understanding and skill follows naturally from appropriate access to technology. Students using calculators and computers demonstrate improved attitudes toward mathematics, increased confidence in their problem…

Researchers and educators are calling for increased use of technology and attention to function concepts in school mathematics. Students often have considerable difficulty gleaning pointwise and global information from Cartesian (R squared) representations of functions, whether they are hand- or machine-produced. Described here is an interactive…

For some reason, the idea of the nature writer at work in the open air has been exalted, and it is difficult to think that writing about nature might be compatible with computers, the ultimate indoor toy. However, for students learning to write about nature, a networked computer environment may be the best place to be, not for replacing the…

The field of machine learning has developed a wide array of techniques for improving the effectiveness of performance elements. Ideally, a learning system would adapt its commitments to the demands of a particular learning situation, rather than relying on fixed commitments that impose tradeoffs between the efficiency and utility of a learning…

Learners in the school setting need to become proficient spellers. Pupils need to perceive purpose in learning to spell any given set of words. Learners need to attach meaning to ongoing activities and experiences, and appropriate learning experiences must be provided by the teacher to assist each pupil to achieve stated ends. A method for pupils…

This ERIC Short Report on the use of microcomputers with young children provides a brief summary of related research and discussion of the ways computers can be used by educators and their students. Profiles of computer applications concern computer literacy, computer-assisted instruction, computer programming, computer art, word processing, and…

The paper examines applications of computers in deaf education, noting three major functional areas: (1) the computer as a tutor; (2) the computer as a tool; and (3) the computer as a tutee. Software in the tutor mode (computer assisted instruction) is reviewed, and the need for software in the language arts area is noted. Computer applications…

This document demonstrates some of the functions served by the four parts of the AppleWorks program which can be used by school counselors. The four functions include word processor, data base, spread sheet, and mail merge. Each function is described, examples of the function are provided, advantages are listed, and for two examples, the support…

The directory of technology resources for the disabled lists 15 information clearinghouses, 11 publications, 147 commercial vendors, and 13 conferences. (DB)

COMPUPLAY, a program of the National Lekotek Center (Illinois) for handicapped children (ages 2-14) emphasizes the value of parent/child play activities using computers and provides computer support and resources to parents and professionals. (DB)

The study compared effects of toy play and computer activity on vocalization and social play in dyads consisting of a disabled preschooler and nondisabled peer. Computer activity was as effective or slightly more effective than toy play in stimulating vocalizations and social play. (Author/DB)