The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of traditionally spoken linguistic analysis approaches for understanding the nature and outcomes of online interaction. The study took place with twenty-eight elementary school teachers in ten suburban Chicago schools involved in a technology-supported, problem-based learning curriculum…

Some learning scientists are beginning to investigate social and cultural aspects of learning by examining the interactions between a learner and the environment as well as with other people in the learning environment. This article proposes conversational analysis (CA) as a tool to analyze interactions between learners and instructors in…

Students are, increasingly, digital content producers, and participate extensively in evolving online social networks. The emergence of the former represents subtle changes in students' experience of images, audience, copyright, ownership of learning, and technology. Experiencing the latter places students in an awkward position in terms of…

In this self-study of a secondary teacher education course, the authors investigated whether there was evidence of critically reflective problem solving on the part of prospective teachers who participated in a peer-led online discussion of a teaching case about English-language learners. They also examined what approaches to multicultural…

Australia wide, all school systems are in the process of providing teachers with computers and there is an expectation that new teachers will possess the expertise to use them in their teaching. In addition to using computers for basic word processing and data manipulation, early-career science teachers need to be able to use a range of…

This paper explores how educators are using multimedia for distance learning, beginning with definitions of the concepts of multimedia, hypermedia, hypertext, distance education and distance learning. Three types of telecommunications technologies are described: multimedia with broadcast television, multimedia with interactive video (television),…

This study investigated the writing of elementary and high school students who participated in an on-line conference called Elementary Books over a two-year period, from 1992-1994. During this period, exchanges between a third- and a fifth-grade class and two high school English classes in different geological regions of Virginia were analyzed to…

Offering participation in courses via modem can benefit both colleges, which are often coping with downsizing or insufficient classroom space, and students, who may face prohibitive work schedules, a need to remain at home, physical handicaps, or incarceration. This study assembles demographic information on higher education students who…

The best learning occurs with a variety of learning experiences; it has been said that we retain 10% of what we see, 20% of what we hear, 50% of what we see and hear, and 80% of what we see, hear and do. Learning to make sense of the senses that the arts address (seeing, hearing, feeling) requires the development of special perceptual skills.…

Looking at Binge Drinking (LBD) is a software program designed for school administrators and prevention specialists based at four-year colleges and universities who are concerned about the rate of alcohol binge drinking among their students. LBD runs on personal computers using Microsoft Windows. School officials can explore how certain changes in…

This paper notes the advantages of using e-mail in computer literacy classes, and discusses the results of incorporating an e-mail assignment in the "Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning and Computer Programming" core course at Brooklyn College (New York). The assignment consisted of several steps. The students first read and responded…

Many organizations grapple with a glut of electronic information spawned by stockpiles of incompatible computers. This book offers solutions in information sharing and computer interaction. Rather than being about the Internet per se, it is about approaches that are characteristic of the Internet and the managerial and technical aspects of…

Internet e-mail is becoming more accessible to K-12 teachers. Many colleges and universities will give accounts to teachers for the price of asking. Unfortunately, many of these university systems are hard to use and are usually not offered to K-12 students. Also, most schools do not have phone lines in classrooms. This paper discusses two systems…

Current trends related to older adults have the potential of influencing programs and services in adult, career, and vocational education. The amount and kind of learning in which older adults engage is one trend of interest to educators. A 1997 study reveals that older people are learning in numbers and amounts of time expended at a rate far…

ITForum is an electronic listserv that discusses theories, research, new paradigms, and practices in the field of instructional technology. ITForum is a unique and thriving electronic community of instructional technology scholars and professionals. By offering a schedule of papers and the opportunity to discuss them with the author, ITForum makes…