Cognitive tools, computer-based applications normally used as productivity software, can also function as knowledge representation formalisms that require learners to think critically. Databases, spreadsheets, semantic networks, expert systems, and multimedia/hypermedia construction can function as computer-based cognitive tools to expand student…

Discussion of computer anxiety focuses on a study of undergraduates in an introductory psychology course that assessed the effects of relaxation and coping skills training on their anxiety and performance as they learned to use a spreadsheet program. The influence of the computer's user friendliness was examined, and treatments for the…

Educational administration program coordinators in over 200 U.S. and Canadian universities were asked to indicate which computer applications and course developments they thought would prove most useful in training school leaders for 1990s. The highest ranked skills were word processing, scheduling, database management, budgeting, and…

Presents a computerized programmatic feasibility model for estimating revenues and expenditures of Minnesota school districts to determine whether a district or combination of districts could offer state-mandated instructional and support services on a continuing basis. Discusses four pilot applications relating to reorganization decisions. (SV)

Illustrated is the use of spreadsheet programs for implementing finite difference numerical simulations of chromatography as an instructional tool in a separations course. Discussed are differential equations, discretization and integration, spreadsheet development, computer requirements, and typical simulation results. (CW)

Presents the Forage Manager spreadsheet, developed as a forage management teaching tool to integrate agronomic, livestock, and cost data to demonstrate the impact of forage management on livestock production costs. Teaching applications, examples involving agronomic data and conventional agronomic evaluation, and limitations of the program are…

Describes how to place mathematical equations modeling population growth into a spreadsheet that performs calculations quickly and easily. Suggests experiments that can be performed with the spreadsheets. (WRM)

Reports a study that examined entering preservice teachers' prior experience in word processing, database, and spreadsheet software, based on self-reported information. Factors that influenced students' entering skills (for example, gender and computer experience) were noted. Survey data indicated that the subjects had little prior knowledge of…

This paper suggests that knowledge of the school mathematics curriculum, as one of the key components of teachers' education, can be extended to include concepts and structures that generally belong to hidden domains of the curriculum. Motivated by work done with elementary pre-service teachers in a mathematics course employing a hidden…

Growing consensus among policy makers and educators alike suggests that our education system must be transformed to address the needs of a global society as well as the needs of the 21st century student. Often overlooked as a resource, students can contribute a valuable perspective on education. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to learn…

This article addresses some of the issues relevant to the cognitive goals of information and communication technology (ICT) integration in the mathematics classroom. It focuses on the development of conceptual understanding through multiple representations. Specifically, it informs about a group of middle school mathematics teachers' learning and…

The introduction of computers in the Department of Accounting and Finance at Manchester University is described. General background outlining the increasing need for microcomputers in the accounting curriculum (including financial modelling tools and decision support systems such as linear programming, statistical packages, and simulation) is…

Parallel Alternative Strategies for Students (PASS) is a content-centered package of alternative methods and materials designed to assist secondary teachers to meet the needs of mainstreamed learning-disabled and emotionally-handicapped students of various achievement levels in the basic education content courses. This supplementary text and…

In a development and research project over a period of three years, with classes 8 to 10 in school, the aim was to develop students' competence to use computer tools. The aim was that the students should be able to judge what ICT tools are appropriate to use for a specific task. Seven classes with six teachers took part in the project. In a…

To examine the effects of introducing portable computers into secondary schools, a study was conducted regarding information technology skills and attitudes of staff and eighth grade students prior to and after receiving individual portable computers. Knowledge and use of word processing, spreadsheets, and database applications increased for both…