This paper presents a review of the literature on toy play in infancy and early childhood, with an emphasis on both normal development and special considerations for young children with disabilities. Specifically, it describes children's encounters with toys within a developmental framework, identifies characteristics of the child and aspects of…

This paper describes how comic books are used as instructional materials in an intensive English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course and discusses the rationale for using them. The students in the course have low-intermediate English language skills with limited discourse and interactive competence. Comic books are used because they are authentic,…

The debate over teaching the "canon," a collection of great books authored by Homer, Plato, Shakespeare, Kant, Darwin, and others that has traditionally represented the Western intellectual tradition, as a core of the college curriculum, is examined. Discussion begins with a description of how the canon has been taught from ancient…

In 1992, the Australian government decided that all children in Australian schools should have access to an Aboriginal Studies program. New courses were designed to bring about greater community understanding of Aboriginal heritage and history, culture and values, but before the courses could be implemented, schools had to be given access to books…

Instructional systems design (ISD) is the integration of general systems theory, instructional theory, and communications theory. Edgar Dale, a leader in the fields of reading and journalism and a pioneer in the humanistic/communications tradition of the field of instructional technology, related the concrete to abstract continuum to media…

Although there are efforts to equalize educational methods and materials, some differences between males and females may be better served by emphasizing rather than neutralizing gender. One such point is in the area of visual imagery. Studies have shown that imagery preferred by males and females differs in certain visual characteristics. The…

A discussion of the use of movies on videotape in the English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) classroom begins with a brief review of the history and emergence of videotape recordings as a popular technology. The advantages of video as a language teaching aid are then examined, including its instructional flexibility, exposure to paralinguistic…

This report responds to a need for more detailed information about leadership development resources. It presents discussions of where resources may be used in vocational education leadership development and how high quality resources may be selected. Initially, the context for leadership development resources is presented. Next, a framework for…

The media selection guidelines in this booklet have been developed to further emphasize fairness and respect for all individuals in Saskatchewan (Canada) schools. The six forms of bias that may appear in learning materials include: (1) invisibility--underrepresenting certain groups; (2) stereotyping--assigning rigid roles or attributes to a group;…

The success and rewards of working with educational audiotape cassettes are discussed, based in part on student responses to questionnaires from an earlier study of four Open University courses. Attention is drawn to characteristics of tapes which make them valuable for education. Both the product and the processes of making them are discussed,…

Designed for media specialists and educators, this issue includes seven articles focusing on humanistic films for children. Following a brief editorial encouraging the ideals of humanism, the first article presents an analysis of seven films with positive sex-role models. Included is a model for evaluating children's films. The second article…

Analyses of elementary and secondary social studies textbooks, supplementary materials, and teacher resource materials, all published in 1982 and 1983, are presented. The objective is to provide a review of curriculum materials which will allow K-12 teachers, administrators, curriculum coordinators, and college methods teachers to select…

This 7-chapter volume presents 11 papers dealing with the issues commonly encountered by educators and decision-makers in less developed countries when they consider the use of mass media to further their country's education and development. Individual topics and their authors are (1) "Marshalling, Managing, and Evaluating the Mass Media for…

Guidelines are presented for use by educational administrators in selecting a microcomputer for administrative purposes. The selection process described is based on the determination of functions to be automated, and the identification of the software that best automates these functions. Topics addressed include general software applications that…

This handbook for computer-assisted instruction in English as a Second Language (ESL) is designed to guide teachers unfamiliar with computer hardware and software through the basic procedures of using the Apple IIe system and ESL software. The handbook begins with introductory sections on the growth of microcomputer use in schools, the advantages…