Blogs are not a passing fad as a new blog is created every second. There are more than 900,000 blog posts a day. Blogs are one of many new disruptive technologies that are transforming the world. They are creating a richer, more dynamic, more interactive Web where participation is the rule rather than the exception. Classrooms and schools are…

In this brief article, the author instructs teachers on how to produce an interactive spreadsheet from scratch in about 20 minutes and en route equip themselves and their students, with handy "Excel" skills. The aim is to introduce the basics of "Excel," plus some fun bits, speedily and with a purpose; producing something that is useful in its own…

Wireless laptops were provided to faculty in a College of Education. This study examined the impact of this technology on the professional practice of the faculty (teaching, research, and service) and specifically on the use of the technology in support of instruction for preservice teachers and graduate students. Widespread adoption and use has…

Three level-implicit finite difference methods of order four are discussed for the numerical solution of the mildly quasi-linear second-order hyperbolic equation A(x, t, u)u[subscript xx] + 2B(x, t, u)u[subscript xt] + C(x, t, u)u[subscript tt] = f(x, t, u, u[subscript x], u[subscript t]), 0 less than x less than 1, t greater than 0 subject to…

This paper introduces the language associated with a polygon microworld called Polygon R&D, which has the mathematical crispness of Logo and has the discreteness and simplicity of a Turing machine. In this microworld, polygons serve two purposes: as agents (similar to the turtles in Logo), and as data (landmarks in the plane). Programming the…

This article presents a wide-ranging analysis of the use of PowerPoint technology in higher education. It addresses four overlapping issues. Has PowerPoint led to more effective learning? What impact has PowerPoint had on the dynamics of classrooms? What are some important aspects of the culture that accompanies PowerPoint? How has PowerPoint…

Internet websites for use in the social studies disciplines are often not easily accessed and used by young children, particularly those in the primary grades, without adult assistance. In this study a group of teachers and students evaluated a set of interactive websites designed specifically for young children on the hyperlinked US Government…

Five years after Consortium on Chicago School Research (CCSR) research revealed a "digital divide" among Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and limited computer usage by staff and students, this new study shows that district schools have overcome many of these obstacles, particularly in terms of technology access and use among teachers and…

This paper brings learning, mass media and technology together in a critical analysis of advertising and its gendered implications in terms of women's desires and investments in technology. It uses two advertisements for laptop computers that appeared in the same weekend news magazine as an analytical opportunity to examine collisions and…

Research into Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools is well into its third decade but there is still a pressing need to better understand how computer-based technologies are influencing learning opportunities, and how the local conditions of schooling impact on teachers' attempts to integrate these technologies in their…

Shared databases are used for knowledge exchange in groups. Whether a person is willing to contribute knowledge to a shared database presents a social dilemma: Each group member saves time and energy by not contributing any information to the database and by using the database only to retrieve information which was contributed by others. But if…

When the author read that the history department at Middlebury College had "banned Wikipedia" she immediately wrote to the college's president, Ronald D. Liebowitz, to express her concern that such decision would lead to a national trend, one that would not be good for higher education. She states that Wikipedia is not just an encyclopedia. It is…

In this article, we report the observed differential uptake and use of computer programs and activities of seven boys and girls of high, medium and low attainment in a classroom in the UK where over 40 children aged 10 and 11 have a networked PC on their desk all day and every day. We observed the detail of what happened in the small space between…

Library media specialists hear about Web 2.0 in numerous professional journals and during conference workshops. They know that using this aspect of the Internet is second nature to many of their students, and therefore they feel a need to become knowledgeable about this means of information sharing. What better way to learn about blogs, wikis, or…

Feedback theory proposes that feedback influences the behavior of a system and its parts and that is governed by rules. This exploratory study attempts to test this theory in a graduate-level class on leadership theory. Twelve students were asked to participate in five online discussions, each lasting one week. The questions for each discussion…