This paper explores children's efforts to make sense of graphs by analyzing two students' use of a computer-based motion detector. The analysis focuses on the students' growing understanding of the motion detector which enables them to plan their movements in order to create graphs and interpret them in terms of kinesthetic actions. Students…

This publication offers aid for North Carolina schools in planning new and renovated facilities to accommodate technology. It is a supplement to the North Carolina Public School Facilities Guidelines and should be used in conjunction with the STS-1000 Telecommunications Wiring Guidelines and the North Carolina School Technology Plan and other…

This book is a collection of vignettes from 13 universities where everyone on campus has his or her own computer. These 13 institutions have instituted "ubiquitous computing" in very different ways at very different costs. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: The Ubiquitous Computing Movement" (David G. Brown); (2) "Dartmouth College" (Malcolm…

This brief paper describes the computerized mentoring program of Project DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) at the University of Washington. Introductory material notes the origins of the mentoring concept and the value of DO-IT mentors to their proteges. The program centers on providing mentoring via the Internet…

Understanding students' challenges about using microcomputer based laboratories (MBLs) would provide important data in understanding the appropriateness of using MBLs in high school chemistry laboratories. Identifying students' concerns about this technology will in part help educators identify the obstacles to science learning when using this…

At its most basic level, philosophical inquiry--the importance and uses of critical thinking--can provide methods for examining the things that are taken for granted during daily routines. This paper explores philosophical inquiry in the field of instructional technology. In the first section, philosophy and the field of instructional technology…

This paper describes the PICCO (PICtorial-COmputer) project the aim of which has been to study the development of the children's conceptual models and exploration strategies in the PICCO environment. The phenomenon, which was selected for the pictorial computer simulation, PICCO, was the variations of sunlight and the heat of the sun as…

Lack of education causes and is caused by poverty. In urban areas, it adds to the vulnerability of the poor, resulting in inaccessible schools and irrelevant curricula. Building urban communities and harnessing social capital can create an environment where the poor will have greater opportunities for making decisions that influence their lives.…

The Environmental Inquiry (EI) program (Cornell University and Pennsylvania State University) supports inquiry based, student-centered science teaching on selected topics in the environmental sciences. Texts to support high school student research are published by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) in the domains of environmental…

This paper gives an overview of the Inspiration Software, a package that is designed to facilitate the construction and use of concept maps in the classroom. The first section discusses concept mapping, defined as any graphic production that is constructed specifically to represent knowledge. The following basic functions of Inspiration are then…

This book helps you make sense of the data your school collects, including state student achievement results as well as other qualitative and quantitative data. Easy-to-use templates, tools, and examples are available on the accompanying CD-ROM.

Grid computing allows large groups of computers (either in a lab, or remote and connected only by the Internet) to extend extra processing power to each individual computer to work on components of a complex request. Grid middleware, recognizing priorities set by systems administrators, allows the grid to identify and use this power without…

Interactive activities offer innumerable possibilities within eLearning environments. As such, one possibility within the interactive activity realm is netconferencing, so as to support the learning objectives. Enhancements within the eLearning environment support the learner?s focus upon knowledge and conceptual framework of understanding.…

The president of a relatively small college describes the road he traveled in trying to adjust to the emerging technologies. While the embedded leadership in technology in an earlier presidency had resulted in that institution becoming somewhat of a "posture-institution" for the other colleges and universities in the larger state system,…

Explains how to transfer graphics from paper into multimedia productions through scanning. Discusses uses of scanning in business, government and education; how the scanner works; types of scanners; and general facts about them. Presents tips for effective scanning from professionals, including general maintenance advice. (AEF)