Discusses designers' need to design educational software for subversive use, recognizing that users fit the use of technology-based environments into contextually tuned "situated" learning environments. In this sense, good design is volatile design, or design which changes with contextual use. These ideas are illustrated with reference to a range…

Reports the use of two different visual-control treatments (self-controlled versus system-imposed) among students with different cognitive styles (Field Independent and Field Dependent). Eighth-grade students were tested to determine how they learned from different design approaches of animated instructional materials. Effect of visual control was…

Describes training strategies developed to introduce Web-based instructional projects to an assistant professor of drama and a senior professor of classics, both of whom had limited computer skills but were interested in including multimedia technology and the Web in their courses. Suggestions for incorporating these ideas into current training…

Culture represents the complex of social, emotional, intellectual, physical, and personal factors that individuals use to create meaning. When these are missing from instructional materials, achievement may be imperiled. Examples of how cultural variables can be incorporated into instructional decisions are presented to illustrate the potential…

Relates the benefits of interactive textbooks and describes three levels of publisher-maintained Web sites for textbooks: textbook information Web sites, textbook companion Web sites, and Web-enhanced textbook sites. Highlights features of a revolutionary Web-based textbook published by Course Technology. Includes an annotated bibliography with…

This article describes a federally supported program of the American Federation of the Blind, which has developed training materials for individuals working with students who are deaf-blind. The article offers a rationale for the program; notes critical shortages of qualified teachers; discusses materials development; and reviews the program's…

The purpose of this study was to develop a videodisc-based computer-aided multimedia-anchored instruction for Chinese students and to examine its effects on student attitudes toward mathematics and anchored instruction. Participants were 74 fifth graders. Results indicated that anchored instruction improved students' attitudes toward mathematics…

Addresses the many hidden costs related to the purchase of an authoring program as well as the decision to bring multimedia development in-house. Examines the following concerns: programming skills needed for authoring; the learning curve cost; software and hardware costs associated with multimedia development; and media development cost. (AEF)

Describes the development of a class at Zayed University (United Arab Emirates) that used laptop computers to make classroom instruction more student-centered. Discusses the design of self-paced materials and reports results that indicated students preferred a traditional teacher-centered lecture course. Considers implications for distance…

As the quality of authoring software increases, online course developers become less reliant on proprietary learning management systems, and develop skills in the design of original, in-house materials and the delivery platforms for them. This report examines the capabilities of digital authoring software tools for the development of learning…

This paper explores a new pedagogical approach to teaching teachers to assume a learning or inquiry stance in their practice. It is based on an assumption that professional learning is a core capability of good teaching that is responsive to the changing needs of children, schools, and communities. One source of teacher learning is practice--one's…

Although learner-centeredness has been widely applied in instruction in the world, this approach has only been cautiously adopted in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching at some institutions in Vietnam. Taking a social constructivist view, this case study explores how a learner-centred perspective is employed in EFL teaching at a teacher…

This article reports on the practitioner research conducted by the English participants in a European Co-operation Programme project entitled "Lateral Language Learning." The project was based on the belief that there is much that teachers of a first foreign language can do to prepare their students to access other languages in the…

This fact sheet summarizes data gathered in the 2008 survey of National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) grant recipients. Conducted by The Evaluation Center at Western Michigan University, this was the ninth annual survey of ATE projects and centers. Included here are statistics about the program's grantees and…

A project to develop curriculum materials geared to the immediate, specific language needs of limited English speaking foreign students at Douglas College (British Columbia, Canada) is reported. The materials designed were intended for orientation and acculturation, containing cultural content that could be integrated into the college's…