Promotes the provision of interfaces that allow users to access most of the functionality of existing graphical user interfaces (GUI) using speech. Uses the design of a speech control tool that incorporates speech recognition and synthesis into existing packaged software such as Teletext, the Internet, or a word processor. (Contains 22…

Discusses results of a grant-funded project, "Leading Young Women to the Sciences and Technology," that led to the creation of the Gender-Based Web Site Evaluation Model for selecting Web sites of high interest to young women. The model includes eight evaluation criteria related to gender. The revised model and a list of questions to…

Four camp directors discuss staff recruiting practices, their three top sources of quality staff, the value of international staff, special approaches for hiring international staff, training practices for international staff, how they help international staff adjust to their camps, staff rates of return, and off-season activities that motivate…

Describes a project for high school students that introduces them to photographic software. Students design a new species of animal by reassembling parts of at least four animals into a "believable" new form. Students also write a commentary on their digital animal's habitat and origin. (CMK)

Looks at a cross-curriculum innovation in which students engage in reading, writing, problem solving, interaction with simulations and databases, and performing various hands-on activities. Describes a project that provides students with the opportunity to participate in many of the new literacies while teachers learn new skills using these same…

Describes several recent trends in elementary education involving enrollment, the number of schools, pupil-teacher ratios, minority children, reading, international comparisons of eighth graders, the Internet, and finances. (PKP)

Online assessment in mathematics is becoming more prominent as mathematics and the internet become more compatible. This paper is based on a case study of a web-based calculus course in which a combination of paper and online assessment is used for assessing various activities. The paper first investigates what student assessment preferences are…

Increased emphasis on celebrity, and the growing cultural importance of the Internet, help drive continuing anxiety about the influence of the media on the young. Though recent empirical studies of celebrity and media influence on adolescents have produced mixed findings, there has been a tendency by researchers to test for celebrity and media…

The intent of this study was to investigate the impact of introducing computerized means, mainly simulation and the Internet, on teaching and learning electronics in Israeli high schools. Computers in electronics studies are, at the same time, part of the subject matter learned and a means for teaching and learning. Data were collected through…

With recent advances in computer technology, it is no surprise that the manipulation of objects in mathematics classrooms now includes the manipulation of objects on the computer screen. These objects, referred to as "virtual manipulatives," are essentially replicas of physical manipulatives placed on the World Wide Web in the form of computer…

Benchmarking information technology services has become a vital activity for colleges and universities. The COSTS Project (http://www.costsproject.org/) is an ongoing quantitative effort to benchmark the costs of providing IT services in higher education; the project helps institutions understand their IT budgets and staffing relative to peer…

This paper describes and evaluates a pilot project undertaken in the South West of England to develop a computer-based system for facilitating effective technical knowledge transfer to small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs). It explores the problem of technical knowledge transfer to SMEs, focusing in particular on the policy context. The…

This paper reports on a project-based learning (PBL) environment targeted towards introducing student teachers to the design and development of educational web sites. The participants were 46 student teachers who constructed 16 web sites for primary school. A survey of their views, before and after the projects, and an evaluation of the web sites…

There is a lot of software available for young children, but there are not many applications designed especially for them. This situation may be about to change with the release of BumperCar and a new version of KidPix, both of which recently earned awards from MacWorld magazine. In this article, the author describes this new software and how it…

The digital revolution makes it easy for students to plagiarize. Using Internet search engines, DVD-based reference works, online journals, Web-based news sources, article databases, and other electronic sources, students can find information about nearly any topic and paste the data directly into their papers. Or students can take credit for…