Advises educators on judging the quality of maps contained in CD-ROM encyclopedias, atlases, and almanacs. Discussion focuses on spotting inaccuracies and assessing size, color, and fonts. Other considerations include availability of spoken word accompaniment and the ability to manipulate and print geographic images. A table compares strengths and…

In an era where students design web sites and integrate video, graphics, and animation into their presentations, art is becoming the new literacy. Art education promotes self-expression, cognitive and attitudinal improvement, multicultural awareness, and personal growth. Teachers should re-name art "business communication" and get…

A study of 364 fifth graders investigated distractibility of animated graphics in a computer-based tutorial about Newton's Laws of Motion. Found no difference in post-test performance for those with high, medium, or no distraction graphics. Students in the two distraction conditions took less time to process instructional frames than students in…

Describes the integration of these topics through a major team-based design and computer aided design (CAD) modeling project in freshman engineering graphics at the University of Western Ontario. Involves n=250 students working in teams of four to design and document an original Lego toy. Includes 12 references. (Author/YDS)

Presents a lesson developed for a Montessori Elementary Level II class using the Turtle Math program. Students used mathematics, geometry, and logical thinking to identify the basic formula for drawing stars with any desired number of points. (KB)

This brief article presents a story contributed by Tim Comolli, Imaging Lab teacher at South Burlington High School in Vermont, and 40 year teaching veteran. The story describes the tale of a youngster who changed Comolli's life and permitted him to succeed in helping countless other students in the past years. The young man in the story comes…

Digital photos and digital movies offer an excellent way of bringing real world situations into the mathematics classroom. The technologies surveyed here are feasible for everyday classroom use and inexpensive. Examples are drawn from the teaching of Cartesian coordinates, linear functions, ratio and Pythagoras' theorem using still images, and…

Boundary extension is a tendency to remember close-up scenes as if they extended beyond the occluding boundaries. The authors explored the contributing factors using brief retention intervals and computer-generated images. Boundary extension turns out to be more complex than previously thought and is not linked to the effects of image…

This article presents an interview with Elizabeth Boling, aka Noel Wheeler, aka Skater Owens, aka EXB, editor of "TechTrends" magazine. EXB has edited AECT's bi-monthly peer-reviewed magazine since January 2003. She is also an associate professor in the Instructional Systems Technology department at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB),…

In communication courses, the focus has traditionally been on text: how to craft good news or bad news messages, proposals, reports, and so on. However, rapid developments in printing and computer technology have meant that communication has become more visual than ever before. Words alone are not enough; students need to be able to communicate…

Synectics is a creative problem-solving process developed by William J. J. Gordon and George Prince in the 1960s (Gordon, 1961). A result of Gordon and Prince observing brainstorming sessions that achieved varying levels of success, Synectics outlines the processes that people can use to help them overcome mental blocks while working on difficult…

Computer video games are an emerging instructional medium offering strong degrees of cognitive efficiencies for experiential learning, team building, and greater understanding of abstract concepts. As with other new media adopted for use by instructional technologists for pedagogical purposes, barriers to classroom implementation have manifested…

This article reports on a research effort that investigated whether the use of Microcomputer-Based Labs (MBLs), implemented within an inquiry-based activity sequence on phase transformations (melting and freezing), contributes to the development of fourth grade (9-10 year-old) students' conceptual understanding and ability to construct and…

This guide was developed to help art teachers see and teach the computer as an art tool. Organized in two sections, the 12 chapters in part 1 explore computer art as an art form, discuss why and how to use the computer as an art teaching tool, and give strategies and lesson suggestions for student explorations and activities in the artroom. Part 2…

Even though the increasing amount of multimedia material available for technology-assisted classrooms can make presentations more attractive and aesthetically pleasing, instructors and administrators should be aware of the increased demand on technology resources that the new graphics and animation programs create. Use of these materials…