Reviews and critiques three current software products which function as encyclopedias for the computer. Provides publication information and detailed analysis of the programs. (HB)

Notes that current efforts to integrate technology into learning at all levels focus on the exploration of potential uses of technology in education; on research and development; and on personnel training and the dissemination of information. Suggests resources to help special educators locate services and readings for special educators on…

Provides tips on ways to keep computer systems in colleges and universities from failing while also controlling costs. Trinity College (Hartford) is used to illustrate how proper staffing, system maintenance, hardware purchasing decisions, technician compensation, and the use of students for maintenance work can effectively support a school's…

Suggests that writing centers should become campus leaders in the development and use of computers for writing, and should form reciprocal partnerships that require trust, commitment, and open communication. Argues that through successful collaborative projects like computer writing classrooms and online writing labs, writing centers help to shape…

The theme for this supplement is "Teaching the Teachers" and contains 10 articles. Among the topics are battling resistance to technology, ways teachers can use e-mail to extend students' learning, a board member's ventures into cyberspace, and school management software. (MLF)

Educators are adopting learner-centered instruction in which students, facilitated by technology, collaborate with peers and engage in problem solving and inquiry. This article discusses ways to use technology in authentic learner inquiry as an information resource, content contextualizer, communication tool, construction kit, and…

Recommends that teachers prevent plagiarism by structuring research assignments so that copying material from references is very difficult. Suggests that teachers be specific, select relevant topics, and insist on full referencing. (DDR)

Considers whether laptop and handheld computers will be able to replace printed textbooks in classrooms. Topics cover benefits of classroom computers, including the need for computer literacy; computer costs, including service contracts, theft, and the need for staff development; the problems with dated textbooks; publishers' concerns; and…

Suggests classroom pen pals as a good Internet activity for elementary school students. Highlights include Web sites that host pen-pal information; visiting schools; Web sites; educational listservs; safety tips to discuss before sending e-mail; and suggested topics and activities. (LRW)

Introduces the fundamental characteristics of corpus-based research and illustrates such research with a study of a complex grammatical feature in English: linking adverbials (i.e., connecting expressions such as "therefore" and "in other words"). Shows that corpus-based research is useful even with features that cannot be…

Offers propositions about virtual reality in education, ranging from costs to the psychological affordances of virtual environments (VEs). Some of the propositions arise from empirical studies of performance and cognition in VEs; others come from behavioral, cognitive, and human-factors research. Much of the research is from the Human Interface…

Compares student achievement based upon which calculus program--traditional calculus, Harvard Consortium Calculus, or Calculus Using Mathematica--the student completed. Finds some differences when students took different types of calculus during subsequent terms. Justifies teaching reformed calculus in place of traditional calculus. (Author/ASK)

Shows how the joint use of a dynamic geometry program and a spreadsheet can provide a computational environment for exploring geometry on plane lattices that lessens the risk of developing the false empiricist view of mathematics often associated with the use of information technology. Contains 17 references. (Author/ASK)

Reviews research into the impact of technology on teaching and learning in mathematics. Discusses the relationship between affective variables and performance, and having constructed appropriate measures of attitude. Presents the results from an extensive initial study that disentangles affects related to mathematics and computing, and in doing so…

Characterizes students' function-concept images that arise in interactive environments based on multirepresentational software. Shows that students (a) often use prototypic functions (linear and quadratic) but do not consider them exclusive; (b) use prototypes as levers to handle a variety of other examples; (c) articulate justifications often…