This study examined how support tools (i.e., prompts that support students to use self-explanation and self-monitoring strategies) facilitate convergent knowledge building processes in a World Wide Web-based virtual university engineering course. A quasi-experimental study was designed. An engineering class of a virtual university was selected as…

This paper present a model of factors influencing the teaching-learning exchange in adult distance education, focusing on five factors that have primary influence on the teaching-learning exchange: the teacher, the student, the content, the environment, and the learning community. Several techniques are proposed to overcome the limitations of…

Noting that there has been little research attention on the ability of foster children to form emotional attachments, this literature review looks at available research related to attachment and children in foster care. The review suggests that foster children are at risk for insecure attachment due to experiences of abuse and neglect, parental…

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a federally-funded project that investigated how the inclusion of students with severe and other disabilities merges with larger efforts of educators, administrators, and parents to restructure and reform schools, and how to influence the directions of that merger. The project explored how…

A Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) for second year Physiology students, involving timetabled tutorials, a student-friendly learning space, and a variety of computer-based and traditional resources has been previously shown to impact positively on student learning. In the sessions described in this paper, students used a semester-long group…

This paper presents a World Wide Web-based distance learning system to support professional training for librarians. The system is taking the place of a current training course that the National Institute of Informatics (Japan) offers to university libraries nationwide. The course offered is about a system to support interlibrary loan service and…

The exhibition, "Cherished Possessions: A New England Legacy," consists of approximately 200 objects drawn from the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities collection of fine and decorative arts. Each item in the exhibition has been selected for its ability to tell a story and to place the history of that item within the…

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of OPTICA (Our Path Together Initiating Cultural Access) programs. For each program an information sheet indicates the goal, total participation, status of the goal, and activities of the program. Programs included: (1) Hands On: ASL Creative Story Telling, a program that used children's…

This proceedings of the eight annual Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference: Teaching, Learning, & Technology contains the following selected presentations: "Design and Implementation of a Multimedia CD-ROM-Based Directed Study Preservice Teacher Education Course" (Timothy Morse); "Effective IT Integration in the Composition Classroom:…

This paper discusses comparisons of student comments and analysis of comments from a face-to-face course with Web-enhancements, a video-based, hybrid course with Web-enhancements and a Web-based course. In order to provide student problem-solving participants both individual and personal experiences (and attitudes) concerning the use of course…

In the face of panic and life-threatening situations in a hospital emergency room (ER), doctors must rely on well-defined procedures to assess the situation and respond appropriately. Because decisions to act must not only be timely, but also ingrained and swift, practice and experience in a wide range of situations is essential. This paper…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project designed to provide technical assistance to Puerto Rican public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations providing early intervention, educational, transitional, vocational, early identification, and related services to children with deaf-blindness, to ensure that…

This paper summarizes findings of a survey of 157 Ronald E. McNair (DOE) research internship programs, which prepare first-generation, low-income, and under-represented minority students for entrance into and successful completion of graduate school programs. The hypothesis for the study was that more rigorous research experience was more likely…

A global thematic study on literacy and adult education considered trends and innovations particularly salient during the World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) decade. According to the most recent UNESCO statistics, world illiteracy rates dropped over the last 20-30 years because of increased primary school enrollments, yet the actual…

This publication presents information compiled from early childhood projects funded by the Office of Special Education Programs on resources that support the inclusion of children with special needs and their families in regular educational or community environments. These 113 resources can be used for a variety of purposes, including inservice…