Culture offers people suggestions for dealing with life's vicissitudes, and people find different suggestions in different cultures. In a multicultural society, they have a variety of alternatives to choose among: ethnicities, regionalisms, lifestyles, religious movements, occupations, hobbies, and more. In American society, the groups that are…

Recursion is a central concept in computer science, yet it is difficult for beginners to comprehend. Israeli high-school students learn recursion in the framework of a special modular program in computer science (Gal-Ezer & Harel, 1999). Some of them are introduced to the concept of recursion in two different paradigms: the procedural…

This paper reports on a design experiment in the domain of number sequences conducted in the course of the "WebLabs" project. We iteratively designed and tested a set of activities and tools in which 10-14 year old students used the "ToonTalk" programming environment to construct models of sequences and series, and then shared…

This paper examines the problem of studying and comparing student software designs. We propose semantic categorization as a way to organize widely varying data items. We describe how this was used to organize a particular multi-national, multi-institutional dataset, and present the results of this analysis: most students are unable to effectively…

In this paper, the current profile of the environmental engineer and the programming of the subject "Environmental Engineering and Technology" corresponding to the studies of Mining Engineering at the University of Oviedo in Spain, is discussed. Professional profile, student knowledge prior to and following instruction as well as…

This paper examines the contention that learning environments which use IMS Learning Designs can be created by plugging in different components, using generic service descriptions to create the interface between the Learning Design (LD) and the specific tools. There is an alternative viewpoint which claims that generic service descriptions cannot…

In this article, the author proves a theorem about polynomial zeros, but the focus is on how the theorem is integrated into a QuickBASIC computer program, and how that program answers the questions of the theorem--a unification of mathematics and computer programming. For a given polynomial, how can one overcome assorted problems in finding zeros…

I Sing the Body Electric (BODY ELECTRIC) is a fine arts and health promotion program that supports communication of healthy lifestyle choices among youth. BODY ELECTRIC connects youth in 27 high schools with health and education communities in the largest rural geographic education region in a Midwestern state. The three-phase prevention plan…

The Internet is many things to many people. Some see the Internet as the Wild West, a yawning wilderness waiting to be tamed and cultivated. For companies like eBay, the Internet is a steady, transaction-based revenue stream. For the dot-com companies, the Internet was perceived as a California gold rush. In terms of online library programming for…

OpenURL resolver is the next big thing for libraries. An OpenURL resolver is simply a piece of software that sucks in attached data and serves up a Web page that tells one where he or she can get the book or article represented by it. In this article, the author describes how he designed an OpenURL resolver for his library, the Lewis & Clark…

The Randomized Control Trials (RCT) design and its quasi-experimental kissing cousin, the Comparison Group Trials (CGT), are golden to some and not even silver to others. At the center of the affection, at the vortex of the discomfort, are beliefs about what it takes to establish causality. These designs are considered primarily when the purpose…

In this article, the authors explain how they implemented Design eXchange as a shared collaborative online and physical space for design for their students. Their notion for Design eXchange favors a complex mix of key elements namely: (1) a virtual online studio; (2) a forum for review of all things related to design, especially design with the…

For the thirty-fifth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the national AECT Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Open Source Software (OSS) has introduced a new dimension in software community. As the development and use of OSS becomes prominent, the question of its integration in education arises. In this paper, the following practices fundamental to projects and processes in software engineering are examined from an OSS perspective: project management;…

Digital Chisel is a user-friendly multimedia authoring tool for helping students and teachers to tutor/teach the computer. It can be used as a visual presentation tool, as a tool to provide individualized instruction and as a tool to help students learn using a variety of visual and auditory modes. Interactive presentations can be designed without…