Discussion of the need for training in new information technologies focuses on the development of a distance education model for training teachers in computer literacy. Explains individual and collaborative learning support and the authoring module, and presents the results of preliminary evaluations. (LRW)

In introductory computer science courses, the Unified Modeling Language (UML) is commonly used to teach basic object-oriented design. However, there appears to be a lack of suitable software to support this task. Many of the available programs that support UML focus on developing code and not on enhancing learning. Programs designed for…

Discusses Logo, an education philosophy and accompanying family of programming languages. Explores Logo in the institutional and organizational cultures of United States and United Kingdom mainstream schools after its introduction in the early 1980s. Addresses how Logo was received in the educational arena and implicated in the politics of…

This article presents a novel approach for explaining algorithms that aims to overcome various pedagogical limitations of the current visualization systems. The main idea is that at any given time, a learner is able to focus on a single problem. This problem can be explained, studied, understood, and tested, before the learner moves on to study…

R is free, open-source, cooperatively developed software that implements the S statistical programming language and computing environment. The current capabilities of R are extensive, and it is in wide use, especially among statisticians. The sem package provides basic structural equation modeling facilities in R, including the ability to fit…

Students in an introductory computing class participated in a study investigating the impact of using a graphics programming environment (Alice) and pair-programming on confidence, enjoyment and achievement. Sixty-four participants completed a short questionnaire and a content pre-test about computer programming concepts. Students were then…

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…

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…

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 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…

The pervasive popularity of the Internet in the past decade has changed the way many students live and learn, in part, because modern technology has made it possible for learners to access Real-Time Multimedia information on the Internet, or research any topic of interest to them from virtually any computer anywhere in the world. Students can also…

This article presents an interview with R. Darrell Bock. He served as president of the Psychometric Society from 1972-1973. He has received the National Council on Measurement in Education award for "Contributions to the Design and Analysis of Educational Assessment" in 1990, the Educational Testing Service award for "Distinguished Contributions…

One of today's major problems in the field of e-learning is that the creation of high-quality content is still rather time consuming and expensive. In the past, many efforts have been made to produce educational content on the fly, but the results were mainly static blocks of recorded lecture lacking sophisticated navigation facilities. Facing…

Learning object design currently leads the instructional technologist towards more effective instructional design, development, and delivery of learning content. There is a considerable amount of literature discussing the potential use of learning object in e-learning. However, most of the works were mainly focused on the standard forms of…