In current curriculum materials for middle school students in the US, data and chance are considered as separate topics. They are then ideally brought together in the minds of high school or university students when they learn about statistical inference. In recent studies we have been attempting to build connections between data and chance in the…

Not all demonstrations involve using exciting visual displays of one or a series of scientific principles. Demonstrations can be as simple as showing the interrelationship between scientific concepts or principles using concept maps. Concepts maps are tools that help people conceptualize and remember a conglomeration of facts making up complex…

Web-based learning has become an important way to enhance learning and teaching, offering many learning opportunities. A limitation of current Web-based learning is the restricted ability of students to personalize and annotate the learning materials. Providing personalized tools and analyzing some types of learning behavior, such as students'…

This article describes The Onion Router (TOR). It is a freely available, open-source program developed by the U.S. Navy about a decade ago. A browser plug-in, it thwarts online traffic analysis and related forms of Internet surveillance by sending your data packets through different routers around the world. As each packet moves from one router to…

It is important for the teacher to choose effective software for students. It is also important for designers to know what features of educational software make it effective. But the results of studies dealing with the effectiveness of educational software are contradictory. One reason for such results might be the fact that meta-analysis covers…

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential of annotation and communication software (eFuzion) developed for the improvement of students' learning and to determine the effectiveness of the software. eFuzion is designed to be useful in a significantly large classroom by allowing instructors and teaching assistants to provide immediate…

"Earobics"[R] is interactive software that provides students in pre-K through third grade with individual, systematic instruction in early literacy skills as students interact with animated characters. "Earobics[R] Foundations" is a version for pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, and first graders. "Earobics[R]…

Twenty-six scholarly papers and ten abstracts comprise the content of the thirteenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of librarianship. The…

This training module is intended for individuals involved in the development and administration of learning centers for adult English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction. It focuses on the design of multimedia (ESL) learning centers and the equipment and materials used in them. It begins with a description of learning center models and issues…

This report, the sixth in a series of six, describes the evaluative activities carried out during Phase II of the California Educational Technology Assessment Program, and evaluates the partnership program between the California Department of Education (CDE) and seven software publishers. It is noted that this program was formed in 1986 in order…

With funds from the International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation, Project SYNERGY was launched in January 1990 to address the problem of students entering colleges underprepared in basic skills and to make use of the tremendous potential for significant remediation through computers. Twenty-two institutions in the United States and Canada,…

This paper presents a model for designing computer-based simulation environments within a constructivist framework for the K-12 school setting. The following primary criteria for the development of simulations are proposed: (1) the problem needs to be authentic; (2) the cognitive demand in learning should be authentic; (3) scaffolding supports a…

This paper reports the results of a study of the development of an innovative learning element designed to be implemented in a computer-facilitated learning (CFL) module. The learning element is an open-ended, short answer, text question tool (TQT) designed to be used in World Wide Web-based courses or incorporated into hybrid Web/CD-ROM systems.…

This manual is intended to provide directors of funded programs and teachers with an awareness of a wide range of technology services, programs, and applications for improving the quality and effectiveness of instructional support services in New York State schools. The first of nine chapters contains two papers: "Technology Support for…

The seventh in a series and the third annual update, this annotated bibliography provides an overview of the literature entered in the ERIC database in 1987 on computer use in elementary and secondary education, adult education, and special education. The first of four sections provides a list of overview documents on computer assisted…