Discusses barriers to threaded-topic discussions in online teaching. Suggests a better way to enhance communication and promote collaborative learning: a jointly prepared, "shared document" format. Describes the development and use of Forum MATRIX, a software program designed to maximize the potential of the shared document format. (AEF)

Describes a study of Australian secondary school students that identified the conditions and individual characteristics that would best support learners' acceptance of control within hypermedia, based on evidence from the learner control literature. Investigated effects of prior domain knowledge, learning activity structure, ability, and attitudes…

Compares the impact of information technology initiatives in Scottish schools with a study of schools in the Silicon Valley (California). Highlights include computer use by subject; frequency of computer use in schools; student attitudes; questionnaire responses; obstacles to use of technology; and implications for policymaking. (LRW)

Examines the effects of gender, personality, and keyboard control on foreign language and interaction patterns of 60 intermediate French students in a computer-assisted language learning environment at the university level. Results indicate that learning achievement and interaction patterns at the computer are more strongly related to personality…

Discusses problems in education, and examines problems of computer usage. Explores how computers could lead to improvements in education with individualized learning, interactive software, computer-based courses, language-based interfaces, and distance learning. (PEN)

Describes and evaluates the success of a chemistry course for nonscience majors that examines a variety of contemporary science-based issues and includes online retrieval of chemical information. Explains how course instructor and librarian work together to plan assignments and provide instruction to groups of students. Includes sample assignments…

Results of case studies of elementary and secondary school educators on Internet use indicate that while some teachers use telecommunications simply as a new tool to implement their habitual teaching practices, others are taking advantage of Internet capabilities to employ more innovative methods. (AEF)

Explores the applications of the World Wide Web for differentiating curriculum and otherwise supporting instruction for middle-school gifted students. A sample of an interdisciplinary Web-based curriculum unit is also provided. Web pages focusing on Social Studies, History, Music, Art, Science, Language Arts, and Mathematics are described. (PB)

A University of Pretoria (South Africa) study investigated the instructional effectiveness of and participant attitudes toward cooperative learning in a computer-assisted instructional setting (a word-processing course for teachers) which also stressed cultural diversity and ethnic relations. Subjects were 10 individuals and 8 groups (with a total…

Drawing from a project at Coventry University (England), this article discusses innovative ways to exploit computer-assisted language learning (CALL) methods in the classroom. Particular focus is on Role Reversal, an approach that transforms students into designers of their own courseware as a means of addressing the problem of grammar…

Focuses on the use of word processers during revision in an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing context. The study attempts to identify the magnitude of the effects of ESL writing expertise, text importance for students and computer familiarity upon the types of revision. (24 references) (Author/CK)

Describes the development, design, and implementation of study units for computer-assisted distance learning at the Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong that provides higher education opportunities to working adults. Discusses evaluation of the system, including questionnaire and interview results. (LRW)

Discusses the use of computer-based language tools that are adaptable to the individual needs of ESL (English as a Second Language) students and teachers. Highlights include hands-on learning, learning objectives, examples, opportunities on the Internet, virtual tutors, and a sidebar that lists ESL electronic resources. (LRW)

Illustrates the development of multimedia courseware such as CHEMMAT. Discusses the features of the courseware including adaptability, use of the teacher module, use of graphics and video clips, and the ease of customizing the content in various languages. (DDR)

This study examined how upper elementary biology students grasped the concepts of mean and deviation from mean and the implications of these concepts. Pretesting and posttesting of students who did and did not have computer assisted training in the concepts indicated that though most students failed in more difficult tasks, experimental students…