This study evaluated strategies to encourage interaction in a distance education setting, specifically a Ball State University (Indiana) distance graduate-level course in Elementary School Curriculum which utilized the World Wide Web and a "Class Page." Participants were primarily elementary school teachers (47 graduate students) who…

This activity book is part of a series designed to take a concept or idea from the existing school curriculum and develop it in the context of the Great Lakes using teaching approaches and materials appropriate for students in middle and high school. The subject of this book is land and water interactions. Students examine how the Great Lakes were…

This digest discusses a study that examined the impact of sociocultural factors on the interactions between Latino language minority students and Latino paraeducators and the relationships that result from these interactions. The study explored whether a knowledge of students' culture and communities, primary language, and interaction styles helps…

This empirical study compared a graduate online course with an equivalent course taught in a traditional face-to-face format. Comparisons included student ratings of instructor and course quality; assessment of course interaction, structure, and support; and learning outcomes such as course grades and student self-assessment of ability to perform…

In this paper, three models of participant interactions in a Web-based instruction courses were identified among a diverse group of seven adult learners in a Course-On-Line, Masters of Instructional Technology Program at the University of Malaya (Malaysia). The three models were named the cyclical model, the hierarchical model, and the parallel…

The Communication Theory & Methodology Division of the proceedings contains the following 14 papers: "Interaction As a Unit of Analysis for Interactive Media Research: A Conceptualization" (Joo-Hyun Lee and Hairong Li); "Towards a Network Approach of Human Action: Theoretical Concepts and Empirical Observations in Media…

Since 1999, and as part of an Ameritech grant, the author has systematically investigated use of streaming media to enhance face-to-face classes. Technology invites experimentation but raises questions about such things as student acceptance, student use, academic performance, and what to do with class time when lectures are put online. Students…

During the 1996-97 academic year, a Principles of Management course was taught at Eastern Oregon State College to an on-campus group of juniors, using multiple technologies. The Internet was used as a source for print materials, resources, and research sites, and as a primary information dissemination medium. Electronic mail and listservs were…

This case study of electronic correspondence and interactions shares some things that seemed to work and some that didn't when a seventh grade remedial reading class chatted online with a university-based professor of curriculum and instruction. The middle school students and teacher became quite interested in this activity. These students were…

Situations in which sighted people behaved inappropiately toward blind individuals were recalled by 60 blind subjects, who described their reactions and feelings and offered suggestions for sighted people. A lack of knowledge and understanding of the skills, abilities, and feelings of visually impaired individuals were revealed. (SEW)

Seven types of external frontiers of science are identified: federal government, educational establishment, private sector, national security and defense, world science and technology, the developing world, and the U.S. society. Problems for science and scientists related to these frontiers are discussed, considering changing national and…

Peer interaction combined with the use of concrete models and analogs found to enhance learning (cognitive and affective) for both formal and nonformal operational students (N=51). Instruction in control class was based on lectures, CHEM study laboratories and individual work. (Author/SK)

The choices involved in setting up an open learning system are discussed, and the case for the mixture of interaction and independence is established. Problems involved in effecting the synthesis between activities in which the student works alone and those which bring him into contact with others are detailed. (AF)

Discusses two surveys conducted at the University of Hong Kong that measured students' willingness to adopt active speech roles in second-language classrooms. Findings reveal that students expressed a liking for communicative work at school and a preference for classes permitting students to do most of the talking, but that they had a low…

Addresses how affective facial expression interacts with the linguistic forms in American Sign Language (ASL) motherese. The article presents data from both cross-sectional and longitudinal interaction from 15 deaf mothers signing with their deaf toddlers. Findings indicate a shift from affect to grammar at about the child's second birthday. (59…