This language arts unit of study for high ability learners in grades 5-6 highlights persuasion in oral and written form, focusing especially on oral communication. Emphasis is placed on providing evidence for opinions. Students must cite passages from literature to defend their points of view in discussion as well as in written arguments.…

This 2-year study examined how assistive technologies are used in educational programs for children who have significant multiple disabilities. Naturalistic inquiry incorporated qualitative collection procedures including observations, videotapes of children, and questionnaires and interviews with teachers and parents. Three groups of children…

This paper examines how, why, and by whom technology is being used in schools. Educational technology is defined as the systematic design and use of hardware and software to achieve specific objectives. Recent studies indicate that the most frequent location of computers in schools is in the administrative office; second is in the library media…

This videotape cassette portrays the role of portfolios for educational improvement through assessment in a California classroom participating in the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) educational technology program. Elementary school students at the Stevens Creek School used computers for writing assignments, and included the best of their…

This study investigates the effect of curiosity in first and second grade children as an individual difference variable in learning in a computer-based interactive learner control environment and discusses the implications for instructional designers and educators. The instruction was an art education lesson containing both facts and concepts. The…

A central feature of the High Performance Computing Act of 1991 is the establishment of a National Research and Education Network (NREN). The level of access that teachers and teacher educators will need to benefit from the NREN and the types of network resources that are most useful for educators are explored, along with design issues that are…

For several years at the Rural and Small Schools Conference, a special effort has been made to address the needs that are unique to rural science educators. This publication is a compilation of materials presented at those conferences reflecting the following themes: "In Search of Excellence" (1985); "Rural Education: A Proud…

A national telephone survey of 1,206 regular education teachers was conducted on behalf of the National Education Association to determine the incidence of school-provided educational technology and to assess teacher perceptions of their effects on the education process. Some forms of technology, such as photocopiers, television, and videocassette…

Issues in the management of library collections of electronically delivered information are discussed, focusing on the library at Troy State University (Alabama). Because of the library's selective depository status, expensive compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM) products are received, which the library could not normally afford. At the Troy…

This paper describes computer-mediated distance learning experiments in field settings by a rural teacher education program, in which student teachers and a student teaching seminar leader at Northern Michigan University conferenced via electronic mail. Participating student teachers, who were teaching in schools 300 miles apart, were expected to…

This volume on language issues within Australia contains five research papers: "Patterns of Inter-Cultural Communication in Melbourne Factories: Some Research in Progress" (Michael Clyne); "Developing Proficiency Scales for Communicative Assessment" (D. E. Ingram, Elaine Wylie); "Rapid Profile: A Second Language Screening…

The Knowledge Engineering for Young Scholars (KEYS) Program was a National Science Foundation (NSF) program conducted at Louisiana State University during 1989 and 1990. The program's goals were to increase 8th-12th grade students' exposure to science, acquaint them with university research, stimulate interest in science, and build their…

The five essays in this volume represent the contributions of one group of leaders in the application of computers to the teaching and learning of foreign languages and illustrate present and future uses of technology in assisting language learning. Various pedagogical problems and approaches are considered in the papers. They are: (1)…

This paper presents a framework and model for design of open-ended learning environments (OELEs). First, an overview is presented that addresses key characteristics of OELEs, including: use of meaningful, complex contexts; provision of tools and resources; learner reflection and self-monitoring; and social, material, or technological scaffolding.…

This paper describes a study undertaken to examine how four variables (domain knowledge, topic knowledge, individual interest, and situational interest) impact recall of information from a hypertext environment. Participants in the study were 107 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the School of Education at a large northeastern…