This article examines key issues in how new technologies are impacting upon how we teach, learn and collaborate, and uses an educational research project called GRAIL (Graduate Researcher's Academic Identity Online) under development to illustrate some fundamental issues in adopting new technologies. A significant challenge to the effective use of…

In this paper, we report on survey and focus group data relating to the activities and perceptions of learning with Web 2.0 technologies of students aged between 11 and 16 years in 27 UK secondary schools. The study confirms that these learners had high levels of access to Web 2.0 technologies and that Web 2.0 activities were prolific. However,…

This article explores how the role of learning technologists, a professional group that has emerged during the last 15 to 20 years, may be diversifying to include supporting e-research. It contributes to the current debate about the emerging profession and the roles it should play in contemporary higher education. Previous studies have shown that,…

The purpose of this study was to create and evaluate personalised virtual learning spaces (PVLSs) in a course that was previously delivered face-to-face only. The study addressed three related questions: (1) Can a PVLS successfully be introduced into a course where IT has not previously featured? (2) Can the PVLSs be used to enhance the assessment…

This report is the based on a 10-year study of the activities developed under a National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) grant to a collaborative of institutions from the State University of New York. The goals of LSAMP are to recruit and retain under-represented minority students in the STEM…

Undergraduate research experiences have been shown to enhance the educational experience and retention of college students, especially those from underrepresented populations. However, many challenges still exist relative to building community among students navigating large institutions. We developed a novel course called "Entering…

The purpose of the index is to guide students in finding information on thousands of science experiments for investigative projects and science projects for science fairs. Experiments range from simple to complex and are from 1527 books that are both old and new. The nature and range of the projects and activities are appropriate for primary…

This document presents the international rules for precollege science research. Sections include: (1) Quick Rules Reference; (2) Highlights for 1995-96; (3) International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) Category Descriptions; (4) Display and Safety Regulations; (5) Eligibility; (6) Requirements; (7) Limitations; (8) Continuation of Projects;…

To improve students' term papers and their experiences in writing them the author suggests that students be required to submit written proposals for their topics by the end of the second or third week. Proposals would include an overview, tentative outline, conclusion, and a preliminary reading list. A sample proposal is included. (JT)

Steve Allen's "Meeting of Minds" television series (in which historical figures from different periods meet) and Hendrik Willem van Loon's "Van Loon's Lives" (which details a imagined dinner where guests meet) both present a concept which is readily adaptable to high school communication classes because it incorporates numerous…

These guides are four of several prepared through the F.D.A.'s Science Project Series for senior high school chemistry students and teachers investigating the quality of constituents of foods through experimentation. Each eight page pamphlet gives background information on the subject, equipment and reagents needed for the experiment, the…

Three articles in this newsletter describe investigative laboratory programs; two in marine or coastal biology (Hopkins Marine Station and the Bahamas field station of Earlham College), and the other a botany course at Colorado College. In all cases undergraduate students are expected to plan and conduct biological research, after being presented…

Three separate projects related to the field of study known as the "social psychology of experimental situations" are the subject of this report. This field is based on the fact that an experiment with human subjects necessitates social interaction between experimenter and subject; thus the social nature of an experiment may have an impact on its…

The purpose of this investigation was to relate causes for dropping out of college to a wide range of characteristics of both the students and the institutions involved. Specifically, it aimed to identify entrance characteristics of types of college dropouts related to their sex and the institution's environmental presses. Comprehensive data were…

The contributors to this volume take the position that the undergraduate biology laboratory should be a place where students conduct their own investigations rather than follow recipes supplied by the instructor. The first part of the collection discusses the need for this reform, with special consideration given to both majors and nonmajors. A…