Including the arts in the curriculum is a tough sell these days. In many districts, budgets have been cut, enrollment has increased, and there are tests to pass--forget about teaching Johnny to paint. But the discipline that many refer to as "the fourth R" may never have been more relevant to students' futures than today. That is because an…

It is well-documented that most students do not have adequate proficiencies in inquiry and metacognition, particularly at deeper levels of comprehension that require explanatory reasoning. The proficiencies are not routinely provided by teachers and normal tutors so it is worthwhile to turn to computer-based learning environments. This article…

Students use computer software to construct personalized fractal art. (Contains 7 figures and 1 table.)

Structure/function relationships are fundamental to understanding the properties of biological molecules, and thus it is imperative that biochemistry students learn how to analyze such relationships. Here we describe Chime-based web page templates and tutorials designed to help students develop their own strategies for exploring macromolecular…

The crux in psychometrics is how to estimate the probability that a respondent answers an item correctly on one occasion out of many. Under the current testing paradigm this probability is estimated using all kinds of statistical techniques and mathematical modeling. Multiple evaluation is a new testing paradigm using the person's own personal…

Based on a collective case study of the use of an economics Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tutorial-based package, WinEcon, in 3 British schools, this article examines the activity structures that exist in ICT-mediated lessons situated within their broader sociocultural contexts. Activity theory and its highly developed ideas of…

German teachers' use of DVDs, purchased abroad, has become increasingly difficult through restrictions imposed by the motion pictures industry on DVDs, DVD-playing equipment and software. In addition, the law, in particular through the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), has imposed restrictions that negatively affect the fair use of digital…

The new definition of interactivity has as its focal point the skills of people, not the capabilities of the technology. The goal is to enhance the interaction between people and the learning that can only occur among curious and motivated individuals working together. The social nature of people, the increasing capabilities of technology and the…

Image maps are a means of making a picture "clickable", so that different portions of the image can be hyperlinked to different URLS. There are two basic types of image maps: server-side and client-side. Besides requiring access to a CGI on the server, server-side image maps are undesirable from the standpoint of accessibility--creating…

This pilot study investigated the effectiveness of a multimedia learning environment called "Pollution Solution" on eighth-grade students' ability to define a complex problem. Sixty students from four earth science classes taught by the same teacher in a New York City public school were included in the sample for this study. The classes…

We were asked by Merit Software to conduct a quasi-experimental research study to evaluate the effects of its reading software on middle school students. Because the No Child Left Behind Act emphasizes the importance of evidence-based interventions and has set improving students reading comprehension as a goal, we agreed to take on this project.…

The Jurupa Unified School District in Southern California recently partnered with Microsoft, Dell and the Zone Integration Group for the implementation of a School Interoperability Framework (SIF) database repository model throughout the district (Magner 2002). A two-week project--the Integrated District Education Applications System, better known…

This article discusses how MIDI and other computer technologies can help students build their musical skills in the classroom and at home. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) has provided music teachers with increasing opportunity to use quality computer-developed musical accompaniments in teaching music to children. Standard MIDI files…

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is unique as a core subject of the National Curriculum for England in that much of it is delivered and/or consolidated in the context of other subjects. A lot of development work has been carried out by teachers in recent years on how best to achieve this. In order to share this good practice with…

Genetics is a difficult topic as it involves abstract concepts, which are not directly observable. Studies on using simulations to support the learning of genetics have largely been confined to the use of quantitative simulations to replace experimentation. This study describes the use of a new type of simulation built using an iconic modelling…