This proceedings is comprised of the edited papers presented at the 21st meeting of the Western Australian Science Education Association (WASEA). The 26 papers included here relate to many different topics such as proportional reasoning, the state of primary science in Western Australia, faculty culture, concept formation in elementary science,…

Undertaken in conjunction with a larger study that investigated the educational efficacy of students building their own virtual worlds, this study measures the reactions of students in grades 4-12 to the experience of being immersed in virtual reality (VR). The study investigated the sense of "presence" experienced by the students, the…

Through a series of focus group interviews, 63 students at George Mason University (Virginia) related their academic and student life experiences. The goal of the researchers was to find a means of reporting the findings in a way that retained the integrity of the contextual data (student voices) and maximized audience impact. Three ways of…

Project Accessible eXpress Intercommunication for Staff development (AXIS) was undertaken to coordinate, unify, and systematize communications related to the staff development programs administered by Pennsylvania's Bureau of Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) by developing a unified system of print materials, online connectivity, and…

Telecommunications applications are becoming increasingly prevalent in schools at all levels. Teachers and students studying to become teachers must be knowledgeable about technology, its applications, and how it will affect instruction now and in the future. A survey of approximately 500 public K-12 schools in North Carolina was conducted to…

Technology is arriving in school libraries in unprecedented quantities, resulting in many changes in the school library media center. While most librarians agree that technology is wonderful, many are feeling the stress of rapid change and coping with the decisions made by educational policy makers. This looseleaf notebook, written for the novice,…

Data from the Computers in Education project (Comped) are used to study the state of the art with respect to gender and computer use in a number of countries. The Comped project of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), which was conducted in about 20 countries in 1989, involved over 70,000 students in…

This discussion of the major factors that appear to determine the pace of development of computer uses in education in developing nations focuses on Brunei, a tiny, oil-rich sultanate in South East Aia with a population of approximately a quarter of a million. Questions are often raised as to whether computers are required merely to follow the…

This guide to using the tools of online databases, telecommunications, and CD-ROM technology in the educational environment provides a practical introduction to the concepts and importance of information literacy and high technology resource-based learning. It also describes the drawbacks and advantages of these tools from an educator's viewpoint.…

The grant received for the Literacy Program of the Twin Falls (Idaho) Public Library (approximately $24,000) has contributed to the overall improvement of the library system afforded by construction of a new addition planned for completion in February 1991. Grant funds supporting the literacy program complemented funds from a bond issue for…

The utilization of teleconferencing as part of the information highway, mainly among schools in North Carolina, is examined. The National Information Infrastructure, outlined by Vice President Gore in January 1994, is the official name of the information system. The U.S. Congress issued four pieces of legislation in support of high-tech…

Included in this proceedings are: (1) letters to conferees; (2) conference chairpersons; (3) symposia listing; (4) chemical demonstrations, listing and abstracts; (5) "birds-of-a-feather" sessions, listing and abstracts (informal sessions providing an opportunities for people with similar interests to meet); (6) workshop listings; (7)…

The work carried out in Edmonton School District Number 7 as part of the Educational Quality Indicators (EQI) project in the Alberta (Canada) schools resulted in development and validation of processes, criteria, and reporting methods related to student achievement in six "essential learning outcomes" keyed to the more traditional…

The use of information technology within independent colleges is examined by analyzing data from an annual survey by the College Entrance Examination Board and one completed by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) members, developed by CAUSE, the national association for the management of information in higher education. The questionnaire was…

This paper describes programs and resources that focus on access of postsecondary students with disabilities to computers and other forms of technology. Increased access to technological devices and services is provided to students with disabilities under the Technology-Related Assistance for Individuals with Disabilities Act (Tech Act). Section…