The purpose of this research was to ascertain teacher perceptions of and involvement in website development, maintenance, and appropriateness. One hundred two teachers responded to a web-based survey asking them about their school or district websites. The role of teachers in this endeavor appears appropriate but underutilized. Overall, teachers…

Recent advances in genomics and structural biology have resulted in an unprecedented increase in biological data available from Internet-accessible databases. In order to help students effectively use this vast repository of information, undergraduate biology students at Drake University were introduced to bioinformatics software and databases in…

Semantic Web and Adaptive Hypermedia come from different backgrounds, but it turns out that actually, they can benefit from each other, and that their confluence can lead to synergistic effects. This encounter can influence several fields, among which an important one is Education. This paper presents an analysis of this encounter, first from a…

Using modeling languages is essential to the construction of educational systems based on software engineering principles and methods. Furthermore, the instructional design is undoubtedly the cornerstone of the design and development of educational systems. Although several methodologies and languages have been proposed for the specification of…

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a computerized reading reward program by Renaissance Learning Inc. (RLI) that offers schools management software with computer quizzes of books identified by reading level (RL) and assigned points in order for children to read books, take quizzes, and earn points. Schools or teachers decide whether to offer prizes in…

The article describes data emerging from a study of a group of language teachers integrating use of the interactive whiteboard (IWB) into their classroom practice. Data collection tools were developed which allowed participants freedom of action and expression whilst providing a framework for reflection designed to focus on pedagogy rather than…

Design projects are one form of project-based learning whereby students propose, build, and test an artifact to meet a specific need. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a computer-based tool ("Co-Net") designed to support students in the process of working on design projects (in this case, instructional design…

As computers become a larger part of the curriculum, educators everywhere are being asked to take a stand for cyber ethics, the right and wrong of computer and Internet use. Teachers cannot always depend on parents to instill cyber ethics. Parents may not know or follow the rules, either. Once students understand cyber ethics, they may have a…

This study was conducted in the spring of 2002 at Arlington High School in a Probability and Statistics course for junior and senior level students. Two sections of the class were compared with respect to the use/non-use of EXCEL in the course. The experimental group (the one using EXCEL) outperformed the control group on five of the six…

The authors summarize the research on the effects of computer use by young children, concentrating especially on implications for social, emotional, and cognitive development. They cover effects on children's language and reading, creativity, and mathematics learning. They note the importance of teacher planning for appropriate computer use in the…

This article reports and discusses the findings of the collective case study of two primary schools in Singapore. It is part of a larger funded research project that examines and analyses where and how information and communication technologies (ICT) are integrated in Singapore schools to develop pupils' higher order thinking skills. The focus of…

Enzyme kinetics is a difficult subject for students to learn and for tutors to teach. During the practicals included in the biochemical courses at the Faculty of Chemistry of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, we found that the students acquire good training in the calculations to obtain kinetic parameters such as K[subscript m], V[subscript…

In examining the characteristics of students' dealing with the Internet it is of special interest to look at how they use it as a means of interaction. This article examines the developmental characteristics of person's entry into virtual communication and its temporal intensiveness; the communicative intention that conditions it; the content and…

The concept of a community of practice (CoP) is prevalent in several venues for teachers' professional development, especially in online environments. However, there are few descriptive accounts that effectively represent a CoP in a manner that will be of use to other designers. In order to illuminate potential difficulties which may arise when…

Future Directions in Distance Learning and Communication Technologies presents theoretical studies and practical solutions for engineers, educational professionals, and graduate students in the research areas of e-learning, distance education, and instructional design. This book provides readers with cutting-edge solutions and research directions…