A detailed multisite evaluation of instructional software, the ConStatS package, designed to help students conceptualize introductory probability and statistics, yielded patterns of error on several assessment items. Results from 739 college students demonstrated 10 misconceptions that may be among the most difficult concepts to teach. (SLD)

Discusses the benefits and challenges of technology in the teaching of foreign languages. Benefits include accessibility in time and space and an accessible learning process. Challenges include providing sufficient access to learning for everyone who has adequate preparation, fostering the right kinds of learning outcomes for course graduates, and…

The use of professional software is an integral part of a student's education in the mining engineering curriculum at The Pennsylvania State University. Even though mining engineering represents a limited market across U.S. educational institutions, the goal still exists for using this type of software to enrich the learning environment with…

I describe and evaluate SuperLab LT (Chase & Abboud, 1990), a software package that enables students to replicate classic experiments in cognitive psychology. I also discuss the package with respect to its uses in teaching an undergraduate course in Experimental Psychology. Although the package has minor flaws, SuperLab LT provides numerous…

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…

The purpose of this article is to test the utility of incorporating a dribble file into a formative software evaluation. The study specifically examines the dribble file's capability to detect software problems that were not detected by the software testers. As the amount of technology used for instructional purposes increases, the need to…

This article discusses the use of IEP software applications from the perspectives of form (i.e., legally correct documents) and function (i.e., educationally appropriate individualized programs). The article provides an overview of the basic components of two fairly comprehensive IEP software programs and discusses the general strengths and…

The evaluation of virtual community usage and user behaviour has its roots in social science approaches such as interview, document analysis and survey. Little evaluation is carried out using traffic or protocol analysis. Business approaches to evaluating customer/business web site usage are more advanced, in particular using advanced web…

Purpose: An e-portfolio is a useful tool to increase reflection and awareness in teachers and students. However, benefits of e-portfolio use are weakened by difficulties due to the lack of motivation, the heavy weight of creation and revision of the e-portfolios, the rigid tool structure. The paper aims to answer these emerging issues, showing how…

The methods for authoring and distributing course content are undergoing substantial changes due to advancement in computer technology. Paper has been the traditional method to author and distribute course content. Paper enables students to personalize content through highlighting and note taking but does not enable the incorporation of multimedia…

The Consortium for School Networking's report, "Hot Technologies for K-12 Schools: The 2005 Guide for Technology Decision Makers," discusses some of the technologies that are likely to be tomorrow's "must-have" tools in schools. Perhaps the greatest promise of emerging technologies is their potential to transform learning.…

Weblogs, or blogs for short, were created as a tool for people to create online journals without the need of any programming experience or knowledge. Although not originally intended for educational purposes, blogs are drawing attention from EFL educators. The paper is intended to provide a definition of a blog, to analyze the features of a blog,…

The unprecedented growth of the World Wide Web has resulted in a profusion of educational resources. The challenge for faculty is finding these resources and integrating them into their instruction. Even after the resource is found, the instructor must assess the effectiveness of the resource. As the number of educational web sites mount into the…

The evolution of Internet Technology has influenced the basis of education by introducing new methodologies in to teaching and giving a new dimension to distance learning. On the other hand, there is an emerging need on the users part to define some standards that will be used for judging the quality and effectiveness of the educational Websites.…

In his assessment of the current state of e-book technology, David Rothman illustrates the value of e-books for educators, accounts for why the technology has not been more widely embraced, and discusses new developments that suggest a better future for e-books. For educators, particularly distance educators, e-books hold great potential to…