For the past two years the authors of this article have produced material by their students as wikibooks that became the principal textbooks in education courses they taught undergraduates at Old Dominion University. They have turned other material by their students into units in wikibooks used in business courses they have taught graduate…

That students will eventually use computers in place of traditional textbooks is almost certain. Just watch the eight-year-old children at your local elementary school pulling their backpacks (now on wheels). Will the digital textbook become more than a CD-ROM of the print version? First, like most other education technologies, it will be an…

The concept of using good student writing to inspire more good student writing, of using a text to create the next year's text is a vital process that demonstrates DeKalb College's emphasis on individual student instruction and recognition. "The Polishing Cloth" is a collection of the best student essays from English composition,…

Discusses symbol systems and learning in educational media. Symbols in printed materials, video, and other electronic media are discussed; media attributes are reviewed; suggestions for student-created video productions are given; and electronic communications technology of the future is considered. (LRW)

Presents an award-winning essay about a teacher's relationship with a troubled student placed in his alternative classroom. Shows how the two worked together on science, math, and "Romeo and Juliet." (TB)

Definitions and discussions of the terms hypermedia and multimedia are followed by discussions of three different ways in which schools are using multimedia: multimedia produced by publishers for use in elementary and secondary classes; teacher developed multimedia and hypermedia for use with students; and student created multimedia compositions.…

Discusses the development of expert system shells and the use of expert systems as instructional tools, and describes a program which required junior high school students using Macintosh computers to create a knowledge base on topics of their choice. Benefits of such student-created expert systems are discussed. (LRW)

Describes a learner-generated learning plan. The content of the program comprises two phases: student as editor/publisher in which learners create their own course text based upon selections of already-published materials; and students as author/publisher, in which learners use a publication-house simulation to develop, organize, investigate,…

This paper discusses the results of an experimental, non-traditional university class in sociology in which students produced an interactive multimedia module in a social science subject area using a computer system that allowed instant access to film, sound, television, images, and text. There were no constraints on the selection of media, or the…

Readers possess vast amounts of knowledge gained from their prior experiences and exposures. The more they are helped to use that knowledge for connecting new ideas to known subjects as they read, the better their comprehension will be. Discussions before reading have been a traditional way to activate students' schema for stories, but a new…

Argues that a truly learner-centered approach in second language teaching should be concerned with allowing learners a greater role in the management of their learning by providing opportunities for learner choice in the method and scope of study. Reports on experiments in this approach at the University College of Bahrain. (SED)

Discusses copyright issues related to the use of multimedia in higher education. Highlights include student impetus for change; constructivism; growth of the Internet; faculty copyright buybacks; lack of university multimedia policy; student and faculty productions; transmission and downloading; educational music licensing; a video clearinghouse;…

Presents several examples of models for applying data management computer programs to instruction from point of view of an imaginary student. Commentaries following each example speculate on virtues and possible shortcomings of each approach, with the intention of offering valuable perspectives for improved understanding of effective computer use…

Describes a project that taught groups of fourth graders how to develop instructional software for second and third graders in the areas of mathematics and science. Topics include project goals for students and the teacher; integrating technology; documentation and packaging; community involvement; and benefits to students. (LRW)

This issue focuses on several efforts in maternal and child health education and environmental sanitation throughout the world in which bridges between technical content and participatory education have been built successfully. The following articles are included: "Editorial" (David Kahler, Bonnie Mullinix); "Women's Health…