A digital story consists of a series of still images combined with a narrated soundtrack to tell a story. This document contains a sequence of seven steps for digital storytelling based on a two-year project in Curry School's Center for Technology and Teacher Education at the University of Virginia. The strategies outlined offer a starting point…

Given the power of instructional technology and the ubiquitous nature of technology in society and the workplace, what are the social implications associated with teachers' decisions to use, or not use, technology to enhance teaching and learning? Despite current U.S. educational goals and the documented effect of the achievement gap, little…

Digital texts are not new. In 1991, a videodisc-based program called Windows on Science became the first state-adopted electronic textbook in the United States. It was an interactive, multimedia-based program that enhanced the classroom learning experience with video and audio. Unfortunately, technology changed rapidly and videodisc players went…

A projection system in a classroom with an Internet connection provides a window on the world. Until recently, projectors were expensive and difficult to maintain. Technological advances have resulted in solid-state projectors that require little maintenance and cost no more than a computer. Adding a second or third computer to a classroom…

Pine Crest School is not a technology school. It does not have a specific technology track; however, it maximizes the use of technology to deliver the curriculum from PK to 12. For more than six years, the students have used laptop computers. For the past four, it has had all Grade 6-12 students using our wireless network. It has implemented a…

In high school biology, students are challenged by many molecular concepts and structures. They meander through a number of molecular structures, some in macromolecular form: carbohydrates, amino acids, fatty acids, nucleotides. Student difficulties arise in part from inability to visualize what they can't easily see. Students struggle moving from…

Technology offers a number of opportunities for connecting classrooms with the world. The advent of the Internet has offered unprecedented prospects for classroom connections, but the recent diffusion of digital cameras throughout society offers instructional possibilities as well. This document provides a detailed examination of digital…

Excitement about handhelds must be tempered by an understanding of what is typically required when any new technology is introduced into classrooms. We know, for example, that to succeed, handheld initiatives will need clear educational objectives and a logical theory of action that guides implementation. We can anticipate that teachers will need…

Glen Bull's call for a research agenda for one-to-many computing (page 42 of this issue) raises a larger question: what is the status of a research agenda within education technology? This article first considers what a "research agenda" is in general. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines research as "studious inquiry or examination." (There's…

Wiggins' view of understanding requires students to integrate facts, information, knowledge, and applications to develop understanding. Understanding, from this perspective, is an extensive web of interrelated ideas, experiences, and beliefs that transforms information from simple, memorized facts into knowledge that can be the basis for action.…

This article discusses three compendiums of Ed Tech research giving readers a fairly broad overview of where the field stands today. But, just as with technology, research is constantly moving forward. New and exciting ways to use technology and valuable data to support different kinds of technology use are continually being discovered. The texts…

The push for ubiquitous computing (UC) relies on an understandable and well-intentioned belief that teaching and schooling need to be transformed. This view appears credible based on large-scale criteria, such as test scores relative to other countries, drop-out rates, and economic changes. And the use of technology to achieve this goal is…

Examines the impact of technology on educational effectiveness in the United States as measured by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Presents five items from NAEP and TIMSS tests that may favor students with technology experience. Concludes that further…

Helping students become information seekers, synthesizers, analyzers, evaluators, innovative thinkers, problem solvers, decision makers, producers of knowledge, communicators, and collaborators is one way to create an environment that minimizes cheating, plagiarism, and copyright violations. In such an environment, you may also be able to take…

The job of overseeing a school district's technology program has grown exponentially in recent years as computers, the Internet, and other technology applications have become essential to the daily operation of schools. What are the essential skills needed to oversee a school district's technology program? The Consortium for School Networking…