Maintains that computer software and Internet exploration introduce playful elements into learning. Discusses the implications of "edutainment," a technologically mediated learning/enjoyment combination of experiences. Suggests that school may no longer be the primary site for learning but that teachers may need to reevaluate their…

Explores the role of proof in mathematics education and provides justification for its importance in the curriculum. Discusses three applications of dynamic geometry software--heuristics, exploration, and visualization--as tools in the teaching of proof and as potential challenges to the importance of proof. (Author/MM)

Reports on a long-term teaching experiment carried out in the 9th and 10th grades of a scientific high school as part of a larger research project. Aims to clarify the role of a particular software, Cabri Geometry, in the teaching/learning process. Focuses on the social construction of knowledge. (Author/MM)

Thanks to the technological improvements of recent years, distance education represents a real alternative or support to the traditional formative processes. The Internet allows the design of contents, which are able to raise the quality of the traditional formative process. However, the amount of information students can obtain from the Internet…

The NCTM curriculum states that students should be able to "compare and contrast the real number system and its various subsystems with regard to their structural characteristics." In evaluating overall conformity to the 1989 standard, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) requires that "teachers must value and encourage the use…

The Wireless Online Tutoring System (WOTS) is a web-based, synchronous groupware system that has been developed to facilitate student collaboration in group projects. It supports interactive and collaborative structured-diagramming and is equipped with group awareness features such as remote cursors, locking, and textbased instant messaging. Users…

Providing quality technical support in K-12 environments can be challenging. Unlike the business world, there is generally a less-than-ideal ratio of technical staff to computers, numerous software titles from dozens of vendors, and of course--a much smaller budget. The Victor Central School District in Victor, New York, has employed a number of…

Educators are faced with developing performance indicators for reporting to state and national agencies on pre-service teacher candidates' ability to teach using innovative pedagogy as well as content- specific standards. Portfolio assessment has gained momentum as a standard in assessing student-learning outcomes. This paper is a discussion of…

A Delphi method was used to determine the extent to which current educational software was meeting the needs of teachers; as well as what changes needed to occur in educational software to make it more effective. Five overarching themes emerged: (a) instructional design issues, (b) curriculum, (c) materials, (d) cost, and (e) meeting specific…

A pendulum "engine" with dynamic parameters can be created and pendulum functions manipulated and analyzed using interactive elements in Flash. The effects of changing the damping (convergence) properties, initial release angle and initial velocity conditions can be explored. The motions then can be digitized using the Flash Digitizer 1.1,…

This article reflects on twenty or more years of development and research in educational computing. It argues that the emphasis on exploiting the technology in the service of contemporary ideas about learning held by many of the early workers has been lost to a focus on the technology itself and its capabilities. In schools this has led to an…

This article features the Atomic Learning. The challenge of teaching people how to effectively use technology motivated a group of technology coordinators to form a company and create a product to help teachers and students understand the software and hardware they were employing in the classroom. This group, with over 200 collective years of…

This paper details the technical and operational aspects of a project investigating the role of digital video in physical education in 12 Irish schools over a period of two academic years. The project design involved a qualitative investigation into the use of digital video in three areas of physical education, namely teaching, learning and…

Portfolio authoring tools within teacher preparation institutions have changed dramatically as portfolios have moved from paper to electronic formats and now to the Web. This study used Engestrom's Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (1987) to examine how portfolio tools, along with external influences and institutional contexts, mediate the…

Macromedia's FLASH development system can be a great tool for mathematics education. This article presents detailed Flash tutorials that were developed and taught by the author to a group of mathematics professors in a summer course in 2005. The objective was to educate the teachers in the techniques of animating equations and mathematical…