Next to playing, matching instructional features with children's characteristics may stimulate children's development in early education. Instructional lines of ordered playing and learning appliances, inclusion of diagnostic and achievement indicators, flexible grouping of students, screening of initial student characteristics, and supportive…

Technology has become a part of most of our activities in the everyday life. It entered to the educational field as well as the other fields. The use of technology in school is growing in both technological equipments like computers and the structure for them, besides the training programs for the teachers and other users. The new technological…

This inquiry investigates what happened when second grade students taught their peers how to use Microsoft PowerPoint. The study specifically focused on second graders' behaviors when they worked in pairs situated around a computer to create autobiographical slide shows. The setting for this study was a public elementary school in a suburb outside…

MathView is a computer algebra system designed to foster interactive exploration of mathematics. MathView is designed so that mathematics, both symbolic and graphic, is highly interactive. Change to a proposition in a MathView notebook produces a cascade of changes to the conclusions that are tied to the proposition. This structure helps to create…

A closer look at what actually occurs in classrooms forces observers to realize that to integrate technology effectively into teaching and learning, teachers must address many challenges and demonstrate more than superficial knowledge about technology and its use. To assess one element of the technology integration issue, a regional survey of…

This paper reviews an approach for finding optimal solutions to the traveling salesman problem, a well-known problem in combinational optimization, and describes implementing the approach using the MAPLE computer algebra system. The method employed in this approach to the problem is similar to the way ant colonies manage to establish shortest…

This CD-ROM allows students to learn about physics principles and the scientists who discovered them through genius or luck. The simplicity of these physical laws and how the discovery of these laws has improved the daily lives of humans is discussed. The computer program explores the physics behind the earth's rotation, Archimedes' Principles,…

Describes and evaluates two USEPA shareware programs called Principles of On-Site Wastewater Treatment (ONSITE) and Residential Waste Treatment Evaluation (RWASTE). ONSITE, a tutorial, provides an overview of septic systems and their relationship to soils. RWASTE builds on ONSITE. Both are effective tools for persons interested in acquiring…

Discusses the use of digital cameras in elementary and secondary education. Highlights include hardware and software; applications; practical considerations, including cost; curriculum possibilities; examples of activities for elementary, middle, and high schools; and using cameras for student assessment and for administrative support. (LRW)

Presents an activity on the sum of the measures of the interior angles of a five-pointed star by using The Geometer's Sketchpad. (ASK)

Argues that there is a need for more research on the effectiveness of instructional methods in developmental education, but acknowledges that standard experimental procedures are not appropriate for developmental classrooms. Describes Simulation Implementations of Peripatetic Learning Environments (SIMPLE), a computer-based tool for creating…

Provides the results of a survey of science teachers (n=635) regarding the status of computer use and professional development needs related to the use of computers in classrooms. Results indicate that 91% of the classrooms have computers. Professional development needs are categorized by groups: non/past users, novices, and users/experts. (DDR)

This article describes five organizational Web sites that are good resources in selecting and using software with children who have special needs. The sites represent the DO-IT project, the Trace Research and Development Center, Special Needs Opportunity Windows, the Family Center on Technology and Disability, and the National Center for…

Describes an art activity for secondary school students in which they created tickets using the computer programs QuarkXPress and Photoshop. Describes an example where students created music concert admission tickets, after first examining real admission tickets. (CMK)

Discusses the use of the Internet by teachers, students, and school librarians. Statistics reported include use at home and at school, use by students with librarians, use by students with teachers, use of research or reference materials, search engine use, specific Web sites used, supervision methods and filtering software, and commercial…