Many language education scholars and professionals consider that the ideal way to connect their classrooms to the Internet is to use Internet-connected computer labs in the school. Many publications cater to the needs of teachers who work in such ideal environments (Dudeney 2000; Eastment 1999; Teeler and Gray 2000; Warschauer, Shetzer, and Meloni…

It is frequently held forth, within the area of virtual pedagogical characters, that such characters are beneficial for learning as they strengthen the social dimension of electronic learning environments. This article presents more details on this proposal together with a survey of corresponding empirical evidence. In addition, materials from a…

Many schools, colleges, and departments of education across America are currently rethinking the manner in which they are preparing tomorrow's teachers to use technology. Responding to new standards established by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the International Society for Technology in Education…

In 1992, I published a paper entitled "Hypermedia and discovery based learning: A historical perspective". It traced the swings in the history of educational thinking between, on the one hand, support for conventional curriculum based learning and, on the other, the non-linear approach expressed by many educational commentators over the centuries.…

In this paper theoretical perspectives for analyzing the pedagogical meaningfulness of using videos in teaching, studying and learning are presented and discussed with a special focus on using digital and online video materials. The theoretical arguments were applied in the international Joint Inserts Bank (JIBS) for Schools project. Out of…

Given the growing use of mobile devices, there is now increasing interest in the potential for supporting the mobile learner. However, there remains much research to be undertaken, to find effective ways of facilitating learning with mobile devices. This paper considers how to support the mobile language learner using a handheld computer. It…

"The Technology Balance Beam" is designed to question the role of technology within school districts. This case study chronicles a typical school district in relation to the school district's implementation of technology beginning in the 1995-1996 school year. The fundamental question that this scenario raises is, What is the balance between…

Researchers investigating issues related to computing in higher education are increasingly using qualitative research methods to conduct their investigations. However, they may have little training or experience in qualitative research. The purpose of this paper is to introduce researchers to the appropriate use of qualitative methods. It begins…

Although the use of computers in secondary school writing centers has been pioneering in some instances, it has at other times been problematic. It is important to be clear at the outset that using particular technologies for the sake of those particular technologies is a bad idea. While technologies are always present in our lives, they are…

This author's mission was to try out some materials being developed by a member of an advisory team, and give feedback about how they worked in the classroom. She was provided with detailed lesson plans, including mental and oral starters, and a list of resources. Her objective was to explore and interpret collected data using ICT in order to draw…

Computers have been installed in the General Biology laboratory at Purchase College and incorporated into the laboratory curriculum for all biology majors at the introductory level. The goal is to ensure that all students become familiar with general computer applications in the biological sciences and are comfortable enough to use them regularly.…

The emergence of powerful mathematical computing environments, the growing availability of correspondingly powerful (multi-processor) computers and the pervasive presence of the Internet allow for mathematicians, students and teachers, to proceed heuristically and "quasi-inductively." We may increasingly use symbolic and numeric computation,…

This article discusses the use of computer-based technology in the educational system. The author contends that while this technology is useful as an instructional tool, it is no substitute for face-to-face education. The author provides four principles of learning that will allow teachers to use this type of technology in the service of discovery.

In this article, the author discusses how computer games can be used successfully in classrooms. The author also relates how one of his struggling students has become excited about learning when he introduced computer games as part of his lessons. The author also cites the factors that make computer games better in inspiring students over…

Electronic portfolios (eportfolios) represent an assessment measure with strong potential to provide feedback about student performance to improve curricula and pedagogy, to determine individual students' mastery of learning and support feedback for improvement, and to actively involve students in the assessment process. This study examined the…