Use of technology in middle grade mathematics is controversial. Major policy documents have teachers torn between enthusiasm for technology-facilitated mathematical investigation and cautions about undermining students' computational skills. This article examines research concerning use of computers and calculators in mathematics at the middle…

The contribution of qualitative research consists in "description, verification (of existing theories, hypotheses, generalizations, or practices), evaluation or prescription, as well as understanding" (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992, p. 16). This qualitative study examined the dynamics and complexities, which occur in the natural setting of a seventh…

Education in Britain increasingly appears to serve a very narrow notion of pedagogy, partly reflecting the "conditions of domination" generated by the rise of the new managerialism in the delivery of public services. In the name of economy, efficiency and effectiveness, social progress is increasingly seen to lie in achieving continual…

This chapter describes an undergraduate psychology research methods course in which laptops facilitated online organization, electronic portfolios, and flexible laboratories to improve student engagement, capability, and understanding. (Contains 3 figures.)

In this article we summarize the planning and implementation of online distance learning programs at various community colleges in California. We examine six areas: the institutions' vision, curriculum and programs, staff training and support, student services, student training and support, and policies.

The use of interactive video cases for teacher professional development is an emergent medium inspired by case study methods used extensively in law, management, and medicine, and by the advent of multimedia technology available to support online discussions. This paper focuses on Web-based "grounded" discussions--in which the participants base…

For educational technology integration in content disciplines to succeed, teachers and teacher educators need clear standards delineating why, how, where, and how much educational technology they should include in their teaching. This paper examines the visions offered by current science, mathematics, and educational technology standards for…

The proliferation of online courses has become a major concern for some educators when it comes to whether they apply valid and reliable instruments to asses learning outcomes. In addition, few publications seem to have dealt with the faculty realm that addresses the front-end fundamental learning principles of instruction that underlie quality…

Online and computer-based instructional gaming is becoming a viable instructional strategy at all levels of education. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of (a) gaming, (b) gaming plus embedded questions, and (c) gaming plus questions plus feedback on delayed retention of different types of educational objectives for students…

In the age of standards, the challenge is great to sustain children's voices as transformative forces in academic contexts. Interactive writing may offer an environment where children can reframe their engagement with curricular and personal knowledges, or even redefine the nature of academic content itself. This article focuses on the second year…

Today there are important types of analytical thinking, communication, quantitative reasoning, and information skills that cannot be used, or learned, without technology. Let?s look at just two:(1) information literacy; and (2) the ability to create Web sites as a medium of academic expression. Information literacy is the set of skills needed to…

In this case study our aim was to gain more insight in the possibilities of qualitative formative peer assessment in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. An approach was chosen in which peer assessment was operationalized in assessment assignments and assessment tools that were embedded in the course material. The course…

Cognitive theories disagree about the processes and the number of abilities involved in transitive reasoning. This led to controversies about the influence of task characteristics on individuals' performance and the development of transitive reasoning. In this study, a computer test was constructed containing 16 transitive reasoning tasks having…

Background: Previous research suggests that there are advantages to writing in groups or in pairs compared with writing individually, and that men write differently from women. However, as far as we know, no one has yet used new technology to assess published academic articles written in these different modes. Method: We assembled 80 papers from…

This article argues that children in a particular virtual community are learning through their participation in the discursive and social practices of the community. Using Wenger's model of "communities of practice" the article illuminates examples of children's learning that were a direct result of collaboration towards a common goal.…