This book, designed for grades four through eight, is a telecommunications resource that reviews and defines essential Internet terms, looks at critical goals of telecommunications, explains the role of the Internet as it relates to the curriculum, and provides teachers and students with a "road map" to electronic information for each of…

Adopting and adapting electronic networks for classroom instruction requires refining and redeveloping. Teachers must discern which potential element or elements (for example, classroom projects, databases, or e-mail) operates best in their classrooms, for their students, and with their teaching styles. Teachers develop individual processes of…

This paper describes a year-long project in a fifth grade classroom to investigate the recurring flooding of the Pecatonica River (Illinois) and its effects on plant and animal life. The project was funded by a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to involve elementary school classrooms with a consortium of museums in the…

Advances in computers and information technology have created huge potentials for cataloging staff to increase efficiency and accuracy, reorganize the work force, change the workflow, streamline costs, and provide better services to patrons. Based on the practices at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), this paper discusses what a librarian…

The book consists of 46 chapters by numerous authors, divided into six parts. Part 1, "The Moving Target: Instructional Development from a Philosophical Vantage Point," addresses the questions: To what extent is instructional design in fact a valid and thriving area? and To what extent and in what quarters is it considered to be a dying or…

The use of computers in English departments, especially in composition classes, has become a primary site of contention between those who find technology liberating and those who find only new configurations of the same old hierarchies. Much of the excitement stems from a perceived connection between new classroom technologies and current theories…

This paper reports on a study which examined critical mass for the use of information technologies (i.e., electronic mail and World Wide Web applications) in schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) by faculty, students, and faculty and students combined. The study also investigated critical mass for the existence of adequate…

The challenges and problems in both designing and conducting research on distance learning courses are considered in light of the present cyberspace revolution. This paper discusses: the future possibilities of Internet-based learning; assumptions of online courses which are usually embedded in constructivist and socio-constructivist theories and…

For technology to be integrated into K-12 classroom practice, teacher learning of the technology must occur at the preservice and inservice levels. Three suggested approaches to encourage technology learning and subsequent use by preservice and inservice teachers are: (1) finding the self in the technology (preservice teacher education); (2) "if…

Belen Public Schools (New Mexico) received a Goals 2000 grant for teacher education and technology integration. The Belen Goals 2000 professional development project established two three-day teachers-teaching-teachers workshops. The first focused on using an integrated software package and the second focused on using e-mail and the Internet.…

This book is an introduction to the Internet and World Wide Web for educators. The purpose is to provide a practical handbook for administrators and teachers, as well as to reflect on the potential of this new technology to redefine the traditional curriculum in elementary and high schools. Throughout this book appear boxed definitions and…

This book begins with an overview of computer technology concepts, including computer system configurations, computer communications, and software. Instructional computer applications are then discussed; topics include computer-assisted instruction, computer-managed instruction, computer-enhanced instruction, LOGO, authoring programs, presentation…

Three teacher education programs were studied to explore the process of integrating computer technology into the curriculum. The focus of this study was to define the stages that schools, colleges, and departments of education experienced as faculty and students moved from lower to higher levels of computer technology use and integration. Data…

Using technology to enhance student learning in social studies has become an important area for discussion and study within the field of social studies education. Handheld devices are one of the recently emerging technologies. This article describes an initial study of the TI-83 handheld device in the education of preservice social studies…

This study considers the enrichment of social studies methods through the integration of videoconferencing in a telecollaborative format. The purpose in developing this study was threefold: (a) to describe the perspectives of teacher candidates while participating in a telecollaborative social studies methods course experience, (b) to determine in…