Although multimedia technologies offer a great potential, educators and decision makers need to see evidence regarding the instructional effectiveness of multimedia in order to integrate it into the educational processes. The main purposes of this paper are: (1) to identify and discuss the main criticisms of media research, including the research…

This paper presents the findings of a study comparing the amount of interactivity generated in three different instructional settings: face-to-face instruction in a television classroom, real time instruction via microwave (two-way interactive video), and audioteleconference instruction supplemented with prerecorded videos. The study was conducted…

When English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students were few and far between at college, they were absorbed into regular Freshman English courses designed for, and dominated by native speakers. However, it appears that ESL students are best served by placing them in classes specially designed for their needs, rather than mainstreaming them or placing…

The process of change and the resistance to change experienced by teachers and students during implementation of a new instructional approach is examined. The specific situation described is implementation of a process-oriented approach to writing in English as a Second Language, as experienced by eight Hong Kong secondary school teachers and…

This annual report summarizes the programs and activities of the West Virginia Education Fund, an organization designed to bring the resources and expertise of the private sector together with the knowledge and creativity of the school system. The report lists recipients of grants by county, including project titles and school affiliation. The…

The purpose of this study was to devise an instructional model accommodating students' learning styles in the following areas: sound, light, temperature, design, and mobility. Specifically, this study determined if students in an experimental group with environmental accommodations to their preferred modes of learning differed from students in a…

This summary presents information on the design rationale, project coordination, and findings of the Technology Applications in Basic Skills project (TABS), which was administered by the Merrimack Education Center and designed to implement programs that use the computer and related technologies to increase student competencies in the basic skills…

Four alternative approaches to the standard teacher education program are currently being offered at Michigan State University. Each alternative program provides instruction on the effective teaching of school subjects, but each option emphasizes a particular aspect of the teacher's role: (1) fostering academic learning; (2) teaching in…

This paper outlines the efforts of two mathematics teacher educators in their use of online videos to expose their elementary preservice teachers to examples of reform teaching, as espoused by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. The online videos provide an excellent source for reflection, and each author shares their different…

The University of Georgia's Writing Intensive Program began--as do many college-wide writing initiatives--with faculty concern about the quality of student writing at the university. Acknowledging that the responsibility for this quality--or lack thereof--belongs to all faculty, in all disciplines, not just to first-year composition instructors…

Within the context of a discussion of the challenges facing Canadian higher education, this paper reviews some of the innovative approaches to student retention, curriculum development, and modularization in use at Mohawk College in Ontario. After stressing the need for innovation in advanced technological education in Canada, the paper offers an…

This paper addresses the planning of information services in South Africa via Peoples Libraries in support of People's Education, i.e., Post-Apartheid education with a humanistic perspective that strives to offer black and white students education with equal levels of quality, and includes Black Studies in the curriculum. People's Libraries are…

Beginning in 1985, Apple Computer, Inc., and several school districts began a collaboration to examine the impact of computer saturation on instruction and learning in K-12 classrooms. The initial guiding question was simply put: What happens when teachers and students have constant access to technology? To provide "constant access,"…

The ninth yearbook of innovative learning strategies presents the following articles, grouped in three major sections. The first section, Program Models, contains: (1) "Cooperative Learning in a Study Skills Course" (Corrine Plotkin); (2) "Peer Tutor Preparation: A Guide to Training" (Kathy Carpenter); (3) "A Community…

This document describes a National Security Council (NSC) role playing exercise designed to introduce students to the complexities and dynamics of U.S. foreign policy crisis management. Based upon the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) program, "In the Face of Terrorism," this classroom exercise casts students as NSC team members charged…