Defines quality technology support for teachers as consisting of access to one-on-one personal guidance and help; teacher participation in technology-oriented professional support among peers; professional development; and access to resources. Suggests the instructional aspects of technology support are important for successful technology…

Explores secondary school students' ideas and perceptions about learning, including how they learn best and what approaches and teaching strategies they find most conducive to learning. Results of interviews, questionnaires, and focus groups suggest students can engage in metacognitive activity, identify strengths and difficulties in learning, and…

Investigates the related characteristics of asynchronous learning material used for distance education and Web-based instruction and proposes a material characteristics model. Discusses the relationship among the degree of difficulty of the material, student characteristics, and student abilities; social factors; suitability of teaching materials…

Describes a study of graduate distance education students that defined and measured collaboration during asynchronous computer-mediated communication using a threaded Web discussion. Developed a model for evaluating interdependence, synthesis, and independence in collaboration; and discusses the role of collaboration in problem solving, along with…

Discussion of computers as mindtools focuses on semantic networks and expert systems that help learners build a representation of what they know by designing their own knowledge bases. Describes a study of undergraduates that examined the effects of building semantic networks on the construction of expert systems. (Author/LRW)

Introduces the use of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) as a methodology to visualize the data in computer-mediated communication. Bases FCA on a mathematical lattice theory and offers visual maps (graphs) with conceptual hierarchies, and proposes use of FCA combined with content analysis to analyze computer-mediated communication. (Author/LRW)

Presents results from a study conducted at Telenor, a Norwegian telecom operator, regarding the distribution of home personal computers to employees to encourage professional development outside working hours on an individual basis. Findings from a survey suggest that home computers can contribute positively to increasing employee's knowledge…

This study of Taiwanese eight graders investigated the impacts of strategic learning, cooperative learning, and their combination on junior high school students' computer achievement, attitudes, and anxiety. Highlights include the interaction between gender and learning context; higher computer anxiety among boys; and the role of the culture of…

This case study of three primary grade teachers investigated how access to computers and math teaching software influenced mathematics education reform. Discusses technology as a strategy for reducing barriers to implementation and reports results that showed technology's impact on helping teachers expand the scope of their programs and promoting…

Comparison of teaching practices of grade 7-8 science teachers in Ontario, Alberta, and Singapore found an implicit "formula for success" related to high scores on the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Recent Ontario curriculum guidelines aimed at boosting TIMSS scores ignore provincial educational values that support an…

Survey responses of 166 administrators and 300 teachers in Alberta schools indicate that most respondents were motivated by personal interest to learn to use the Internet and learned by trial and error. Administrators were more positive than were teachers about the adequacy of school support for Internet use. Administrator and teacher uses of the…

Throughout its history, adult literacy education has been defined, researched, and controlled by external entities. Action research is now enabling literacy practitioners and learners to gain a voice through production of their own knowledge. The applicability, benefits, and inherent risks of practitioner action research are discussed. Contains 53…

Describes a multifaceted study that combined quantitative and qualitative approaches to educational research to investigate the behaviors and perceptions of preservice teachers as they assessed the work of an imaginary eighth grader. Summarizes findings and suggests that the mixed-methods model contributes new understandings not possible with…

The extent to which teacher expectations, disconfirming information, and parental involvement affect teacher judgments was examined among 147 Canadian preservice teachers who assessed an imaginary eighth grader's progress over a 10-week period. The student's final grade was significantly affected by teacher expectations based on socioeconomic…

As part of an undergraduate course, 147 teacher candidates graded components of an imaginary eighth grader's language-arts portfolio over a 10-week period and reported a final grade. These grades and manipulated variables for student background and academic progress were used to generate a model in which student background, growth, and actual…