Graduating students who can compete in the digital age is imperative but remains an uphill battle in the absence of a strong national technology policy, empowered education leadership, and ongoing dialogue involving business, community, government, and educators. Meantime, in pockets around the country, some states, districts, and schools are…

The first part of this feature examined the burgeoning body of research supporting the use of games as teaching tools. In particular, the article focused on epistemic games such as Firaxis's Civilization, which immerse players in virtual worlds with societies and cultures to which they must adapt for survival and success. This second part of the…

This article focuses on the challenge of educators in keeping up with an information environment that has changed dramatically in the past 10 years. Thus, it is crucial that when teaching literacy to students, educators emphasize skills that reflect the information environment of the present, not the past. With the information age comes a whole…

That students will eventually use computers in place of traditional textbooks is almost certain. Just watch the eight-year-old children at your local elementary school pulling their backpacks (now on wheels). Will the digital textbook become more than a CD-ROM of the print version? First, like most other education technologies, it will be an…

This first in a five-part series of articles that form the basis for a professional development course on the impact of technology on classroom curriculum focuses on obstacles faced by teachers in bringing technology into the classroom and strategies to overcome them. Multimedia instruction, hypermedia, and computer networking are discussed. (LRW)

Blogs, which began as a way to easily post one's thoughts online in print, have evolved to include multimedia capabilities. A blog is not limited to text--audio and video can be incorporated. A video blog (commonly called a vlog) is a blog that uses video in its posts. People who create vlogs are vloggers, and the worldwide community of vlogs and…

Conceptualizes the Internet in terms of the NII's (National Information Infrastructure) proposed features; suggests that it will be interactive, have multimedia capability, and be a network of networks; and discusses legislative and budgetary issues affecting the development and use of technology in the classroom. Sidebars highlight individual…

In this article, the author reports on how several models are meeting the challenges of time, technology, and motivation. Some of the models discussed are videoconferencing models, the Anytime, Anywhere learning initiatives, and Educational Impact, a larger-scale provider of professional development resources that addresses this challenge by…

Laptop computing programs have been in K-12 schools since the 1990s, but in recent months one-to-one learning seems to have reemerged as a top topic in education technology circles. According to Tim Wiley, senior analyst at research firm Eduventures, about 1,000 of the 15,000 school districts in the United States currently have one-to-one…

A group of students is gathered around a square table, on each side of which sit four small maps. In the center is a much larger map. The students are engaged in an animated discussion of key topographical features they are observing and the geological processes that may have produced them. Much pointing and tapping on the table punctuates the…

A report recently released by the Center on Education Policy reveals that the four-year-old No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has indeed served to shine a light on the importance of professional development for K-12 educators. Beyond that basic fact, though, any real broad-based impact on the training of educators remains inconclusive. While the…

Presents five examples of the use of satellite technology in distance learning, including providing previously unavailable classes, interacting with teachers, and transmitting tests and returning graded work; partnerships between schools and community-based organizations; middle school and high school interaction; advanced placement classes; and…