The Digital Enquirer

Boris Handal Cumberland High School NSW, Australia Parvin Handal Western Sydney Health Area Service NSW, Australia Anthony Herrington Edith Cowan University Perth, Australia Abstract This paper describes a project concerned with the design, implementation and evaluation of a training program aimed to train secondary mathematics and science teachers in the selection of appropriate educational tutorial software (ETS). Before the implementation of this training program, a situational analysis revealed an apparent need for teachers to be better informed of the principles of ETS. It also revealed an apparent lack of available training schemes within local professional support groups. Consequently, an intra-school professional development model emerged as the most realistic strategy to align teachers’ background expertise with the school’s need for a more intensive use of technology in the curriculum. Seven mathematics and science teachers participated in a training seminar on evaluating ETS...

Vivian H. Wright University of Alabama Cheryl W. Sundberg Louisiana Tech University Sondra Yarbrough Jacksonville State University Elizabeth Wilson B. Joyce Stallworth University of Alabama Abstract The study of preservice teachers' development of metaphors as personal conceptions of teaching and learning is important not only to the preservice teachers but also to teacher educators. Such metaphors may provide us with snapshots, or glimpses, of our future teachers and can provide information on how we, as teacher educators, can ensure that methodological theories and pedagogical principles become a part of the preservice teachers' experiences. This study presents an important framework for the development of teaching metaphors and presents data on four preservice teachers' development through a general methods course and their subsequent teaching field methods course. Specific uses of text and graphics are examined in the data analysis. Conclusions indicate that text and se...

Aloka Nanjappa Michael M. Grant University of Memphis Abstract A complementary relationship exists between technology and constructivism, the implementation of each one benefiting the other. Constructivism is a doctrine stating that learning takes place in contexts, while technology refers to the designs and environments that engage learners. Recent attempts to integrate technology in the classroom have been within the context of a constructivist framework (e.g., Richards, 1998). The purpose of this paper is to examine the interrelationship between constructivism and technology as revealed by empirical research. The cases include a variety of studies in a variety of settings – teacher education, online learning, and K-12 education; constructivist strategies include collaborative and cooperative learning methods, engaging in critical and reflective thinking, evaluation through electronic portfolios, and a critical look at emerging teacher roles within constructivist paradigms. Success h...

Ellen Lunts University of Rochester Abstract Each year, a substantial portion of educational institutions' budgets are allocated to supporting the integration of computers into instruction under the assumption that computers benefit teaching and learning, and can improve student academic performance. Educational research and practice, however, demonstrate that different ways of integrating computer technology and the context in which computers are used have varied effects on student learning. This article explores computer-assisted instruction (CAI), a learning environment that supports a one-on-one interaction between a learner (or several learners) and a computer program. It also demonstrates how the two polar characteristics of CAI, which indicate whether the learner or the program has primary control over the content and direction of instruction--learner control (LC) and program control (PC)--affect instructional delivery and outcomes. While trying to explain the inconsistency ...