Multimedia learning -- Collaborative authoring of Hypercard stacks -- Student construction of meaning.

This project involves the development of a unit in science that integrates the use of technology in the problem-solving approach and the development of information literacy skills.

The project's goal is to develop training courseware for new faculty at California State University, San Bernardino. The courseware presents classroom learning scenarios and teaching strategies that support the construction of the faculty member's teaching and learning philosophy and a five year plan.

The purpose of this project was to develop a computer-based instructional material for Temecula third grade teachers to use with their history/social science curriculum. What evolved was a stack about Old Town Temecula that supports the Framework, an integration of technology into the history/social science curriculum. The project connects the past and present by focusing on the historical buildings in Old Town Temecula. As an instructional tool the stack provides teachers with the pre field trip materials and follow-up activities to use when doing a field trip to Old Town Temecula.

The purpose of this project was to develop computer-assisted instruction (CAI) software on the world wide web (WWW). This project was an interactive English learning environment for Thai adult students at the Warin Chumrab District Non-Formal Education Center, Thailand. This project software followed the recommendation of a recent study by the center of education technology (CET) indicating that the favorite types of CAI among Thai adult students were tutorial and drill and practice. In this project students chose to learn from two types of lessons, either a tutorial or a drill and practice. The lessons were made interesting by the use of music, animation, and Java applets. Internet tools, such as discussion boards, email, and related educational hyperlinks were easily accessible from within this project. The review group consisted of 20 Thai adult students. The review group responded to a web survey after they had used this project software. The surveyed students stated that the drill and practice exercises, the tutorial and the internet tools enhanced their learning of English.

The purpose of the project was to develop three thematic units for fifth grade that intergrate California State Standards in Reading, Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies with the use of technology. The benefits of doing so allows instructional time to be spent on more in depth study of the disciplines, Students make connections across curriculum which allows them to develop a deeper understanding of what is being taught. Also, integrating curriculum with technology engages students and allows them to have more control over their learning environment. When students are actively involved in what is being taught, they will internalize the information for better understanding.

The goal of this project is to use the Generic Tutorial System for the Sciences (GTSS) tools to develop a prototype interactive chromatography simulation with the Chrom-Quiz system. This will demonstrate Chrom-Quiz/chromatography integration as a teaching system.

The purpose of the project was to develop a teacher handbook forusing computer technology and Microsoft Office XP software in the performance of their administrative tasks. The handbook was designed to provide teachers with step-by-step instructions that would enable them to automate many administrative tasks that were previously performed manually, without the benefit of computer technology.

Professionals in education continue to explore technology as a way to instruct young students, and there is an accompanying belief that this technology can make an educational and academic difference. Despite the high percentage of young students in classrooms using technology, the impact of this technology on the early literacy skills of young children remains largely unknown. Guided by Vygotsky’s social learning theory, this study reports a 24-week investigation on whether regular use of Istation®, an integrated learning system used by approximately 3,000,000 students in the United States, had an effect on the early literacy achievement of children in twelve kindergarten classrooms. A mixed-method, quasi-experimental design was constructed using propensity scores. Also investigated were the effects of the level of teacher literacy support on early literacy achievement and the interaction between Istation® use and the level of teacher literacy support. A descriptive discriminant analysis was performed to determine the main effect of Istation®. The level of teacher support and the interaction effect was then tested using a multivariate between-subject analysis. Results indicated that Istation® did have a statistically significant effect on the early literacy skills of the 72 kindergarten students studied and was able to explain 17.7% of the variance in group differences. Hearing and recording sounds and letter sound knowledge were the main contributors to group differences. Teacher literacy support and the interaction between teacher support and Istation were not significant. This study considers the relationship between technology and early literacy and concludes that Istation® can serve as a more knowledgeable other as students develop some early literacy skills; however, teachers are still needed to provide complete literacy instruction for young students.

Web-based instruction has fast become a common component of higher education. Although such instruction began as a supplemental form of interaction, it has now become a basic aspect of many college courses and degree programs. If teacher and student are not in the same place at the same time, it becomes necessary to introduce a communications medium that will not only deliver information but also provide a channel of interaction between them. This study focused on faculty training and development programs designed to impact Web-based instruction in higher education at the five largest state-funded universities in Texas within a college of education. The instrument used in this study was developed by the research to collect data relating to faculty perception of training and development opportunities available to them at their institutions, perceptions of administrative support, and technical support. The objective was to determine if there was a relationship between these items listed above and faculty members' levels of confidence and perceptions of effectiveness when teach Web-based courses. The population consisted on 151 faculty members at the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University, the University of Houston, the University of North Texas, and Texas Tech University. This research study suggests that full-time tenure track faculty members at the five largest state-funded universities in Texas perceive that the amount of formal training they have received increases their ability to teach Web-based courses effectively and that the amount of formal training received also increases their perceived level of confidence when teaching Web-based courses. The researcher discovered similar results when faculty members were asked about their perceived level of institutional commitment and current initiatives for teaching Web-based courses.