Education Commons^™

Educational Resources On The Internet, Anna Sheets

Graduate Research Papers

The resources offered on the Internet are too numerous to be completely covered in one research paper. The focus of this research paper will be the educational resources that would be used by a business education student.

What Is Technology Planning?, Melva Ann Starr

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Assessment Methods For Virtual Laboratories In Civil Engineering Technology, Carol L. Considine, Vernon W. Lewis Jr.

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

Old Dominion University has developed an extensive distance learning system that includes 40 remote sites. A majority of the sites are located at community colleges. There are 30 sites in Virginia, three sites in North Carolina, one site in Washington State and one site in Arizona. In addition, there are four sites at Higher Education Centers in Virginia and one site at a local industrial facility. The Civil Engineering Technology curriculum requires three laboratory courses, which are a challenge in the distance learning environment because of the lack of laboratory equipment and computers at the broadcast sites. The three courses …

How Can E-Mail Be Used To Facilitate Communication Betweeen Teachers And Students, Nathaniel Anthony Moultrie

Graduate Research Papers

Electronic mail, e-mail, or Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) is an electronic communication medium that is starting to emerge in the educational system. The use of e-mail between students and teachers is growing steadily and rapidly. In just a few years, the number of K-12 students involved in networking has grown close to one million with a rate of increase of over 10% per year. With the sudden burst of technology within the school system, a transition period of experimenting with innovative ways of communication is before us. This research paper will address the use of e-mail as a viable means …

How To Plan For Library Automation, Ann Petersen

Graduate Research Papers

An understanding of various library automation issues will help guide the media specialist to a successful automation effort. This paper is designed to offer basic guidelines for such an effort. It is not the aim of this paper to cover all the details and obligations for undertaking an automation project, nor to discuss specific automation systems. Its main purpose is to assist library media specialists in the decision making process concerning automation systems designed specifically for school libraries.

Finding The Way : Navigation In Hypermedia, Janet Marsh Pine

Graduate Research Papers

If navigation is recognized as a fundamental problem experienced by hypermedia users, then navigation merits further investigation. This review will identify observed navigational problems, suspected causes, and proposed solutions. To investigate the problem, it is necessary to examine methods used to sequence hypermedia components and to identify the various schemes used for navigation.

Information resulting from the review of literature will serve as the basis for a project evaluating current multimedia software packages designed to develop reading skills. The findings will also provide the media specialist or professional educator with a framework for evaluation and subsequent utilization of multimedia learning …

Geritol For Geriatric Computers, Robbin D. Poling

Graduate Research Papers

This paper looks at the recycling of older computers in an elementary school. With the budgetary cutbacks that most school districts are facing, reusing older equipment is one way to meet student needs and still exist within a tight budget. This paper reflects research done in the areas of keyboard curriculum, which keyboard is used the most, and at what point in a student's academic life should this topic be introduced. The project describes a current development in a local school trying to pool older resources to allow for a better use of these machines.

Teachers' Attitudes Toward Computer Technology And Factors Influencing Their Attitudes And Adoption Of Computer Technology In Classroom Instruction : A Literature Review, Huiping Ding

Graduate Research Papers

With the introduction of computer literacy into curriculum, teachers' attitudes toward computer technology and computer adoption in the classroom teaching remain major concerns for educators. This paper is intended to review the literature on teachers' attitudes toward the use of computer technology as an instructional tool in classroom teaching and factors influencing their attitudes toward their use of computers. Their attitudes differ but are positive about teaching with computers if some barriers are overcome and some problems are solved, such as lack of training and accessibility.

The literature review reveals that teachers have concerns and anxieties concerning computer technology, its …

Personal Learning Preferences, Perceptions, And Multiple Intelligence Profiles : Affect On Educators' Attitudes About Computer Usage, Mary J. Dove

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between teachers' learning preferences, self-perceptions of multiple intelligence profiles, and attitudes toward computer usage, including the incorporation of computer technology into their classrooms. Data for this survey were obtained from a population of teaching and administrative faculty from a small, Midwest, rural public school district. Access and education that results in higher levels of experience were found to be critical variables, in agreement with professional literature to date. These factors, however, did appear to influence personal learning preferences in some instances and the multiple intelligence profiles provided valuable insight into …

Potential Technology Application In English Instruction In The People's Republic Of China, Ping Gao

Graduate Research Papers

The primary purpose of this paper is to present a vision of potential technology application as an effective teaching aid for English instruction in the People's Republic of China (hereafter referred to as China). In order to provide a clear picture of why technology should be applied in English teaching situations in China, major factors influencing the current English teaching methodologies – grammar translation and audiolingual method – have been analyzed. A theoretical analysis of modern Western teaching pedagogy, the communicative approach, has been explored to offer an in-depth understanding of foreign language learning and teaching processes. The close relationship …

Technology Training In Preservice Education Programs : A Review Of The Literature, Catherine A. Gersema

Graduate Research Papers

Education is radically changing with the dawn of the information age, where the ability to access, analyze, and manipulate information is a basic survival skill. To become more technologically adept, elementary and secondary schools must provide technical training to their students. However, trained students are the result of trained professionals. Recognizing the burgeoning need to provide skilled professionals, institutions of teacher education are integrating educational technology programs in preservice education.

This review of the literature reports on technology implementation at teacher training institutions where educational technology is being infused into the preservice curriculum through adherence to guidelines from ISTE and …

How To Build And Maintain A Strong Technology Program, Brian Horn

Graduate Research Papers

This paper will deal with the issues of developing and maintaining an educational technology program, and explain the creation of a technology program from its beginnings to a strong, but never final, state. This paper will also give ideas on the seldom-thought-about things all schools should know about technology and its implementation in the schools. We will attempt to answer the question: How do schools put together a good technology program, keep it strong and prepare for the future in educational technology?

Building A Computer Network For Schools, Robert Kleinow

Graduate Research Papers

With the increased use of computers in schools, it should come as no surprise that schools are quickly beginning to see the incredible potential of connecting those computers together. The opportunities a computer network in schools can provide for administrators, teachers, and students are immense and are beginning to be realized across the nation.

This paper will by no means make the reader an expert in setting up a computer network. It is merely to introduce you to the basics of computer networking, some of the unique qualities of a school network when compared to networks done elsewhere, and show …

Challenges In Using Technology For The Improvement Of Undergraduate Education, G. Roger Sell

Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education: Archives

We may believe that access to more information will improve undergraduate education, but students conceptual foundations and critical thinking skills are essential for using information technologies and constructing knowledge.

Information Literacy: Its Implications For Education, Lisabeth Underhill

Graduate Research Papers

This paper explores the concept of information literacy and its implications for education. Discussion begins with a look at the shift in America's economy toward information services. The skills necessary to function productively in this Information Age are examined to demonstrate the critical nature of information literacy. In the context of information literacy, educational reform such as resource-based learning and a process approach to information skills instruction are discussed. This discussion leads to recommendations for best preparing students for the 21st century.

Curriculum Lags Technology, Judy Suddendorf

Graduate Research Papers

As we approach the 21st century, no one disputes computers/computer-based technology is here to stay. With the evolution of more affordable technology, business and education have increased investment in computers. Corporate environments have completely altered their daily work environment as a result. The implications produce an overwhelming challenge to our school system. The critical question, then, is how do we best prepare our children for such a technologically advanced environment? There are many theories and ideas on how this task should be accomplished.

In The (Not So) Distant Future: Fiber Optic Distance Learning At The University Of Northern Iowa, Mary Bozik

Faculty Publications

Currently every Area Education Agency; community college; and Regent University in Iowa is connected by a fiber optic system known as the Iowa Communications Network (ICN). Every semester; 7 to 13 college credit classes have been offered at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) via the ICN since 1993. In the Spring of 1995 seven classes (six graduate; one undergraduate) were offered on the ICN by UNI; all were taught by a different instructor; each of whom had participated in a 3-day preparatory workshop. All 168 students were surveyed and 103 responded. Students reported their instructors used a variety of …

The Vital Element, Jennifer Mcnab

Graduate Research Papers

Integrating technology into curriculum requires educators to have a working knowledge of using technology in the educational setting. However, technology integration is often an oversight in staff development. Educators are more likely to use technology to their full potential if a support system is in place and proper training of how to use technology in their classroom is available.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how educators use computers to enhance the learning experience for students. Educators from around the United States answered the request for sharing motivational ideas for incorporating computers into the classroom. These innovative activities …

Evaluating The Integration Of Learning Technology In Queensland State Schools: A Case Study Of The Queensland Sunrise Centre, Glenn D. Finger

Digital learning research

This thesis provides information, implications, and recommendations, derived from an evaluation of the Queensland Sunrise Centre (QSC), which will assist educational policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation strategies for integrating learning technology into the school curriculum. In addition, the thesis makes a theoretical contribution to school level evaluations through the development, implementation, and appraisal of an evaluation model based on fourth generation evaluation (4GB) principles by directly involving stakeholders in the evaluation process. The establishment of the Queensland Sunrise Centre (QSC) in 1990 involved the creation of innovative technology-rich learning environments for students and teachers in which each of them had …

Technology: Connecting People And Places, Richard Stahlhut

Faculty Publications

The College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) established collaborative partnership agreements with nine major school districts in Iowa where UNI student teachers were placed. One collaborative project connected the campus coordinator with the nine off-campus sites through the campus computer network (Caucus). In the 1993-94 school year the transition to Internet is being made. This paper describes: (1) how the UNI computer network (Caucus) was developed and extended; (2) projects that caused practitioners to become active partners in the UNI Teacher Education program; (3) projects such as newsletters; establishment of mentor programs for student teachers; and …

Using Computer Conferencing Technology To Assist Collaboration Between Higher Education Faculty; Student Teachers And K-12 Practitioners, Richard Stahlhut, Richard R. Hawkes

Faculty Publications

The College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) created collaborative partnerships with nine major school districts in Iowa in order to establish several kinds of relationships between practitioners and university faculty which computer networks facilitated. A new "Cobra" computer conference system was expanded to the nine regional off-campus centers where UNI student teachers were working; and modem-equipped portable computers were linked to the campus through a WATTS telephone line. Personnel; including field-based personnel and practitioners; were then able to communicate with nearly all offices on UNI campus through E-mail and computer conferences. Further programs have recruited teachers …

Learning With Personal Computers: Issues, Observations And Perspectives, Helga A.H. Rowe, Irene Brown, Isabel Lesman

Digital learning research

The empirical study discussed in this book was conducted in the Sunrise classrooms at Coombabah State School, Queensland in 1991-92, in which each student had their own laptop computer. Part I provides a theoretical framework for learning and teaching with computers. Part II deals with issues relating to the acquisition of computer literacy. Part III describes the empirical study conducted with 115 Year 6 and Year 7 students, and Part IV deals with issues relating to the professional development of teachers who teach students with computers and with the evaluation of computer software by teachers.

Math Student Teachers: How Well Prepared Are They?, Richard G. Stahlhut

Faculty Publications

This study was conducted to find out how well mathematics majors at the University of Northern Iowa were prepared in the foundations of effective teaching practices and how well they performed during the student teaching experience. Data were gathered from mathematics student teachers (N=22) who were observed; interviewed; and asked to keep daily journals. Results suggest that mathematics teacher education students: (1) be required to create practical problems for pupils for every mathematics course in grades 7-12; (2) be required to take a course that deals with writing across the curriculum so they can better incorporate English into their classroom …

Ua35/5 Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, Wku Center For Teaching & Learning

WKU Archives Records

Newsletter created by and about WKU Center for Teaching & Learning.

The Queensland Sunrise Centre: A Report Of The First Year, Michael Ryan, Jenny Betts, Greg Grimmett, Karen Hallett, Dave Mitchell

Digital learning research

Contributed chapters:
Supporting the Queensland Sunrise Project (Greg Grimmett)
A database approach to social studies (Jenny Betts)
Perceptions: before and after (Karen Hallett)
General reflections and the development of mathematical pathways (Dave Mitchell)

Implications For The Design Of A 2-Way Video Distance Learning Facility, Daniel C. Moore

Graduate Research Papers

The decade of the 80's has witnessed the virtual birth and proliferation of interactive distance learning systems. The rapid multiplication of these inqtructional delivery systems has not been preceded nor followed by appropriate research. Distance learning applications pose entirely new questions for the educational researcher. Among the many questions raised, are those which specifically address the layout of a distance learning terminal facility. In the effort to achieve maximum educational efficiency and effectiveness in a 2-way video system, this paper examines some specific questions regarding distance learning classroom design. Until more focused research is forthcoming, this study proposes to investigate …

Computer Applications: Using Electronic Spreadsheets, Connee Riley, Jack C. Reed

Faculty Publications

This instructional unit is intended to assist teachers in helping students learn to use electronic spreadsheets. The 11 learning activities included; all of which are designed for use in conjunction with Multiplan Spreadsheet Software; are arranged in order of increasing difficulty. An effort has been made to include problems applicable to each of the following areas: basic business; secretarial; administrative support; information processing; marketing; and accounting. Topics covered in the individual lessons include operating a spreadsheet program; formatting an electronic spreadsheet; entering and saving data; creating a new electronic spreadsheet from an existing one; rearranging and replacing data; changing data …

Computer Literacy: An Instructional Unit, Ruth Ratekin, Jack C. Reed

Faculty Publications

This instructional unit on computer literacy is intended for use as a 9-week course meeting five days per week for 50-minute class periods. If tied to a 9-week course in keyboarding or combined with additional materials on programming or software applications; it could also be expanded into a semester course. The following topics are covered in the individual chapters: the role of computers in society; ways in which computers affect society (historical development of computers; their effects on quality of life; economic effects of computers; concerns arising from computer use; and rapid technological changes in business); the way in which …

Identification Of Tasks In Photo-Offset Lithography Occupations, University Of Northern Iowa

Faculty Publications

The research project was designed to provide data pertaining to performance tasks in specific occupations in various areas of vocational/technical education. The data presented in the document is intended to be used to develop appropriate objectives and curricular content to assist in the preparation of individuals entering the specific photo-offset lithography occupations of layout man; paste-up man; lithographic cameraman; stripper; platemaker; and offset pressman. To discover the tasks and functions required for these job categories; a list of graphic arts industries in Iowa was developed; graphic arts personnel in three cities were interviewed and; from that information; the major instruments …

Utilization Of Educational Television In Iowa's Elementary Schools, Jane Barker

Graduate Research Papers

In today;'s fast-paced world where messages conveyed through many forms of media, television as a form of entertainment has enjoyed much popularity. It has grown in recent years as a method of instruction in the school. The success of "Sesame Street" has powerfully demonstrated the potential of instruction through entertainment.

Television can be used effectively for learning, especially if used regularly. Kelly (1964) has shown that when television is used regularly as a source of instruction in the form of lectures and demonstrations, students do as well and sometimes significantly better on tests than when it is not used regularly. …