There's a monster in my house

Brian J. Stephenson writes fiction for and about young children, and he lives in Chicago, IL.     

The second self: Computers and the human spirit

Educational technology research and development -     

Girls,Boys and Computers

This article discusses the findings of a research project concerning gender differences in computing in secondary schools, funded by the Equal Opportunities Commission. The research examined the organisation and teaching of computing in secondary schools, assessing the extent and nature of gender differences in participation in computing activities and examined teacher attitudes to girls and computing. The article outlines the main findings of the research and includes a series of recommendations for action by schools.     

Computers,Education, and Educational Psychologists

This article introduces the Special Issue on Computers and Education. The papers in this special issue focus on the potential contribution of technology to education. The involvement of educational psychologists is critical for understanding how the new technology develops and shapes cognitive functioning and intelligence, and for determining how to adapt instruction to individual differences and how to create instructional settings to realize technology's potential.     

Handheld,Wireless Computers

Abstract

Reports show that handheld, wireless computers, once used by business professionals to keep track of appointments, contacts, e-mail, and the Internet, have found their way into classrooms and schools across the United States. However, there has not been much systematic research to investigate the effects of these new technology tools on student attitude and learning outcomes, nor has there been much research evidencing that handheld, wireless computers can improve student engagement in the learning process. The purpose of this paper is to use the literature on principles of learning and instruction to develop an action-instructional model for utilization of handheld computers in the classroom. It will explain how such a model was used to integrate handheld, wireless computers in the design and development of classroom instruction and what the evaluation results are. The paper also provides some insights on what was learned from this experiment.     

Computers,Decision Making,and College Administrators

No abstract available for this article.     

Computers,Cognitive Processing,and Educational Concerns

No abstract available for this article.     

Computers and the History Classroom

No abstract available for this article.     

Computers and Learning

The Open University is well known in the United Kingdom and increasingly abroad for its distance learning courses. David Hawkridge of the Open University reports on a course on computers and learning which will be of interest to teacher educators.     

PowerPoint,habits of mind,and classroom culture

In lecture halls, in secondary school classrooms, during training workshops, and at research conferences, PowerPoint is becoming a preferred method of communicating, presenting, and sharing knowledge. Questions have been raised about the implications of the use of this new medium for knowledge dissemination. It is suggested PowerPoint supports a cognitive and pedagogical style inconsistent with both the development of higher analytical thinking skills and the acquisition of rich narrative and interpretive understanding. This paper examines how PowerPoint invites and seduces educators to reshape knowledge in particular ways, and subsequently how this knowledge is presented to students in the classroom. The particular forms of knowing, relating, and presenting with PowerPoint are decided in part by teacher habituation to the software tool’s default patterns, but also by the very nature of the presentation medium itself.     

现代科技发展给人的心理带来的负面影响

现代科技发展对人类的心理是一种挑战和威胁。一是滋生出一批网络成瘾者：二是由于分娩的医疗化引发出诸多的心理障碍；三是造就了一批早产儿和超未成熟儿。     

Pinch my wig or winch my pig: Spelling,spoonerisms and other language skills

Phonological processing skills have often been assumed to play a minimal role in skilled adult spelling despite evidence showing their importance in the development of spelling skills. The present study investigated the relationship between phonological awareness and spelling in adults. It was hypothesised that subjects demonstrating higher levels of spelling proficiency would also show superior phonological processing skills. This relationship was expected to be mediated by sound-spelling mapping knowledge. Given the irregularities of sound-spelling correspondences in English, it was also predicted that knowledge of orthographic conventions would be related to spelling competency. Two measures of each component skill were used on seventy three university students. As predicted, the importance of spelling-sound mapping skills in spelling were demonstrated, as was a relationship between phonological awareness and spelling-sound correspondences. In addition a moderate correlation was found between orthographic tasks and spelling performance. It was concluded that, among university students at least, phonological ability makes an important contribution to skilled adult spelling.