Learning through Media at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century

This paper summarizes the developments in educational media in Slovenia as it prepares for the twenty-first century. Initiated by the Ministry of Education and Sport and the National Education Institute, the program Computer Literacy was introduced which contributed in big changes in the introduction and use of modern media and information technology in the educational process. The programme is a six-year programme which started in 1994 and is coming to an end in 2000.

L'apprentissage par les médias au tournant du 21e siècle

Cet article résume les développements des médias éducatifs en Slovénie qui préparent le 21e siècle. Initié par le Ministère de l'Education et des Sports et l'Institut National pour l'Education, le programme d'initiation à l'informatique a été introduit et contribué à apporter de grands changements dans l'utilisation des médias modernes et de la technologie de l'information dans le programme éducatif. C'est un programme qui a débuté en 1994 et qui s'achèvera en 2000.

Lernen mit Medien an der Wende zum 21. Jahrhundert

Dieses Papier faßt die Entwicklungen im Bereich der Unterrichtsmedien in Slowenien an der Grenze zum 21. Jahrhundert zusammen. Initialisiert durch das Ministerium für Erziehung und Sport und das Nationale Institut für Pädagogik wurde das Programm ? Computer Literacy” eingeführt, das seinen Anteil an den grossen Änderungen bei Einführung und Nutzung der modernen Media und der Informationstechnologie im pädagogischen Prozeß hatte. Das Programm ist ein Sechsjahresprogramm, das 1994 begann und im Jahr 2000 enden wird.     

The role of visual representations for structuring classroom mathematical activity

It is our presupposition that there is still a need for more research about how classroom practices can exploit the use and power of visualization in mathematics education. The aim of this article is to contribute in this direction, investigating how visual representations can structure geometry activity in the classroom and discussing teaching practices that can facilitate students’ visualization of mathematical objects. We present one illustrative episode that shows how drawings of geometrical figures have a powerful role in structuring and modifying the mathematical activity in the classroom. It was selected from a database that we have been building to investigate the learning of mathematics in public elementary schools in Brazil. The framework of Activity Theory helped in the characterization of the episode as a system of interconnected activities. We discuss the changes and transformations perceived in those activities; and we explore the idea of miniature cycles of learning actions to focus on the mathematical learning that is taking place. We describe the dynamics and the complexity of the ongoing activity in the calculation of areas; and, how drawings form a part, and show their influence, in it. We argue that part of this influence was associated with the contradiction between abstract mathematical ideas and their empirical representations, revealed by the tensions perceived in the activities analysed; and, simultaneously, that we could see as an impelling force for the learning of the rules and norms which regulate the use of visual representations in school mathematics.     

Development of Mobile Communications in Slovenia: Looking to the Future Global Information (Mobile/Internet) Society

This paper discusses the planing and provision of mobile communications in Slovenia. It suggests the areas that will be developed in the future and how they might be achieved.

Le développement des communications mobiles en Slovénie: recherche d'une prochaine société d'information globale (Mobile/Internet).

Cet article discute de la planification et de la possibilité de communication en Slovénie. Il suggère les domaines qui seront explorés dans l'avenir et les moyens d'y arriver.

Die Entwicklung von mobiler Kommunikation in Slowenien: In Erwartung der zukünftigen globalen Informationsgesellschaft (mobil/Internet).

Dieses Papier behandelt die Planung und Versorgung der mobilen Kommunikationen in Slowenien. Es weist auf die Bereiche hin, die sich zukünftig entwickeln werden und wie das verwirklicht werden könnte.     

A Comparative Study of Information Literacy Skill Performance of Students in Agricultural Sciences

The aim was to assess the information literacy (IL) of 310 first- and second-year students enrolled in nine different study programs at the School of Agriculture (Faculty of Agriculture), Novi Sad, Serbia, using an adapted version of a validated IL test (ILT) in an e-environment. Because the school does not provide systematic IL education, another purpose was to raise awareness of the importance of such instruction. ILT results were assessed according to five ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries) standards, as well as three cognitive levels adapted from Bloom's taxonomy. The mean ILT score was 46.35%. Students were most successful in information evaluation and information need identification, and least successful in legal/ethical issues and information use. As expected, IL skills increase from the first to second year of study. Cognitive skills also increase, except for the highest level (applying knowledge), where all student groups are weak. Different study programs attract students with disparate knowledge/skill levels gained during secondary education, where some groups of first-year students may outperform second-year students in both IL and cognitive abilities. It is thus important to offer IL education to all students in order to provide a basis for more balanced academic progress.     

Re-examining the Gene in Personalized Genomics

Personalized genomics companies (PG; also called ‘direct-to-consumer genetics’) are businesses marketing genetic testing to consumers over the Internet. While much has been written about these new businesses, little attention has been given to their roles in science communication. This paper provides an analysis of the gene concept presented to customers and the relation between the information given and the science behind PG. Two quite different gene concepts are present in company rhetoric, but only one features in the science. To explain this, we must appreciate the delicate tension between PG, academic science, public expectation, and market forces.     

Distribution of School Knowledge and Social Reproduction in a Brazilian Urban Setting

The present study was designed to elucidate the ways in which the distribution of school knowledge contributes to processes of cultural and social reproduction. Three schools in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre were studied for this purpose: a private institution serving an upper class clientele; a public school serving children of the middle class; and a public school attended by working‐class children. Two classrooms at each of the three schools were intensively observed during one semester. Teachers and staff were interviewed concerning their pedagogical views.

Patterns of instruction and control observed at the three schools suggest that children from different social classes receive substantially different kinds of schooling. The most obvious distinction in ideological discourse observed among staff members at the three schools concerns the existence of an explicit pedagogy endorsed at the private school and the concomitant absence of any such similar rationale at the other two schools.

The final sections of the paper discuss the implications of these findings for processes of cultural and social reproduction and their relation to relevant literature.