This article examines the implementation of a one-to-one laptop program in three diverse schools in California. The program was carried out in one largely Hispanic low socio-economic junior high, one largely Asian AsianAmerican high-SES K-8 school, and in the gifted program in a medium-SES elementary school. Interviews, observations, surveys, and analysis of student work indicated that the program helped facilitate writing-intensive, information-rich, multimodal, and student-centered instruction. Analysis of test scores in English and mathematics indicate that laptop students failed to keep up with non-laptop students in the first year of implementation but made strong gains in the second year of implementation. Explanations for these outcomes are discussed.Technology has been seen as a major means of improving U.S. education since the 1980s. The reasons for infusing technology into education go far beyond the obvious need to have a technology-proficient workforce in order to be economically competitive. A review of 28 key policy documents over a 20-year period

The second-generation Web has amplified and extended new ways of online communication. Millions of people now interact through blogs, collaborate through wikis, play multiplayer games, publish podcasts and video, build relationships through social network sites, and evaluate all the above forms of communication through feedback and ranking mechanisms. This article analyzes the emergent semiotics of what has been called Web 2.0 by focusing on three critical elements of language use and communication: audience, authorship, and artifact. Drawing on recent theoretical and empirical work, this article considers the significance of transformations in these three areas for both research and teaching.

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VizClass, a university classroom visualization environment, was developed to bridge the gap between high-tech engineering practice and low-tech engineering pedagogy. It contains a suite of digital whiteboards, a three-dimensional stereoscopic display, and specialized software for engineering visualization. Through observations, interviews, surveys, and examination of student work, we investigated student and teacher attitudes toward VizClass and its effect on teaching and learning processes. Observed benefits of teaching in the new environment include increased ability of faculty to visually explain complex problems, increased ability of students to conceptualize engineering problems, and increased engagement of students in after-class collaboration.

VizClass is a university classroom environment designed to offer students in computer graphics and engineering courses up-to-date visualization technologies. Three digital whiteboards and a three-dimensional stereoscopic display provide complementary display surfaces. Input devices include touchscreens on the digital whiteboards, remote keyboards, data gloves, and hand-position sensors.We use observations, interviews, and surveys to examine the pedagogical impacts of VizClass for teaching and learning computer graphics and virtual reality. Preliminary findings include positive student and teacher attitudes and greater learner engagement in after-class collaborations.